{"id":1841,"date":"2018-05-31T09:00:33","date_gmt":"2018-05-31T13:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1841"},"modified":"2018-05-30T17:03:27","modified_gmt":"2018-05-30T21:03:27","slug":"ben-walsh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1841","title":{"rendered":"Ben Walsh"},"content":{"rendered":"

How to Rise Above<\/em><\/h1>\n

By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Alice G. Patterson<\/em><\/p>\n

Ben Walsh, 54th mayor of the city of Syracuse, has some words of wisdom for anyone thinking of entering the public service sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important that you don\u2019t predetermine your destiny or pursue one option at the expense of all others,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that thoughtful approach that landed Ben \u2014 a man who strives to lead by example \u2014 where he is now.<\/p>\n

Growing up on the west side of Syracuse, public service was part of everyday life for him. His grandfather, William Walsh, was the city\u2019s mayor from 1962 to 1969. His father, James Walsh, spent time on Syracuse\u2019s common council in the late 1970s and then served as Republican congressman for two decades.<\/p>\n

Despite his political pedigree, Ben didn\u2019t grow up dreaming of being an elected official. It wasn\u2019t until he was working in former Mayor Stephanie Miner\u2019s office that Ben even considered running for public office. He was driven by a desire to enable change and fix problems, and inspired by what people could accomplish when working together toward a common goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were able to accomplish some pretty remarkable things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The tools for change<\/h4>\n

Ben uses the phrase \u201cpublic service\u201d rather than \u201cpolitics\u201d to describe his family\u2019s drive to make a difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they saw something in the community that they felt needed to be changed, they did something about it,\u201d he remembered. \u201cAnd the unique perspective for me was that, oftentimes, they were in a position to actually do something about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now that Ben and his wife, Lindsay, have two daughters of their own, he has a better perspective on the path that led him to public office, he remarked.<\/p>\n

The girls, ages 4 and 8, have already begun to mention issues they think their father should fix. His older daughter has been pointing out dilapidated houses for years, since Ben was working for the city in neighborhood and business development. For a while, she probably pictured her father with a hammer and nails each day, Ben joked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, seeing that she\u2019s very civically conscious, as I look back on my own childhood, I guess I was, too,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard not to be when you live that kind of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduating from Westhill High School, Ben earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in politics from Ithaca College. While he spent some time living in Albany and eventually Ireland, he kept coming back to his hometown. It always felt like home, he remembered.<\/p>\n

From 2003 to 2004, Ben worked at the SUNY Center for Brownfield Studies at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. It was there his passion for cities \u2014 Syracuse, in particular \u2014 crystalized, he said. He returned to school at Syracuse University\u2019s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, where he earned a master\u2019s degree in public administration in 2005.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason I was going back to school was to get those tools to enact the change that I wanted to see in my hometown,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bringing the community together<\/h4>\n

After earning a master\u2019s degree, Ben worked for the Metropolitan Development Association and then the city of Syracuse as deputy commissioner of neighborhood and business development.<\/p>\n

He was inspired by what could be accomplished when the people around him worked together. That\u2019s what drove him toward public service.<\/p>\n

The Hotel Syracuse revitalization project solidified that notion, he said. For twoand-a-half years, he spent every Monday morning working with other members of the venture. Once the financing was in place and the project started officially moving forward, something occurred to Ben.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you took any one of those people out of room, the project wouldn\u2019t have happened,\u201d he said. \u201cThe only way it worked was when everybody was working together. Maybe that sounds a little Pollyanna-ish, but that\u2019s how I felt.\u201d In April 2016, Ben left city hall to work as business development director at the Mackenzie Hughes law firm. Soon after, though, he was drawn back to government work.<\/p>\n

As Mayor Miner\u2019s second term came to a close, Ben wondered who would next take the position. It had to be someone who could bring the community together, he remembered thinking. He believed that, on a smaller scale, he\u2019d accomplished that during his time in Mayor Miner\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cEventually, I came to the conclusion that I was the best person to do it on a city-wide scale,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ben ran a successful mayoral campaign and, on Nov. 7, 2017, won the election with 54 percent of the vote, becoming the first independent mayor in the city\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

He attributes a large part of his success to having run an inclusive campaign. People from different political parties and different parts of the community felt comfortable coming together to support him, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI take a lot of pride in the fact that we brought together a very diverse, broad coalition,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Creating inclusive growth<\/h4>\n

During his campaign, Ben was reminded of something he\u2019d generally been aware of during his six years in Mayor Miner\u2019s administration: despite the billions of dollars invested in the city during that time, some people didn\u2019t feel connected to the economic activity happening in Syracuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cDepending on where you are in the city, you can walk for blocks, knock on doors and talk to people who don\u2019t feel any connection whatsoever from that investment and haven\u2019t benefited from it, frankly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As mayor, Ben hopes to connect those people with their city. He stressed the importance of inclusive growth. His goal is to ensure investment and economic development are done in such a way that opportunity is created for all people, he said.<\/p>\n

He added this extends to minority- and women-owned businesses. It\u2019s important to be intentional in providing opportunities for local business, Ben explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that there are a lot of entrepreneurs and businesses in the city that aren\u2019t exposed to many of the opportunities that are here,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of that just has to do with who\u2019s in your network.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he was growing up, Ben\u2019s mother often talked about the importance of networking, he recalled. As a child, he didn\u2019t put much thought into the concept. Once he got older, though, he began to understand the correlation between networking and opportunities.<\/p>\n

If people stay within their comfort zones and small networks, opportunities stay limited to small groups of people, he explained. He emphasized the importance of being more inclusive and extending opportunities to those who have been historically marginalized.<\/p>\n

Leading by example, Ben extends this philosophy to his office, as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the same way that we have to be intentional about providing opportunities for minority- and women-owned businesses, you have to be intentional about empowering women to take leadership roles in government,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m trying to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like many other industries, in the past, government was a male-dominated sector, but in both his campaign and in the administration, Ben has empowered a significant number of women.<\/p>\n

The first hire of his administration was Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens. The two met years ago, when they worked together in Mayor Miner\u2019s administration. Sharon eventually left to run the Southwest Community Center. Ben was excited to gain her support during his campaign but never thought he\u2019d have the opportunity to bring her on board after he won.<\/p>\n

He was pleasantly surprised when, shortly after he was elected, she expressed interest in joining the team. He hadn\u2019t necessarily planned to have a deputy mayor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t plan to fill it unless I had the right person,\u201d he explained. \u201cWhen I found out that Sharon was an option, it was really the only role that I thought was worthy of her. It happened pretty quickly, and the city is much better off for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting involved<\/h4>\n

While Ben\u2019s path wasn\u2019t always clear, his innate dedication to public service was. Right now, serving as mayor is the best way he can give back, he said, adding that in the future, it could be something completely different.<\/p>\n

For anyone interested in entering the field of public service, the first step is to be an engaged citizen, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cRead the newspaper. Be aware of what\u2019s happening in your own community and be a part of it,\u201d Ben said. \u201cAnd I think, by doing that, you will figure out what the right role for you within the world of public service is.\u201d SWM <\/em><\/p>\n

To connect with Mayor Ben Walsh, visit syrgov.net or email mayor@syrgov.net.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How to Rise Above By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Alice G. Patterson Ben Walsh, 54th mayor of the city of Syracuse, has some words of wisdom for anyone thinking of entering the public service sector. \u201cI think it\u2019s important that you don\u2019t predetermine your destiny or pursue one option at the expense of all…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[146,628,133,327,262,619],"class_list":["post-1841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-alice-g-patterson","tag-ben-walsh","tag-lorna-oppedisano","tag-syracuse","tag-syracuse-woman-magazine","tag-the-man-edition"],"gutentor_comment":2,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/ben-walsh-syracuse-mayor-0017.jpg?fit=5200%2C3470&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1288,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1288","url_meta":{"origin":1841,"position":0},"title":"Annie Taylor","author":"Staff","date":"December 1, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Designing Your Passion By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Alice G. 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