County Dems raise awareness with painted signs, video series

In between the mass-produced Trump and Biden lawn signs all across the county, hand-painted, wooden art has recently been popping up. Some of the pieces pledge support for the Democratic ticket, while others simply encourage passersby to “vote,” and it started with a Trumansburg woman looking to connect.

“I intentionally just put words on there that anyone could relate to,” said Amy Puryear of the first sign she created for her own yard. “It wasn’t a partisan sign at all, just a sign of hope. It said ‘peace, love, hope, change, better, healing.’”

Puryear, a musician and music teacher, said that she had ordered an official sign from the Biden/Harris campaign but that it was taking a long time to arrive. She decided to make an original sign in the meantime, simply meant to inspire others to feel better. She said she enjoyed the creative experience so much, “like art therapy,” that she posted it on Facebook and asked if any of her neighbors would like one too.

Friend and local carpenter Alan Vogel reached out to suggest they turn the whole thing into a fun, community effort to help get the word out in support of the Biden/Harris campaign, and Puryear was on board.

“We’ve been so separated as a community due to the pandemic,” Puryear said. “This is something that’s been able to bring us together and remind us that we can do better when we’re together.”

Since then, the community has donated scrap plywood and lumber as well as leftover cans of paint for the project, and many have joined in.

Over the last few weeks, the group has been holding socially distanced painting parties and pickup days, free and open to everyone. In total, the group has now made between 300 and 500 signs.

Vogel said he hopes the movement will inspire small communities all over the country to come together and create a movement.

Also helping in this effort is the Tompkins County Democratic Committee (TCDC), which joined forces with the “Paint the Vote” grassroots sign collective and jumped in to spread the word and distribute signs around the area. And that’s not the only way the TCDC is getting involved in this year’s election.

While the TCDC’s mission is to elect Democrats into local and national positions and to support a progressive agenda, the committee has a new project to encourage education and inclusivity for anyone, regardless of political leanings.

Stacey Dimas, second vice chair of TCDC, is one of the organizers of the new “Local Politics Educational Series.” In partnership with local consulting firm Adirondack Diversity Solutions, the series will include monthly Zoom videos designed to promote civic engagement.

“People are like, ‘That’s for somebody else,’ or ‘I don’t think I’m qualified,’” Dimas said about the lack of diversity in candidates for local office. “We’re trying to bring to light that people have such unique experiences that can easily transfer to the job, from running for the school board, common council or county Legislature.”

The first in the series, “Local Politics 101,” was held Oct. 10, with guest speakers including Trumansburg school board member Jhoanna Haynes, City of Ithaca Alderperson Ducson Nguyen, Town of Ithaca Board member Pamela Bleiwas and Tompkins County Legislator Anne Koreman. Speakers talked about their job descriptions, requirements needed to run, salaries and more.

“I strongly believe in uplifting people that want to make a difference in our community and supporting them in making positive change,” Haynes said. “As far as running for school board, I think there have been several seats in rural areas including our county where they have difficulty filling seats or they’re not contested; this is a real place where a difference can be made when you care about children.”

Dimas, the first woman of color to be elected as an officer in the TCDC, said that the series specifically highlights officials from the Black, Indigenous and people of color and LGBTQ communities and encourages historically marginalized populations to vote and to run for office. She said the installments focus on the nuts and bolts of the job but in a very family-friendly way so that kids can
listen in.

“We’re one community,” Dimas said. “This is about learning what your government does — and once a person is elected to office, they represent all of us. The more we know, the better off our community will be.”