GOP mayoral designee wants to revamp government:
Otis Jennings had a brief tenure as front-runner for the Republican Party’s mayoral nomination four years ago, courted by the then party chair, and welcomed at the lunch meetings of the GOP clubs with enthusiasm. Moved out of contention by bids from Randy Wolken and Joanie Mahoney, he ran unsuccessfully for Common Council President. This year the party gave him 80 percent of its ward committees votes, although he faces a possible primary from media executive Steve Kamatian. As a model back in the day for NBA sportswear catalogs, he never got to pose in the colors of the Knicks, his favorites as a NewYork City native. But while still a Knicks fan, Jennings roots are now set firmly in Syracuse.
Having worked intensely with local youth and serving as Parks Commissioner under Roy Bernardi, he has school district issues at the top of his agenda. “We can no longer lose generations of children,” he notes, “because if they don’t graduate with a degree or any type of skill, their skill set is going to be learned on the street, and that’s why we continue to have murder in the neighborhoods.” Equally important to him is job creation through the school system, with skill trade readiness on a par with college preparation.
On all construction projects, Jennings would have merit shop contractors and project labor agreements both bid, and see which saves the taxpayer more money. Noting that with no shovels yet in the ground on the school construction issue, the $180 million budgeted has lost value because construction costs go up every season 15 to 20 percent. “I’m not necessarily against project labor agreements,” he said, “but if you view suburban school districts, you will very rarely find a PLA on capital construction projects, due to the fact that they do tend to run the cost of the project up.”
This is your second time around pursuing a mayoral nomination. What did you learn from the first one?
The first thing I learned was the importance of serving people, and putting the emphasis on people first. Our city is hurting right now. The young people in our city are hurting. We need to reestablish how we do government, and revamp government. Sensitizing myself to people, I realized how government is not effectively serving people. Now government can’t solve all of the issues, but it’s critical that we first sensitize ourselves to people, because people don’t know how much you know until you show how much you care.
You got a good view of how government works as Parks Commissioner. What needs to be different?
What we need to do is to complete capital projects. We need to form partnerships. As mayor of the City of Syracuse, I am going to be a bridge builder. I will work very closely with the Syracuse City School District. I will work very closely with the superintendent, and I will take on the responsibility of the graduation rates along with the superintendent. We tend to blame the school district for problems, or we’ll blame the city. We’re one city. It’s imperative that we work hand in hand with the school district. I’ll go to Albany. I’ll go to Washington DC. I’ll do whatever needs to be done to improve our schools and get our graduation rates where they should be.
They admit to a drop out rate of 50 percent. From your experience working with youth, why do you think so many drop out?
It’s a combination of reasons, but we have to revamp how we do education. I look at the educational system as a triangle. At one of the points we have college, the Say Yes Program. Another point is skilled labor, jobs, creating an environment in which middle school students can take a track of becoming an electrician, a carpenter, a steam fitter, the skilled trades. I have a program we would be able to start Day One, January 2010. The third point on the triangle is military service. Part of the reason we’re having issues is the lack of funding for schools. I don’t think the city or the Council has really directed energy enough to totally, completely and comprehensively funding our school system.
Another issue that the community has asked for was universal pre-K. It’s critical that we do that. I have my children in universal pre-K, and I have seen the dramatic development within those children. If we’re going to change the graduation rates around, that’s where we need to start. Universal pre-K, intensive mentoring, and as we go forward with the Say Yes Program, we need to concentrate on the hours between 3 p.m. in the afternoon and 8 p.m. in the evening, because that’s where gangs are doing a better job of mentoring our children than we are. An initiative I would pull together, I would get every social service agency in the community that serves children, and bring them under one umbrella to make sure we meet the children’s needs and that they’re job ready when they graduate.
The system for funding schools is based on property tax. With over half the city’s property off the tax rolls, is the solution to start taxing those properties?
Property tax is a small piece of the pie. Most of the funding comes through state aid. So with that formula–and I know that people will argue that through property tax we’re giving the school system more and more, and the population is dropping–I argue, with the economic stimulus money coming down, working with the superintendent, going to Albany, going to Washington DC, and having a comprehensive plan on how we’re working together, the federal government is looking to fund these types of programs. Also, we talk about consolidation with the county. We have Blodgett School, still not funded. How we get Blodgett School renovated relatively quickly, by petitioning the County Executive and the County Legislators to work with the city to use their bond rating. It could be done in a year and a half and that money would be reimbursed by the state almost 100 percent.
Would being a Republican be an advantage to reaching across to work with County Legislators?
I don’t think it would hurt. Would it be an advantage? We have to, once again, totally revamp how we do government. We are one city. This isn’t Democratic Syracuse, Republican Syracuse, Green Party Syracuse. I wish we could do away, on the local level, with party systems altogether, and just have people run on ideas and ideology and getting things done. I believe that we would be able to reach across party lines here and work collaboratively, work as a team. Without collaboration, we are going to struggle. With it, we can accomplish much in this city right now.
We missed a window of opportunity the past eight years, and everyone who sits on that Council is responsible. The Common Council, as well as the mayor’s office. We missed out on the capital projects that need to be completed.
Biggest capital project is Destiny. What role does that play if you’re mayor?
I say Go Destiny. We need to expand, to grow, to build. Whether you’re for Destiny or not, at least Destiny gave some inner-city people jobs at $60,000 a crack, and trained them to be skilled laborers. Some of them are still working on that project. Show me another development project we’ve had in the past eight years that has done that. I don’t know of one. So I think it’s critical that we do everything that we can to get this spirit of working together, collaboration. I’m Action Jennings. I will get it done. And I have a track record to prove it. Clinton Square, I was there from the start to the finish. Other people are claiming credit for it, but they weren’t there from the start to the finish. Clinton Square and 35 other major capital projects, over 60 major and minor, completed in the city. I know how to handle projects like Clinton Square, Upper Onondaga Park, Thornden Park. We have to get things done, and we have to create jobs, jobs, jobs in order to make this city what it’s capable of becoming.
As an African-American candidate, will your campaign galvanize the local communities of color on the order of Barack Obama’s campaign nationally?
I would hope so. I would hope so. But I want people to judge me on the work that I’ve done. I’m quite honored to be the first African-American candidate to be designated by a major party for the position of mayor. With that said, I still need to prove that we can have a solid plan to get the work done. Working together, we can galvanize the city. I’ve always been a bridge builder. I’ve worked on diversity for the past 25 years of my life. I believe I can bring the city together. We’re going to need a peacemaker, and not a divider. We’re going to need to bring all facets of the city together to make it work. We’re losing businesses by the droves. One thing I would do, work with the Chamber of Commerce to put together a group of small business people to address small business needs. Part of an economic develop would be to survey the small businesses downtown. We’ve got to keep them in the city. I know of accounting firms, they start to grow, they move out. If you get people in the city, supportive services will follow. There’s no need for all of these stores if you don’t have the bodies downtown. But we let allow Blue Cross Blue Shield to get out of town because of our ineffectiveness to execute. We must radically change how we do those things.
Is one possible radical change to eliminate the position of mayor in a consolidation with county government?
I don’t think the city or county is ready for that just yet. But I think we have to move toward that, consolidating and sharing services. But first we have to get the confidence of the people that we can get things done. We have to create jobs. We have to graduate students. One exciting thing, the ELA results are up 20 percent. Is it enough? No. But it’s progress.
You say you’d like to eliminate political parties locally. Why are you a Republican?
{Q}I’m a Republican because I do believe in personal responsibility.{Q} I do believe in the fact that the Republican Party has always given me an opportunity to serve. You’ve got to remember that in 1994 Roy Bernardi appointed the first two African-American men to head up one of the five major operating departments in the city. Charles Everett was out at the airport, and I was at Parks and Recreation. Another reason, I look at people: Martin Luther King, Jr., Republican. Half the Republicans didn’t know he was Republican. Jackie Robinson, Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass, Sandra Townes. Need I say more? Every other cultural group has representatives in both parties. Why can’t African-Americans? I realize that I am an anomaly, but I think it’s critical that there be representation on both sides of the aisle. African-Americans are not all monolithic in thought, even though people want to pigeonhole us. And, I’m for smaller government, and free enterprise, and economic development.
Do you think the Democratic Party takes African-American voters for granted?
I like to stay positive. I’m not saying they take them for granted. I would never say that. What I would say it this: We’re in a city where people have to learn to look at the candidate as opposed to the party. They had eight years of this party on all levels, the school district, the Common Council and the mayor’s office. Look at the condition of our city. We have one Republican serving in that whole system. All I’m asking for is give me four years. If I don’t turn the graduation rates around in four years, throw me out. If I don’t create small business opportunities and jobs, throw me out. Four years, that’s all I’m asking for. Any candidate on that side, you’re going to have more of the same.
Can you make city government smaller?
That is the goal. We can make government smaller through attrition, through looking at every line item to see if you really need a person in that position, consolidating or sharing services with the county. We all can do things to streamline government to make it more efficient. You see it happening now with the police mergers.
How do you overcome the Democrat’s edge in voter registration?
The city is 82 percent non-Republican. But remember, the last time I ran against a very, very popular Democrat, we got approximately 40 percent of the vote. There are people who are willing to give me an opportunity. Now I’m hoping that my record from the past will speak loudly enough that the voters will say we need a new fresh look.
Are you disappointed that there appears to be a primary challenge?
Primaries just sharpen your skills.
To arrange a Q&A with Walt Shepperd – contact Ellen Leahy at [email protected] or 434-8889 ext. 319.
