She’s challenged the status quo in Onondaga County. As an insurgent republican Joanie Mahoney defied conventional wisdom and political prognosticators snatching the republican County Executive nomination by engaging in an electoral challenge.
It all began with her fight to run for Mayor of Syracuse, “How dare she” some muttered as she outlined her aspirations. Mounting an effective though unsuccessful challenge to Mayor Matt Driscoll, she almost won in a democratic city.
Just as she campaigned during her Mayoral run Mahoney continued to reach out to diverse populations as the “candidate of change”. In the meantime traditional party leaders mounted a failed attempt to discourage her latest run.
Gladys Smith, a longtime activist in the public housing community told me two months ago that, “Joanie is gonna take this.” She and others noted comments reportedly made by Republican Party leadership about running for public office and having a young family, “They’d never ask a man that.” She fumed.
Some may call her activities nothing more than political lip service but Joanie Mahoney has engaged the black community in a way unmatched by either typically muted republicans or over promising democrats seeking Onondaga County’s top job.
Mahoney called on longtime friends and acquaintances who knew her not as a political candidate but as a member of the Mahoney family, Joanie is someone they’d known since their days at Corcoran High School.
Meet & greet events in the black community hosted on behalf of Ms. Mahoney underscore the fact that this year’s Onondaga County Executive battle is not going to be a typical democratic vs. republican match up. She’s fighting and asking for every black vote. A refreshing change coming from a party that’s made recent inroads in the black community including the election of their City Chair former UrbanCNY/The Constitution co-publisher Stanley M. Dean.
In past elections republicans would not ask for the black vote as part of their winning formula for holding the County Executive’s position. Today in 2007 organized groups of African-American’s who traditionally vote democratic are asking people to vote for their “friend” Joanie Mahoney.
There have been charges and counter charges during this campaign. First of all we don’t believe Ms. Mahoney would “do away” with union work as some are floating around union workers. However, there is the belief that she will level the playing field for non-union tradesmen who are currently excluded from some of our major construction projects.
She’ll listen to African-American and local workers who regardless of their skills aren’t going to being allowed to participate in the unprecedented growth we’re about to experience.
Building Trade Unions aren’t bad entities in and of themselves, but with the volume of our growth being constructed by union only shops the path to opportunity comes only with a membership card. That’s not fair especially when Building Trade’s have been extremely slow in integrating their workforce.
It’s time to take another look at how we award publicly bid contracts, the strings attached and the opportunities these projects are supposed to bring to the local citizenry.
As Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney will listen and act. She’s pledged to look at things with a new set of eyes. We believe her. That’s why we’re encouraging our readers to support Joanie Mahoney for Onondaga County Executive. This is her time, ours too.
