SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Last year's presidential election was one of the most acrimonious in recent memory. Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the electoral college but lost the popular vote.

Since taking office, President Trump has proved a controversial figure. He's taken sometimes extreme stances on issues and routinely uses Twitter to attack those who disagree with him. Trump's actions and policies often spur debate on the local level as leaders strive to oppose him or speak out in support of his behavior.

Mayor Stephanie Miner has made no secret of her distaste for Trump, frequently criticizing his actions. For three months, she held weekly "Trump Tuesday" rallies downtown to hear from concerned residents and, sometimes, supporters.

With that in mind, we asked each of the mayoral candidates the following:

Who did you vote for in last year's presidential election? Would you cast your ballot the same way today? Explain.

There are three Democrats running for mayor, as well as a Republican, a Green, an un-affiliated candidate on the Reform line and a candidate attempting a Libertarian line. Click on a candidate to jump to his or her response or scroll through all responses below.

Chris Fowler (I)

Howie Hawkins (G)

Laura Lavine (R)

Marty Masterpole (D)

Joe Nicoletti (D)

Juanita Perez Williams (D)

Ben Walsh (I)

The candidates' written answers to the question are given below, in order of party affiliation. They are provided as submitted, with minor editing for style. They were asked to limit responses to 250 words.

Look for a new candidate question each week. Have something you'd like to ask all the candidates? Email Chris Baker at cbaker@syracuse.com with the subject line "weekly question."

Juanita Perez Williams (D)

I have supported Hillary Clinton since her first run for US Senate. I ran her first GOTV campaign in Onondaga County and traveled to Vermont and New Hampshire to campaign in her first presidential race. That said, I was disappointed when she challenged Bernie Sanders for supporting the idea of free college education. I am a beneficiary of Head Start, free school lunches, and a government-funded college education, all of which changed my life and allowed me to serve others. I believe everyone should have access to college and continue to support this position. Nevertheless, as a life-long Democrat, I supported Hillary in 2016, volunteering as a legal observer in Broward County, Florida and publishing an op-ed in the Post-Standard shortly after the election.

This country lost its way when it elected Donald Trump, and we are paying the price. Our president is cultivating hate and breeding division. Many of our residents, including new Americans and minority communities, now live in fear due to the current social and political climate avoiding community engagement. This is not acceptable. In Syracuse, we have prided ourselves on being a safe harbor for immigrants, women and slaves among others; specifically, a place where freedom, justice and fairness prevail. We need a mayor who will continue to uphold these values and protect all citizens' basic human rights. I will be that Mayor.

Joe Nicoletti (D)

I voted for Hillary Rodham Clinton for President and I would cast that same ballot again today. I do not believe that President of the United States of America is an entry level public office. Virtually all our presidents held a lower public office where they gained experience and where their constituents could evaluate their performance.

President Trump has demonstrated that being a successful business person, without having served in any public office, does not translate well to being president, where three coequal branches must advise and consent and rule on the constitutionality of the limits to presidential authority.

A similar dynamic is at play here in the race for mayor of Syracuse, of the six remaining candidates for mayor only Marty Masterpole and I have held public office and have records to be considered by voters. I contend that being the mayor of Syracuse is not an entry level public office.

Now, is not the time to elect a mayor who must learn on the job and will need time to build the essential relationships with our partners in the federal, state and county governments; especially since these governments provide the City of Syracuse with the bulk of our operating funds.

Syracuse now, more than ever, needs a mayor who can hit the ground running and who already has solid relationships with our federal, state and county government representatives in order to get results for the City of Syracuse from day one. I can be that mayor for Syracuse!

Marty Masterpole (D)

I cast my ballot for Hillary Clinton, and would do so again.

But we can't change the past, only the future. That is as true for us as it is for our neighbors and our fellow Americans who cast their votes differently than we did. Triumphalism won't get regretful Trump voters to speak up and speak out, only being willing to truly listen to their reasons for their vote will.

We can change the future. Dividing the disadvantaged into small groups of us-versus-them is an old tactic to keep everyone fighting over the same small slice while someone else walks away with the pie, but the truth is that together we can enlarge the pie, and only together can we enlarge the pie.

We can stand with targeted minority communities, and recognize that the work of activism isn't theirs alone. We can listen to the desperation of the economically burdened. We know poverty fuels crime. It also fuels hate crime. We can acknowledge the link between domestic violence and domestic terrorism.

We can do a lot. We must, and we will.

We cannot justify further nativity about the width and depth of the problem, nor the way it impacts our communities, our city, our nation. But the future lays before us. Let us reach for it, together.

Laura Lavine (R)

Asking for whom I voted for president might be intended to expose some great secret or even to embarrass me but I am sorry to disappoint -- there is no revelation here. I have already told people that I voted for Trump. I do, however, thank Syracuse.com for the opportunity to discuss it.

In the months leading to the election, I had no intention of voting for Trump but as election day drew closer, I grew more dissatisfied with my other choices. Casting ballots for third party candidates with limited chances of winning is not how I prefer to use my precious vote. That left me with two choices.

As a moderate Republican, I had hope for Trump so I reluctantly voted for him. Would I do it again? Seeing what has happened these past months, the explosion of bigotry and hate, the violence and loss of life that have occurred, no, I would not vote for him again and as mayor, I will vigorously oppose his and any other policies that fail to serve the people of Syracuse.

Throughout this campaign, I am reminded of [House] Speaker Tip O'Neill's adage that all politics is local, and of Mayor LaGuardia's quote that there is no Democratic or Republican way of cleaning the streets. I keep those pearls of wisdom in mind as I continue to work locally to improve our underperforming schools, reduce crime, eliminate poverty, and restore the quality of life in our neighborhoods.

Howie Hawkins (G)

I would vote today again for the Green ticket of Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka. They offered real solutions to life-and-death issues, including emergency climate action and full employment through a Green New Deal, single-payer Medicare for all, and ending wars of aggression.

I ran on those three issues against Hillary Clinton for U.S. Senate in 2006. As Secretary of State, she expanded her imperialist resume by supporting the 2009 Honduras coup that unleashed the death squads now murdering labor, environmental, and indigenous activists and the 2011 regime change in Libya that created another failed state and terrorist staging ground like Iraq. She remained opposed to single payer. She failed to speak to the economic insecurities faced by working-class and middle-class people, leaving the door open for Trump's disingenuous promises. She was not an option for me.

Trump was the same racist, boastful, arrogant, ignorant, and compulsively lying character I had first encountered in a 1979 Village Voice expose by Wayne Barrett. Trump was worse.

Twice in the last 16 years we have elected presidents who lost the popular vote. Instead of blaming Stein for Trump in 2016 and Ralph Nader for Bush in 2000, we should change the system that elects losers like Trump. The Green Party calls for abolition of the Electoral College and popular election of the president using ranked-choice instant-runoff voting, which elects most-preferred candidate after the votes of losing candidates are transferred to their next preferences until the winning candidate has a majority of votes.

Ben Walsh (I)

When my wife and I went to the polls on Nov. 8, 2016 we made it a point to bring our two daughters with us. Not only did we feel it was important to begin teaching them about the democratic process at a young age, we also wanted them to be with us when their mother cast her historic vote for the first female President of the United States.

The good news is we have a picture commemorating that almost-historic moment. The bad news is we've spent the past nine months trying to explain to our girls why our country elected the man who's always calling people names.

While I was tempted to follow my wife's lead, as a life-long independent, I was not enthralled with any of the candidates. So rather than perpetuate the hyper-partisanship that has led to the current divide in our country, I decided to use my vote to send a message. I chose to cast my ballot for Gary Johnson on the Independence Party line to send a message that we deserve more options. Admittedly, Johnson was not a great candidate and I've second guessed my decision, but given my own recent political experience, I think I'd vote the same way today.

My experience running for Mayor as an independent has solidified my belief that now, more than ever, we need leaders that serve the people, not political parties. As mayor, I will always put people above politics and help everyone in Syracuse rise above.

Chris Fowler (I)

No answer provided.

Read the candidates' answers to questions about:

Innovation

Sunny weekends

The next police chief

Lead paint

Making the city a better place

Consolidation

Blodgett repairs

Mayor Miner

Poverty

Deer

Their best idea

Property taxes

The Land Bank

Sanctuary city

Crime

The NYS Fair gondola

More on the mayor's race:

5 takeaway from Democratic debate

Snitches, privilege and neophytes: Takeaways from the 2nd forum

Which candidates have kids in city schools?

Syracuse's next mayor will inherit a city on the brink of financial disaster