Mahoney concedes election, thanks supporters
Daily Orange
By Stephanie Veale and Christine Show
Joanie Mahoney, Republican candidate for Syracuse mayor, walked into the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel and Conference Center conference room at 10:45 p.m. Tuesday with an entourage lined up by her side.
"I don't know if you know, but I have a big family," Mahoney said to her supporters, who fanned out around the podium where she stood. Mahoney laughed, gesturing to her husband, her 10-year-old son, Jack, and the array of in-laws, cousins and other relatives behind her.
"Joan-ie! Joan-ie!" Mahoney's supporters chanted, even though Mahoney had lost the election to Democrat incumbent Mayor Matt Driscoll, 15,766 votes to 14,608, according to News 10 Now, which was broadcasting the results at the event.
Mahoney's supporters only stopped chanting when Mahoney looked ready to start her concession speech. She held her chin up and spoke frankly to the crowd.
"My campaign was about building up, not tearing down, this community," Mahoney said. She congratulated Driscoll and recognized the efforts of Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins.
As Mahoney stepped away from the lectern and made her way through the packed room, supporters stopped her every other step. She hooked her chin over the shoulder of one supporter she seemed to know, saying, "I feel good."
While Mahoney said Driscoll deserved to be happy about his win, she told News Channel 9 he should not see his victory as flawless by any means.
Before Mahoney showed up at what was supposed to be her victory party, one supporter lamented Hawkins' effect on Mahoney's campaign.
"I really feel that Howie Hawkins should not have been in the debates," said Katherine Stadelmann, assistant to the chairman of the Onondaga County Republican Party, citing he only ended up receiving 5 percent of the vote. The attention Hawkins got from the media, Stadelmann said, gave him extra momentum and may have detracted from Mahoney's airtime.
Stadelmann said she felt depressed at Mahoney's loss.
"How are we going to grow? How is it going to be any better?" Stadelmann said, shaking her head at the prospect of another four years of Driscoll as mayor. "It's just going to continue on the decline we've already got."
Mahoney said her four children are OK with the loss.
"We warned our kids all along," Mahoney said.
All four of Mahoney's children are boys under the age of 10. Jack, her oldest, stood next to her during her speech and most of her interviews with local news media. The other three, Mahoney said, were upstairs playing PlayStation.
Mahoney told reporters she will still play a part in making Syracuse a better city, despite her loss. She said it's too early for her to tell whether she plans on running for mayor again in four years.
"We were expecting to be successful, so we really have no plan," Mahoney said, adding that she and her team will regroup today.
The Republican Party may have lost the bid for mayor, but it didn't walk away empty-handed.
Cheers filled the room as voting results revealed Republican candidate Chuck Iavarone, 23, was victorious in the Salina town supervisor race against incumbent Mary Ann Schadt. And Iavarone, who said others had criticized him for being young, was already planning to get to work in his new position.
"We need to put together a team to (discuss) issues in this town," he said. "We need to come together as a town. I'm feeling positive."
Republican candidate Otis Jennings, who lost to Bethaida Gonzalez by 18 percent for Common Council president, was unfazed about the outcome, hoping to learn from his first experience in a Syracuse election.
"I'm going to take a page out of Chuck Iavarone's book," Jennings said. "Anyone can be a great winner, but when you lose, you have to lose with dignity."
Although he was disappointed in his loss, Jennings was optimistic about his future in Syracuse politics.
"I thought I had a chance," he said. "Abraham Lincoln lost his presidency how many times before he won? I'll be back again, no doubt."
Those on Jennings' campaign staff echoed his belief that this election was only the beginning.
"The numbers resonate his message," said Corey Mitchell, a staff member for Jennings' campaign. "We'll come back bigger and better. We're timeless. It's definitely not the end of Republicans in this city."
Posted by syracusegreens at November 9, 2005 06:23 PM