United States Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus) and new Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh have started off with better relations than the congressman and former Mayor Stephanie Miner did.

Katko told Syracuse.com earlier this month that he and Walsh have had open communication throughout Walsh’s first several months in office.

Walsh has previously said his administration has had meetings with federal and state officials, including Katko. Katko and Miner had a tense relationship when she was in office, including an incident in which a Katko spokeswoman called Miner a “failed politician” in June of last year.

Miner considered running against Katko in the 2018 midterm congressional elections. Instead, Miner declined to run, and Dana Balter, a visiting assistant teaching professor at Syracuse University, is currently the leading Democratic candidate.

Miner even said in August 2016 that she and Katko had not had any sort of governmental relations since shortly after he was elected, in 2015, according to Syracuse.com. Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney also had a tense relationship with Miner, but her relations with Walsh have been friendlier.

Though Katko endorsed Republican candidate Laura Lavine during the mayoral race, he also said he would pursue a relationship with any winner, according to CNY Central.

“No matter who the next mayor is, we’re going to have to address issues jointly, not separately,” Katko said in September.  

Katko said he specifically wanted to handle issues such as poverty, crime, infrastructure and education quality with the new mayor, who at the time was not yet elected.

Katko has spoken favorably of the communication he has had with Walsh, Syracuse.com reported. He said they speak at least once a month and exchange text messages about government affairs.

“It’s extraordinarily refreshing,” Katko said of his discussions with the mayor, according to Syracuse.com. “We don’t always agree on every issue, but we have a firm commitment to help each other as much as we can.”

Katko said Walsh will have a “very tough job” in his first year or two in office, but the congressman will help him when he can. Walsh said in his January “state of the city” address that the city is expected to have a major deficit next year.

Much like Katko, Mahoney vowed to begin her relationship with the new Syracuse mayor on a “clean slate” and has so far followed through on her promise. Mahoney, a Republican, did not endorse a candidate in the 2017 mayoral race.

While the former mayor was in office, Miner and Mahoney publicly exchanged blows over economic development initiatives, sanctuary cities and the Consensus commission’s city-county merger proposal.

Two days after Walsh’s election, Mahoney told Syracuse.com she was “re-energized” by the prospect of collaboration with the new mayor.   

“I’ve already got a file on my desk that has his name on it,” Mahoney said. “I’m getting my agenda ready.”

Published on March 26, 2018 at 8:40 pm

Contact Catherine: ccleffer@syr.edu | @ccleffert