SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- They were once opponents with their eyes set on the top job at Syracuse City Hall. Now Joe Nicoletti and Juanita Perez Williams are allies.
"It became my opinion that we needed to unite for the betterment of this city,” Nicoletti explained. “This isn't about me. It never was. It was about what we were trying to accomplish."
On Primary day, despite having the Democratic committee's endorsement, Nicoletti came up short. However, he still had the backing of the Working Families Party. After some thought, though, he decided to suspend his campaign and support Perez Williams.
"We should have party unity,” Nicoletti added, “We should support the ticket from top down. We should be supporting our candidate for mayor."
"We're here to talk about the future. That future is with another great progressive in this community. You're very fortunate in this community to have Juanita Perez Williams," said Working Families Party Upstate Region Political Director Ken Warner.
Perez Williams accepted the endorsement, calling Nicoletti a friend while thanking him for his many years of public service to the community.
"We all know you love this city,” Perez Wililams said, "and I need you to help me get over the finish line and to keep this party together and to keep this city together, and to keep us all on the same page. So, thank you, thank you very much for that."
The work is just beginning for the Working Families Party. Nicoletti's name may still appear on the ballot. The goal now is to get his name off and Perez Williams' name on, which can be a difficult process.
"There are usually only two options,” Warner explained. “One is that the person has to move out of the jurisdiction, the second is that they have to die. We're not asking Joe to do either of those things. What we are doing: We have a legal team looking at some of the precedents that there are."
The plan is to prepare a briefing for the State Board of Elections.
Other candidates running for Syracuse mayor include Republican candidate Laura Lavine; Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins; and Ben Walsh, who is running on the Independence, Reform Party and Upstate Jobs lines.