Ben Walsh, an independent candidate for Syracuse mayor, upset Laura Lavine, the sole Republican candidate, in her bid to also appear on the Independence Party ticket this November.

Walsh garnered 146 votes as a write-in candidate, according to official primary results released by the Onondaga County Board of Elections after Election Night. Lavine only received 86 votes.

Ben Walsh is a former deputy commissioner of the city’s department of neighborhood and business development. Walsh is a registered independent.

Walsh will also appear on the Reform Party ticket in November after garnering about 80 percent of that vote. Following the primary, Walsh said he is confident of his chances in the general election.

“Running as an independent, it’s an uphill battle,” Walsh said. “And, it’s specifically not the path to victory. We’ve worked real hard and we went from not having any direct line to the ballot.”

Walsh, 37, comes from a family with deep Republican ties — his father was a United States congressman and his grandfather was mayor of Syracuse.

Lavine, 61, has received support from major Republican Party representatives, including Onondaga County Joanie Mahoney and Ed Cox, the state Republican Party leader.

“It was interesting because Ben Walsh introduces himself and describes himself as an independent candidate, and it’s confusing to people,” Lavine said, when asked about her reaction to losing the Independence ticket primary.

At present, there are four people vying for the mayoral office: Democratic candidate Juanita Perez Williams, Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins, Lavine and Walsh. The general election will be held Nov. 7.

— Assistant News Editors Sam Ogozalek and Kennedy Rose contributed reporting to this article.

Published on October 1, 2017 at 10:27 pm

Contact Kerri: kmcanene@syr.edu