Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner has made some adjustments to her administrative staff in part to prepare for the uncertainty surrounding a Trump presidency. The appointments will fill out the final year of her tenure.
Most appointments at this point late in a mayoral administration are typically more significant internally than they are to the public.
Miner asked current corporation counsel Bob Stamey to take back his old job as personnel director. She said this shuffling of staff is more strategic.
“Because given the kind of tumultuous times that are going on and a change in a new [presidential] administration and how that’s going to impact our labor laws and rules and we as a city, I just felt that there was no time to be able to have somebody be behind the learning curve,” Miner said.
Stamey will replace Derrick Thomas, who was appointed by Miner to serve as Syracuse City Court Judge.
Former Onondaga County Court Judge Joe Fahey will take the role of the corporation counsel.
“On a hope and a dream, I called my friend Judge Fahey and said to him ‘Joe, I have one last year in office and I want to make sure that we finish strong,’” Miner said.
Fahey retired last December after serving as an Onondaga County Court Judge for 19 years.
“I do love retirement but I also love the city of Syracuse," Fahey said. "So when the mayor called and asked if I’d be willing to fill in this position for the last year of her administration, I didn’t need a lot of urging."
Before he was elected county court judge, Fahey was in private practice for 20 years. It won’t be hard to get back in the swing of things, Fahey said, adding that he knows that his plate will be full.
“Giving her the best advices I can in terms of some of the issues coming up. There would be issues with respect to Consensus [government modernization group]. There would be issues perhaps with respect to immigration under the new [Trump] administration and how the city addresses that. I have been looking at those issues,” he said.
Fahey said he’ll also be involved in the ongoing legal battle over development of the Inner Harbor.
MINER CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION INTO RUSSIAN HACKING ALLEGATIONS
U.S. intelligence officials are claiming this week that they have more reason to believe in allegations into Russia’s potential hacking to interfere with the U.S. presidential election. Last summer, the Democratic National Committee was hacked.
U.S. intelligence officials said they now believe with a “high level of confidence” that Russian President Vladimir Putin was also connected, according to a Wednesday report from NBC News.
Syracuse Mayor Miner, who serves as an elector, signed a joint request with other electors for an investigation.
“When we have the very bad rock of our democracy, potentially being influenced by an outside party, I think it’s beholden on all Americans to ask our government to investigate that and make the results known to the public,” Miner said. “So we have an understanding because if we can’t trust our campaign systems or that kind of information doesn’t get out to the public, we are eroding a basic tenet of our democracy.”
Electors have a deadline to cast their ballots for President on Dec. 19. Miner concerns haven’t been eased by the positive results with the recent voting recount in several states.
“My candidate Hillary Clinton lost. I have been in elections before where I have candidates I supported had lost and candidates I supported had won. I have never been involved in an election that I know of where there’s been an allegation of a foreign power interfering or trying to sway an election,” Miner said. “Now, whether or not they were successfully doing that is secondary. To the primary question, did that happen? And if so, how should we, as Americans, react to that?”
Miner suggested that Americans and voters weigh in by lending their voices to the ongoing questions by writing letters to elected leaders or editorials to ensure the investigation will happen.
