VOTE TO LIMIT RENT HIKES BY JUNE 24!
It’s the LAST DAY to vote – find your poll site HERE!
Syracuse is 61% tenants, and we’re using the June 14-24 elections to win Good Cause protections that limit rent hikes and protect lease renewals. We have the only Council in the state to vote it down — but we can change that if we vote together.
SIGN THE PETITION
The current Council is split 5-4 against Good Cause. It’s close! About 8,000 people will vote in the June election, and the last one was decided by only 54 votes. If we form a 1,000-tenant voting bloc, we’ll have the numbers we need to win. Sign to grow the bloc, get info on when and how to vote for Good Cause, and show City leaders how strong our mandate is!
SIgn up to Volunteer
The only way we win Good Cause is by talking to thousands of our neighbors by June 24! Sign up for an upcoming canvass, and we’ll help you get trained and paired up with a seasoned canvasser.
UPCOMING CANVASSES
Want to help in other ways? Sign up here to join the campaign as a volunteer and learn about how you can help with data entry, outreach, research, communications and other roles!
The Candidates
Here’s which city candidates committed to passing Good Cause protections that limit rent hikes and protect lease renewals to keep renters in our homes.
AT-LARGE COUNCIL
The two candidates with the most votes will win. At least one Good Cause supporter must win for us to have a majority.
| Good Cause | Funding | |
|---|---|---|
| Hanah Ehrenreich Democrat, WFP | ✅✅ Strong Yes Ehrenreich strongly supports Good Cause. | Awaiting May BOE Filings |
| Hasahn Bloodworth Democrat | ✅ Yes Bloodworth supports Good Cause. | Awaiting May BOE Filings |
| Rasheada Caldwell Democrat | ❌❌ Against Caldwell has voted against Good Cause. | Awaiting May BOE Filings |
| Amir Gethers Democrat | ❌❌ Against Gethers has voted against Good Cause. | Awaiting May BOE Filings |
MAYORAL PRIMARY
The Mayor can veto laws they don’t like, and has a lot of power to decide what gets voted on. Marty Walsh is not running for re-election, so this is an open seat.
| Good Cause | Funding | |
|---|---|---|
| Sharon Owens Democrat, WFP | ✅✅ Strong Yes Owens strongly supports Good Cause. | $80,383 Nonprofits & philanthropy, business, small donors |
| Pat Hogan Democrat | ❌❌ Against Hogan has repeatedly voted against Good Cause. | $17,277 Real estate developers, business |
| Chol Majok Democrat | ✅✅ Strong Yes Majok strongly supports Good Cause. | $21,145 Nonprofits & philanthropy, previous campaign, small donors |
VOTING INFO
Voting is open NOW! Scroll up to see which candidates support Good Cause.
WHERE TO VOTE
JUNE 24 (Election Day):
- 6AM-9PM
- Find your polling place here!
VOTE BY MAIL
All voters have the option to vote by mail! You can request a mail ballot online or in-person by June 14, and you must mail it back by election day (see instructions).
If you won’t be at home during the June 14-24 election, you can request an absentee ballot online or in-person by June 14. You must mail it back by June 24 (see instructions).
All mail ballots can be tracked like packages here!
Read more about early voting, polling locations, and mail-in and absentee voting at the Onondaga County Board of Elections.
ABOUT GOOD CAUSE
New York State passed Good Cause Eviction Protections in April 2024, after years of organizing by tenants across the state. Good Cause protections limit rent hikes and give tenants a right to a lease renewal. It would let tenants stay in our homes long-term, and would make Syracuse fairer and more affordable.
15 Upstate cities have passed it, but Syracuse’s Council sided with slumlords by rejecting Good Cause in February with a 5-4 vote. That’s why tenants need to vote as a bloc in the June elections and win a Council that works for us.
Specifically, Good Cause means:
- Limits on rent hikes, only allowing increases above a certain threshold (inflation + 5%, or 10%, whichever is lower) if a landlord has proof it’s to cover real costs — not just to make money. This year, the average rent hike in a one-bedroom Syracuse apartment was 17.1% — six times the national average. With Good Cause, the limit for unjustified increases would have been 8.45%.
- Protection against evictions for no reason so you don’t have to fear retaliation for demanding repairs or organizing with your neighbors.
- Right to a lease renewal so you can stay in your community for as long as you want, as long as you pay rent and follow the terms of your lease.
- Right to stay month-to-month, giving month-to-month tenants the same rights as year-lease tenants and limiting them to one rent increase per year.
Good Cause covers most, but not all, types of rental housing. In Syracuse, it would apply to tenants who:
- Live in a building built before 2009
- Rent from a landlord that owns more than a city-defined number of units (every opted-in city has set this at 1 so tenants get equal access to protections)
- Pay less than a city-defined percent of Fair Market Rent (opted in cities usually make this 345%, about $3,700 for a Syracuse 1-bedroom)
- Do not live in an owner-occupied building with fewer than 11 units
- Do not live in a co-op or condo
- Do not rent their home as part of an employment agreement
- Do not live in manufactured housing
- Are not rent stabilized or living in subsidized or public housing
Read more about Good Cause here.