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There is already extensive coverage and discussion about Tim Rudd, the former budget director for the city of Syracuse. As a resident Black woman aiming to enter local politics here, I intend to speak directly to the community and mayoral candidates. I don’t intend to debate or engage in a counterargument.

To put it plainly, there was nothing necessary about using phrases rooted in colonialism when addressing Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens, a Black woman.

Events of the past few weeks have escalated quickly, starting with allegations surrounding Advanced IT and Ernst & Young. The whistleblower complaint alleges that Advanced IT was given close to one million dollars, but without a work assignment from the city. The allegations claim EY was conducting the actual work and that Advanced IT realized they were being used as a pass through to secure the city’s business.

The focus should have remained on transparency regarding how government funds are spent and why the current administration did not take action when first hearing of the accusations.

Instead, the public witnessed it veer into attacks and unjust comments toward others, including a particularly racist rampage against Owens.

Rudd’s remarks are not what Syracuse needs from a potential leader. His comments labeled the Deputy Mayor a “slave breaker,” referencing the act of breaking the will of enslaved people, despite being part of addressing how he intended to win over Black voters.

Rudd made similar comments about Mayor Ben Walsh, stating that he and Walsh are both alumni of the “Willie Lynch School of Public Policy,” a term stemming from divisive methods used to control enslaved people.
Rudd didn’t solely insult his peers, but the voting base as a whole, implying that Black voters like myself don’t have autonomy in the voting process; thus, equating us to slaves within his narrative.

I ask for accountability from the city, including Rudd. The whistleblower sent in the complaint three months ago. During that time, Rudd still held his position as the city’s budget director and information showing misuse of funds would have come to his attention before he was placed on paid leave on Jan. 31, as his job required him to flag suspicious transactions.

Rudd, as budget director, was in a position to catch this before it became a scandal. If he did raise concerns internally, the lack of further action is beyond frustrating. His failure to act rings ironic as he accuses the city of a lack of commitment to transparency. Both Owens and Rudd are opponents for the next mayor of Syracuse, and his pointed targeting reflects similar recent comments thrown at Vice President Kamala Harris during her presidential campaign.

Rather than fostering conversations on accountability within our local government and valid concerns from Rudd on financial transparency, he used his platform and voice to target Owens.

This kind of political deflection is nothing new, but it should never become the norm. There’s no place for unregulated accusations or dangerous rhetoric in media or politics, yet we’ve seen an overwhelming number of articles amplifying Rudd’s attacks while failing to fully address the harm caused when a government official uses racist remarks.

Parallel to this, there’s been no press release from the city condemning these statements or from other mayoral candidates such as Pat Hogan, who has worked in city hall since the start of Owens’s term.

Their silence speaks volumes. If this is how our next mayoral election is beginning, with allowing racist rhetoric to overshadow relevant conversations on government accountability, then it’s on us, as a community, to demand better.

Sarhia Rahim is a senior policy studies major. Her column appears bi-weekly. She can be reached at slrahim@syr.edu.

Published on February 12, 2025 at 10:17 pm