Spring Break
The Daily OrangeKimatian bows out, thanks supporters
By Julia Terruso
Posted: 11/4/09, 3:36 AM EST Section: News
As election results came in Tuesday, most of the crowd at Steve Kimatian's headquarters stayed glued to the TV. But as the numbers dipped, one young woman had to excuse herself from the crowded room.
Toma Grigoryan, a campaign volunteer and May graduate of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, had been working for mayoral candidate Kimatian since the primaries.
"I can't sit there and just watch the numbers roll in like that," she said. "You work for so long on something like this, it's rough."
Grigoryan was one of nearly 100 campaign volunteers and supporters who gathered Tuesday in Kimatian's headquarters on North Midler Avenue.
Kimatian, the Republican candidate, lost the Syracuse race for mayor to Democrat Stephanie Miner.
"We ran a very good race and though we did not win, we did a lot of things together and we made a lot of friends," Kimatian said. "And we set a course that we thought was best for the city."
The defeat makes Miner Syracuse's first female mayor.
Otis Jennings, longtime city parks and recreation commissioner, also lost in the three-candidate race. Jennings was running on the Conservative Party ticket.
Miner won the race with 11,253 votes, 50 percent of the total, according to unofficial results from the Onondaga County Board of Elections.
Kimatian lost with 8,817 votes, 39 percent of the total. Jennings lost with 2,314 votes, 10 percent of the total, according to the Onondaga County Board of Elections.
In Syracuse, Kimatian, 68, is best known for his career as a TV executive, lawyer and philanthropist. He hosted a TV show on NewsChannel 9, "With Steve on Sunday," and he worked as general counsel to Newport Television, until he announced his candidacy for mayor in April.
He did not say whether he would return to work for Newport Television.
As for politics, Kimatian is a Syracuse political novice. His only other brush with politics was a 1980 run for a seat in the Maryland State Legislature. But he beat Otis Jennings in an upset primary Sept. 15.
Toma Grigoryan, a campaign volunteer and May graduate of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, had been working for mayoral candidate Kimatian since the primaries.
"I can't sit there and just watch the numbers roll in like that," she said. "You work for so long on something like this, it's rough."
Grigoryan was one of nearly 100 campaign volunteers and supporters who gathered Tuesday in Kimatian's headquarters on North Midler Avenue.
Kimatian, the Republican candidate, lost the Syracuse race for mayor to Democrat Stephanie Miner.
"We ran a very good race and though we did not win, we did a lot of things together and we made a lot of friends," Kimatian said. "And we set a course that we thought was best for the city."
The defeat makes Miner Syracuse's first female mayor.
Otis Jennings, longtime city parks and recreation commissioner, also lost in the three-candidate race. Jennings was running on the Conservative Party ticket.
Miner won the race with 11,253 votes, 50 percent of the total, according to unofficial results from the Onondaga County Board of Elections.
Kimatian lost with 8,817 votes, 39 percent of the total. Jennings lost with 2,314 votes, 10 percent of the total, according to the Onondaga County Board of Elections.
In Syracuse, Kimatian, 68, is best known for his career as a TV executive, lawyer and philanthropist. He hosted a TV show on NewsChannel 9, "With Steve on Sunday," and he worked as general counsel to Newport Television, until he announced his candidacy for mayor in April.
He did not say whether he would return to work for Newport Television.
As for politics, Kimatian is a Syracuse political novice. His only other brush with politics was a 1980 run for a seat in the Maryland State Legislature. But he beat Otis Jennings in an upset primary Sept. 15.
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