Ben Walsh

Ben Walsh
Walsh in 2022
Ben Walsh
Born	Benjamin R. Walsh
Birthplace	Syracuse, New York, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Politician, public administrator
Known for	54th Mayor of Syracuse, New York
Education	Ithaca College (BA) Syracuse University (MPA)

Benjamin R. Walsh (born in Syracuse, New York) is an American politician and public administrator who served as the 54th Mayor of Syracuse, New York, from January 6, 2018, to December 31, 2025. Running as an independent candidate with endorsements from the Independence Party and the Reform Party, Walsh became the first person elected mayor of Syracuse without the backing of either major political party since Louis Will won the office in 1913. His victory in the November 2017 election drew attention both locally and statewide as an unusual example of an independent candidacy succeeding in a city long dominated by the Democratic Party. During his tenure, Walsh pursued a range of economic development, infrastructure, and public safety initiatives, including the "Syracuse Surge" plan, police reform measures, and efforts to reshape the city's business corridors. He is a member of a prominent Syracuse political family: his grandfather, William F. Walsh, served as mayor of Syracuse and later as a member of the United States Congress, and his father, James T. Walsh, represented central New York in Congress for two decades.

Early Life

Benjamin R. Walsh was born and raised in Syracuse, New York, into one of the city's most well-known political families. His grandfather, William F. Walsh, served as the mayor of Syracuse and later represented central New York in the U.S. House of Representatives. His father, James T. Walsh, served as a Republican member of Congress representing New York's 25th congressional district from 1989 to 2009. Growing up in this environment, Walsh was exposed to civic life and public service from an early age, though he would ultimately chart a political path distinct from the Republican affiliation of his forebears.

Walsh's upbringing in Syracuse provided him with a firsthand understanding of the city's challenges and opportunities. Syracuse, a mid-sized city in upstate New York, had experienced decades of economic transition as manufacturing industries declined. The city's struggles with poverty, population loss, and aging infrastructure would later become central themes in Walsh's political career. Despite his family's Republican roots, Walsh positioned himself as a nonpartisan figure, seeking to appeal broadly across political lines during his eventual campaign for mayor.

Education

Walsh attended Ithaca College, located in Ithaca, New York, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He subsequently pursued graduate studies at Syracuse University, one of the major research institutions in his hometown, where he obtained a Master of Public Administration (MPA). His graduate education in public administration provided a formal foundation in governance, policy analysis, and organizational management that would prove relevant to his subsequent career in city government and, ultimately, his service as mayor.

Career

Pre-Mayoral Career

Before seeking the mayoralty, Walsh built a career in public service and city administration. He served in various roles within Syracuse city government and in positions connected to economic development and community affairs in the region. His professional background included work in the administration of the city of Syracuse, where he gained experience in areas such as neighborhood development and intergovernmental relations. This experience within the machinery of local government gave Walsh familiarity with the operational and bureaucratic aspects of running a city, which he would later emphasize as a qualification during his mayoral campaign.

Walsh's work in city government provided him with relationships across political and community lines. Despite his family's long association with the Republican Party, Walsh cultivated a reputation as someone willing to work with individuals and organizations regardless of partisan affiliation. This approach would become a central element of his identity as a candidate and later as mayor.

2017 Mayoral Election

In 2017, Walsh announced his candidacy for mayor of Syracuse as an independent, running without the endorsement of either the Democratic or Republican parties. He secured the nominations of the Independence Party and the Reform Party for his campaign. His decision to run as an independent was notable in a city where the Democratic Party had maintained a dominant position in local politics for decades. Walsh framed his candidacy as an alternative to partisan politics, arguing that Syracuse's challenges required pragmatic, nonideological solutions.

The race pitted Walsh against Democrat Juanita Perez Williams, who had won the Democratic primary, as well as other candidates. Walsh's campaign emphasized his experience in city government, his knowledge of Syracuse's neighborhoods, and his family's long roots in the community. At the same time, he had to navigate the complexities of his family's Republican legacy in a heavily Democratic city. Walsh sought to distinguish himself from both parties, presenting his independence as an asset rather than a liability.

On November 7, 2017, Walsh won the general election, defeating Perez Williams and becoming the mayor-elect of Syracuse. The final results of the election were certified by the Onondaga County Board of Elections. Walsh's victory made him only the second mayor in Syracuse history to win without the backing of either major party, the first being Louis Will in 1913. The result attracted considerable media attention as an example of successful independent politics in a period of intense partisan polarization nationally.

Mayor of Syracuse (2018–2025)

Walsh was inaugurated as the 54th Mayor of Syracuse on January 6, 2018, succeeding Stephanie Miner. His administration pursued a broad agenda focused on economic development, infrastructure modernization, neighborhood revitalization, and public safety reform. Over his two terms in office, Walsh launched several high-profile initiatives aimed at reversing decades of economic stagnation in the city.

Syracuse Surge

In January 2019, Walsh unveiled what he described as the most significant economic development plan in the city's history, known as the "Syracuse Surge." The initiative was designed to position Syracuse as a hub for the growing technology economy, with a focus on workforce development, infrastructure investment, and innovation. The Syracuse Surge encompassed multiple components, including efforts to expand broadband internet access, attract technology companies, and invest in education and job training programs to prepare Syracuse residents for careers in the digital economy.

One component of the Syracuse Surge's education focus involved the development of a new STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) high school in the city. In April 2021, it was announced that Amazon would contribute $1.75 million toward the creation of the new Syracuse STEAM high school, a significant private-sector investment in the city's public education infrastructure.

The city's efforts to position itself in the technology sector also received external validation. In February 2019, Syracuse was awarded $500,000 to serve as New York State's flagship "Smart City," a designation that recognized the city's commitment to using technology and data to improve municipal services and quality of life. Additionally, JPMorgan Chase selected Syracuse as one of five cities to receive a $3 million grant aimed at promoting technology-sector job development.

Business Corridor Development

In January 2020, Walsh announced plans to concentrate new city development efforts along ten designated business corridors throughout Syracuse. The corridor strategy was designed to direct public and private investment into specific geographic areas in order to maximize the impact of development spending and to revitalize neighborhoods that had experienced disinvestment. By targeting resources along these corridors, the administration sought to create visible improvements in commercial activity, streetscape quality, and neighborhood livability across multiple parts of the city rather than concentrating growth in the downtown core alone.

Police Reform and Public Safety

The issue of police reform became a prominent aspect of Walsh's administration, particularly following the nationwide protests and calls for change that emerged in the summer of 2020 in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. In June 2020, Walsh issued his first executive order as mayor, unveiling a package of reforms to the Syracuse Police Department. The executive order addressed a range of issues related to police use of force, transparency, accountability, and community engagement. The reforms were shaped in part by the recommendations of a community review process.

Prior to the executive order, Walsh had convened a process to examine police-community relations and develop recommendations for reform. The resulting report provided a framework for the policy changes outlined in the executive order.

Walsh also promoted community violence intervention (CVI) strategies as part of his public safety approach. The city's CVI initiative sought to reduce gun violence through community-based interventions, outreach workers, and partnerships with local organizations, rather than relying solely on traditional law enforcement methods.

Columbus Statue and Public Monuments

In October 2020, Walsh announced the decision to remove the Christopher Columbus statue from Columbus Circle in downtown Syracuse and to rename the traffic circle. The decision came amid a broader national debate over public monuments and their relationship to histories of colonialism and racial injustice. The removal generated significant public discussion in Syracuse, with supporters arguing that the statue was an inappropriate celebration of a historical figure associated with the oppression of Indigenous peoples, and opponents contending that it represented Italian-American heritage and cultural pride. Walsh defended the decision as part of an effort to make the city's public spaces more inclusive and reflective of the broader community.

End of Mayoral Tenure

Walsh served as mayor until December 31, 2025, and was succeeded by Sharon Owens. Over the course of his tenure, Walsh governed as an independent in a city with a strong Democratic voter registration advantage, an approach that required building coalitions across partisan lines on the Common Council and with state and federal officials. His administration's emphasis on economic development, technology, and public safety reform defined the major policy contours of his years in office.

Personal Life

Walsh is a lifelong resident of Syracuse, New York. He comes from a family with deep roots in Syracuse politics. His grandfather, William F. Walsh, served as mayor of Syracuse and subsequently as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives. His father, James T. Walsh, served as a Republican member of Congress representing central New York from 1989 to 2009. Despite this family legacy within the Republican Party, Walsh chose to pursue his political career as an independent, declining to affiliate with either major party.

Walsh has maintained his residence in Syracuse throughout his career in public service. His personal connection to the city and its neighborhoods was a recurring theme during his campaigns and his time in office.

Recognition

Walsh's 2017 election victory attracted attention as a rare example of a successful independent mayoral campaign in a mid-sized American city. The fact that he was the first independent mayor of Syracuse in more than a century was noted by local, regional, and national media outlets covering the race.

During his time as mayor, Syracuse received several notable external recognitions that reflected the city's efforts under his administration. The selection of Syracuse as New York State's flagship Smart City in 2019, accompanied by a $500,000 award, represented recognition of the city's technology and innovation agenda. The JPMorgan Chase grant of $3 million for technology-sector job development further validated the city's economic development strategy. The Amazon contribution of $1.75 million toward the Syracuse STEAM high school represented a significant private-sector investment in the city's educational infrastructure.

Walsh's ability to govern effectively as an independent in a city dominated by the Democratic Party was itself a subject of commentary among political observers and analysts of local government. His administration's approach to building cross-partisan coalitions and pursuing pragmatic policy solutions was cited as an example of the potential for nonpartisan governance at the municipal level.

Legacy

Walsh's tenure as mayor of Syracuse is defined by several intersecting themes: the viability of independent politics at the local level, ambitious economic development planning through the Syracuse Surge, responses to national crises including police reform and the debate over public monuments, and efforts to modernize city services through technology.

His election in 2017 demonstrated that an independent candidate could win the mayoralty of a significant American city, even one with a strong partisan lean. The last time such a result had occurred in Syracuse was in 1913, and Walsh's victory prompted discussion about the role of party affiliation in municipal governance and the appetite among voters for alternatives to the two-party system.

The Syracuse Surge represented the administration's most ambitious policy initiative, seeking to reposition a city that had experienced prolonged economic challenges as a participant in the technology-driven economy. While the full effects of such long-term economic development strategies take years to materialize, the initiative attracted notable investments from entities including Amazon and JPMorgan Chase, and the Smart City designation provided a framework for the integration of technology into municipal operations.

Walsh's police reform executive order and community violence intervention initiatives placed Syracuse among the American cities actively pursuing changes to public safety policy during a period of intense national scrutiny of policing practices. The removal of the Columbus statue situated Syracuse within the broader national reckoning over public monuments and historical memory.

Walsh was succeeded as mayor on December 31, 2025, by Sharon Owens, marking the end of an eight-year tenure that had begun with an improbable independent campaign and encompassed a period of significant policy activity and national upheaval.