Simpson: Pessimism and distrust on full display in Syracuse regio

SYRACUSE — CenterState CEO president & CEO Robert Simpson believes the area’s civic discourse has “descended to the lowest point” that he can recall since he returned to the area 13 years ago.

“The pessimism and distrust that too often holds us back has been on full display,” said Simpson.

The comments were part of his remarks to conclude the CenterState CEO annual meeting at the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center at Oncenter in Syracuse on April 6.

CenterState CEO dubbed the event, “Disrupt: Challenge the Status Quo.”

In his remarks, Simpson referenced the region’s $500 million award in Gov. Cuomo’s economic-development contract, referring to it as a “once in a generation” investment and added that was “dubbed contributor capitalism by those that seek to delegitimize it.”

He also noted the recent lawsuit that “ground to a halt” the “decades-long quest” to build a waterfront neighborhood at the Inner Harbor. Simpson did not mention either Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner or the City of Syracuse as the plaintiffs that filed the lawsuit. 

Simpson also pointed to the plan to redevelop an abandoned rock quarry in Jamesville into a modern railserve-transportation logistics hub that could create hundreds, if not thousands of jobs, “is almost immediately assailed by an active and well-resourced campaign to stop it.”

He noted that the motivations of 19 “highly respected” volunteers who have worked “openly and transparently” for more than 24 months to help reform local governments in Onondaga County “have been called into question.”

“These are reactions based on fear, not on hope. On cynicism, not on strategy,” said Simpson.

Syracuse “not healthy”
Simpson opened his remarks about the region’s “status quo,” referencing population losses, an “anemic” economy, and the number of people in the region living in poverty.

“Our city is not healthy,” Simpson concluded.

The statistics he referenced included that Syracuse is among 13 of the nation’s 104 largest metropolitan areas that lost population in the last two years, according to “data released last month.”

The population of Onondaga County, Simpson noted, hasn’t changed since 1970.

“A 46-year period of stagnation during which the population of New York state grew 8 percent and the population of [the United States] grew 55 percent,” said Simpson.

The trends for the city of Syracuse look “even worse,” he added. 

In 1920, Syracuse ranked 37th on the list of largest cities in the U.S. with nearly 300,000 people. 

By 1970, it had slipped to 66th, and today, Syracuse ranks as the nation’s 175th largest city, just behind Savannah, Georgia and just ahead of Dayton, Ohio.

The area’s economy has been “similarly anemic,” he said.

Since 1990, the U.S. economy grew 121 percent, but Onondaga County has 26,000 fewer people employed now compared to 25 years ago.

“Not only has job growth lagged, but our workers earn 11 percent less for the same day’s work,” said Simpson.

With the region’s lack of growth, the area’s homes are “worth less” than the national average, and, adjusted for inflation, “actually lost value over the last three years,” he added.

In addition, more than one-third of Syracuse’s residents live below the poverty level, ranking it as the 23rd poorest city in the U.S. 

“Half of Syracuse’s children live in poverty,” Simpson said. 

In Oswego County, that figure is 28 percent, which is more than 50 percent above the national average, he added.

In the city of Syracuse, 43.7 percent of the African-American population and 50 percent of the Hispanic population live in “concentrated poverty,” earning Syracuse the “dubious” distinction of having the highest concentration of poverty among minority populations of any city in the U.S.

Consensus
In the early portion of Simpson’s remarks, he noted the findings of the Consensus Commission on Government Modernization, which indicated that 18 of the 35 towns and villages in Onondaga County lost population between 2000 and 2010. 

And 20 of those municipalities will face a point of fiscal stress in the next decade if “meaningful” steps aren’t taken to reduce spending. 

“That’s not a scare tactic. That’s math,” said Simpson. 

This area’s current system of local government, which consists of 36 municipalities, 57 fire departments, 26 school districts, and 212 independently elected officials, “perpetuates a culture of fragmentation and parochialism that divides us.”

That’s despite the fact that “we are truly an interdependent community,” he noted, where 82 percent of suburban residents work in a different municipality than where they live, with many commuting to the city where the largest employers and economic engines are located. 

“Ladies and gentleman, this is our status quo in this region,” said Simpson.

He then returned to the government-consolidation idea in the final portion of his remarks.

Instead of talking about the continued decline of the 175th largest city in America, Simpson wondered if the community could envision a metropolitan Syracuse, a new and modern government formed by the city and county, towns, and villages, that “embraced the values of better government, economic growth, and equitable representation for all.” 

Simpson says that the new city would become the second largest in New York state overnight, and the 38th largest in the U.S., reclaiming a position it held nearly 100 years ago. 

“That is a strategy. It’s a vision. A path forward,” contended Simpson.  

SYRACUSE — CenterState CEO president & CEO Robert Simpson believes the area’s civic discourse has “descended to the lowest point” that he can recall since he returned to the area 13 years ago.

“The pessimism and distrust that too often holds us back has been on full display,” said Simpson.

The comments were part of his remarks to conclude the CenterState CEO annual meeting at the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center at Oncenter in Syracuse on April 6.

CenterState CEO dubbed the event, “Disrupt: Challenge the Status Quo.”

In his remarks, Simpson referenced the region’s $500 million award in Gov. Cuomo’s economic-development contract, referring to it as a “once in a generation” investment and added that was “dubbed contributor capitalism by those that seek to delegitimize it.”

He also noted the recent lawsuit that “ground to a halt” the “decades-long quest” to build a waterfront neighborhood at the Inner Harbor. Simpson did not mention either Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner or the City of Syracuse as the plaintiffs that filed the lawsuit. 

Simpson also pointed to the plan to redevelop an abandoned rock quarry in Jamesville into a modern railserve-transportation logistics hub that could create hundreds, if not thousands of jobs, “is almost immediately assailed by an active and well-resourced campaign to stop it.”

He noted that the motivations of 19 “highly respected” volunteers who have worked “openly and transparently” for more than 24 months to help reform local governments in Onondaga County “have been called into question.”

“These are reactions based on fear, not on hope. On cynicism, not on strategy,” said Simpson.

Syracuse “not healthy”
Simpson opened his remarks about the region’s “status quo,” referencing population losses, an “anemic” economy, and the number of people in the region living in poverty.

“Our city is not healthy,” Simpson concluded.

The statistics he referenced included that Syracuse is among 13 of the nation’s 104 largest metropolitan areas that lost population in the last two years, according to “data released last month.”

The population of Onondaga County, Simpson noted, hasn’t changed since 1970.

“A 46-year period of stagnation during which the population of New York state grew 8 percent and the population of [the United States] grew 55 percent,” said Simpson.

The trends for the city of Syracuse look “even worse,” he added. 

In 1920, Syracuse ranked 37th on the list of largest cities in the U.S. with nearly 300,000 people. 

By 1970, it had slipped to 66th, and today, Syracuse ranks as the nation’s 175th largest city, just behind Savannah, Georgia and just ahead of Dayton, Ohio.

The area’s economy has been “similarly anemic,” he said.

Since 1990, the U.S. economy grew 121 percent, but Onondaga County has 26,000 fewer people employed now compared to 25 years ago.

“Not only has job growth lagged, but our workers earn 11 percent less for the same day’s work,” said Simpson.

With the region’s lack of growth, the area’s homes are “worth less” than the national average, and, adjusted for inflation, “actually lost value over the last three years,” he added.

In addition, more than one-third of Syracuse’s residents live below the poverty level, ranking it as the 23rd poorest city in the U.S. 

“Half of Syracuse’s children live in poverty,” Simpson said. 

In Oswego County, that figure is 28 percent, which is more than 50 percent above the national average, he added.

In the city of Syracuse, 43.7 percent of the African-American population and 50 percent of the Hispanic population live in “concentrated poverty,” earning Syracuse the “dubious” distinction of having the highest concentration of poverty among minority populations of any city in the U.S.

Consensus
In the early portion of Simpson’s remarks, he noted the findings of the Consensus Commission on Government Modernization, which indicated that 18 of the 35 towns and villages in Onondaga County lost population between 2000 and 2010. 

And 20 of those municipalities will face a point of fiscal stress in the next decade if “meaningful” steps aren’t taken to reduce spending. 

“That’s not a scare tactic. That’s math,” said Simpson. 

This area’s current system of local government, which consists of 36 municipalities, 57 fire departments, 26 school districts, and 212 independently elected officials, “perpetuates a culture of fragmentation and parochialism that divides us.”

That’s despite the fact that “we are truly an interdependent community,” he noted, where 82 percent of suburban residents work in a different municipality than where they live, with many commuting to the city where the largest employers and economic engines are located. 

“Ladies and gentleman, this is our status quo in this region,” said Simpson.

He then returned to the government-consolidation idea in the final portion of his remarks.

Instead of talking about the continued decline of the 175th largest city in America, Simpson wondered if the community could envision a metropolitan Syracuse, a new and modern government formed by the city and county, towns, and villages, that “embraced the values of better government, economic growth, and equitable representation for all.” 

Simpson says that the new city would become the second largest in New York state overnight, and the 38th largest in the U.S., reclaiming a position it held nearly 100 years ago. 

“That is a strategy. It’s a vision. A path forward,” contended Simpson.