Candidates face off for the Board of Education election

Candidates in the running for the Board of Education Commissioners in the Syracuse City School District are prepping for Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 7.

There are four Democratic candidates, including Tamica Barnett, Mary E. Habib, Gwendolyn H. Raeford and Ranette L. Releford. There are two Republican candidates, Magnolia Mumm and Ian L. Hunter to round out the ballot. Barnett currently serves as the President of the Board of Education Commissioners. 

There was an additional Democratic candidate in the primary, Michael Root, who did not win a nomination. The two other seats up for election are replacing commissioners Mark D. Muhammad and Dan Romeo. 

The candidates elected to the board will serve for four years and look after the district’s students. Across all of the K-12 schools and alternative programs, there are 19,000 students under the Board of Education Commissioners. 

Vice President Katie Sojewicz will not be running for re-election but has served on the board since 2015. She first ran for election in 2015 and then again in 2019.  

“My first campaign, we had a superintendent at the time who was very controversial,” Sojewicz said. “So the school board race was very contentious. There were four open seats and 12 people who wanted the endorsement. So it was a lot of work differentiating myself from everybody else.”  

Over the past year, the candidates have kept busy. Early efforts include cold calling, distributing campaign literature and community meetings to get their names and causes out to the public.

Events like town hall discussions and other local gatherings have been key for candidates to meet voters, address questions and familiarize themselves with the interests of the community. Some are specific to the certain positions candidates are running for or general meetings for all of Onondaga County. 

In New York State, candidates must be registered under a party line. In Onondaga County, there are four primary parties: Conservative (C), Democratic (D), Republican (R) and Working Families (WOR) parties. There are six independent parties: Citizens (CIT), CNY Neighbors (CNY), Fairness (FAI), Libertarian (LIB), People First (PFP) and Rebirth SYR (REB) parties. 

Campaigning for elections for Commissioners of Education typically starts at the beginning of the year. Dustin Czarny, elections commissioner for the Onondaga County Democratic Committee, said the designation meeting for candidates is held in January.

After receiving the endorsement from their respective parties, candidates begin their high-intensity campaigns in late spring leading up to election day. 

New York State has historically been a blue state, and the Commissioner of Education elections have swayed the same way. “Democrats tend to win these races because of the high enrollment edge,” Czarny said. 

According to Czarny, early voting turnout depends on the election. For past local elections, 20% voted early, 8% voted absentee, and just over 70% voted in person. Compared to national elections, the turnout between early and absentee voting compared to in-person is even.

“While election day is the big draw for the community, early voting continues to grow,” Czarny said.  

Looking forward to the elected candidates, Sojewicz named three major issues she predicts will be the focus.

“New York State, which we rely heavily on for funding, is going to have a fiscal crisis in a couple of years,” she explained. “That’ll be something they’ll have to pay attention to, like how we make and spend our budget responsibly.”

The other two focuses for the district in the near future are maintaining academic achievement and general student well-being, Sojewicz said.

While candidates gear up for Election Day, a compiled list of voting locations can be found on the Onondaga County Board of Elections website.