Nagle officially Syracuse's next mayor

SYRACUSE — The nerve-wracking weeklong wait is over. Syracuse city will have its first female mayor in mayor-elect Jamie Nagle.

Nagle will be sworn into office Jan. 4, 2010. She will fill the position now held by Mayor Fred Pannuci, who opted not to seek a third term as mayor.

An official canvass of the city’s Nov. 3 municipal election revealed Nagle edged out challenger Craig Jenkins by 45 votes.

Nagle received 1,677 votes to Jenkins’ 1,632, according to an election report prepared by City Recorder Cassie Brown.

Going into Tuesday’s canvass, which counted 54 provisional and absentee ballots, Nagle held a slim 32-vote lead over Jenkins.

“Actually the canvassing increased my lead,” said Nagle, who attended Tuesday’s meeting.

Waiting a week for the council to complete the official canvass of the vote, Nagle said, was nerve-wracking due to her slim lead. But she did feel confident going into the count that she would retain the victory.

“It felt good last night to have an answer,” said the 43-year-old Nagle, currently a member of the Syracuse City Planning Commission.

Jenkins, who resigned from the city’s planning commission last week, did not attend the Tuesday canvassing.

“I wish the best for the city and its citizens,” Jenkins said when contacted by phone Wednesday.

Others receiving official notice of their victories were council candidates Matt Kimmel and Councilman Larry Shingleton.

The two placed first and second in the Nov. 3 election, receiving 2,061 votes and 1,913 votes respectively, each capturing a four-year term on the council, according to a city report.

Candidate Theresa Sheffield fell just short of gaining office, placing third in the council contest with 1,877 votes, the report states.

Just more than 31 percent of the city’s registered voters cast ballots in the election.

“Now we can start to hunker down for the long pull,” Nagle said of the work that lies ahead for the city’s elected leaders.