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Dems advance just one Syracuse school board incumbent, all in Rochester
September 11, 2015
By Abbey Smith
Four of the six incumbents running to retain their seats as education commissioners in Rochester and Syracuse won in the Democratic primaries on Thursday. All three incumbents seeking another term in Rochester won, but only one Syracuse incumbent received enough votes to advance to the general election as a Democratic candidate.[1][2]
The Democratic primaries were the only primaries held in the two school districts as no more than four candidates filed to run for any other party. Incumbents Malik Evans, Mary Adams and Willa Powell and challenger Elizabeth Hallmark won in Rochester. They defeated challengers Howard Eagle, Mia Hodgins, Matthew McDermott and Lorenzo Williams.[1] This was Eagle's sixth and final try to get a seat on the board. He said he respects the voters' decision not to put him on the board even if he does not understand it. Instead of running again, he said he will become a political mentor.[3] Hodgins had also run for the board previously; she was unsuccessful in 2011 and 2013, as well.[4][5]
In Syracuse, incumbent Mark Muhammad and challengers Katie Sojewicz, Daniel Romeo and Rita Paniagua won the primary, defeating incumbents Michelle Mignano and Max Ruckdeschel.[2] Ruckdeschel had been designated as one of the four candidates chosen by the Onondaga County Democratic Committee. Mignano, along with Paniagua, had filed petitions to get on the ballot as a Democratic candidate, which mandated a primary election.[6][7]
The winners automatically advance to the general election, where they join any candidates who filed with a different party that did not hold a primary. They will also face cross-filing candidates. In Rochester, Evans, Adams, Powell and Hallmark will face challenger Matthew McDermott. Though McDermott lost the Democratic primary by receiving the fifth-most votes, he cross-filed with the Working Families Party. He will appear on the general election ballot under that party designation.[1][3]
Eight candidates will compete for four seats in the Syracuse general election. Muhammad, Sojewicz, Romeo and Paniagua will face incumbent Max Ruckdeschel and challengers Latoya Allen, Raymond Blackwell and Caleb Duncan. Like McDermott, Ruckdeschel cross-filed with the Working Families Party, allowing him to appear on the general election ballot under that designation. Allen is running for the Working Families Party, and Blackwell and Duncan are Green Party candidates.[8][9][10]
Candidates
Note: An (i) next to a candidate's name indicates incumbent status.
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Rochester City School District: |
Syracuse City School District: |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Monroe County Clerk, "2015 Monroe Primary Unofficial Results," accessed September 10, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Onondaga County Clerk, "Onondaga County Election Results: Primary Election September 10, 2015," accessed September 10, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Democrat & Chronicle, "Incumbents, Hallmark prevail for city school board," September 10, 2015
- ↑ Monroe County Board of Elections, "2013 General Election Certification," accessed July 16, 2015
- ↑ Monroe County Board of Elections, "2011 General Election Certification," accessed July 16, 2015
- ↑ Onondaga Democratic Committee, "2015 Democratic Candidates," accessed July 24, 2015
- ↑ Onondaga County Board of Elections, "Primary Candidate List: September 10, 2015," July 27, 2015
- ↑ Working Families Party, "2015 Candidates: Central NY," accessed August 7, 2015
- ↑ Green Party of the United States, "Press Releases: Greens Designate City Candidates," May 18, 2015
- ↑ Syracuse.com, "3 Democrats will battle in September primary to replace Assemblyman Roberts," July 9, 2015
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