What Ben Walsh’s 6 years at Syracuse City Hall say about his potential as mayor [Video]

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – When Ben Walsh started out as the city of Syracuse’s economic development director, there were plenty of reasons to see the vacant Hotel Syracuse as a lost cause.

Efforts to renovate the decaying old hotel had already failed. Repairing the massive structure would cost tens of millions of dollars. And nobody was quite sure which of several Israeli companies was the rightful owner.

Walsh waded into that mess and worked for two and a half years with developer Ed Riley and others to clear away obstacles to restoring the downtown landmark.

That work won him the admiration of Riley, who now supports Walsh’s bid to become Syracuse mayor. Walsh’s calm tenacity and his knack for teamwork are big assets in a community that is too often riven by political feuds, Riley said.

At the same time, Walsh’s role in economic development has been the focus of attacks from his political rivals.

They accuse him of currying …