Otis Jennings has vowed to continue in the race for mayor of Syracuse. Jennings, who lost the Republican Party nomination Sept. 15, will run as the Conservative Party candidate.

“He will be on the ballot until November,” said Mike Otis, campaign manager for Jennings. “How aggressively he goes after it is something we have to take a look at.”

Jennings will face Steve Kimatian, the Republican and Independent Party nominee, and Stephanie Miner, the Democratic Party and Working Families nominee, in the Nov. 3 general election.

Miner defeated Joe Nicoletti, Alfonso Davis and Carmen Harlow for the Democratic nomination. She received 4,040 votes and won 44 percent of the vote. If elected, Miner would be Syracuse’s first female mayor.

After his loss, Nicoletti said he’d take 24 hours to think about the race. He officially conceded Friday and endorsed Miner.

“I spoke to Stephanie this morning, and have assured her of my support in the upcoming campaign. I look forward to putting a Democrat in city hall,” Nicoletti said in a news release issued Wednesday.

Nicoletti declined a personal interview through his press secretary. Harlow, Syracuse’s former Department of Public Works deputy commissioner, also did not return multiple phone calls.

Davis, a political consultant, did not issue an immediate endorsement of Miner. He said he would continue to be involved in politics but would not elaborate on any future plans.

Davis said he was proud of his campaign. He believes his campaign brought several issues forward that the other candidates wouldn’t have discussed otherwise, such as the causes of low city graduation rates and the problems in Syracuse’s Westside and Southside.

In the end, Davis said his campaign couldn’t match Miner’s and Nicoletti’s fundraising and spending. Miner and Nicoletti combined raised about $833,165 and spent $679,250, according to campaign finance filings. Davis raised approximately $18,065 and used $14,106.

“I was able to do what I did with less than $20,000,” Davis said. “If you look at the raw numbers, just imagine if I had $50,000 dollars. You’d be talking to me as the designated candidate.”

Miner said her first task after the primary was to reconcile with the Democrats who didn’t vote for her.

“I’ve been a Democrat for a long time,” Miner said. “I’ve been on losing sides, and winning sides, of primaries. I expect to talk to them about what it was that made them not support me, and try to win them over.”

 

Published on September 21, 2009 at 12:00 pm