Deborah Fisher announces campaign for Common Council Ward 5

Deborah Fisher, a mom, martial artist, and nonprofit consultant who runs an aikido dojo
downtown, is announcing her campaign for Common Council in Ward 5. She will be
bringing a warrior’s spirit and more than a decade of nonprofit leadership experience to
her bid.

In her own words:
“I am running for Common Council because this is a unique political moment that
demands my skills. This federal government is actively hostile to the people it is
supposed to serve, and I teach people how to fight for a living. We need brave local
leaders who are ready to meet this moment and protect the most vulnerable among us.
I am also an institution builder. I’ve built a nonprofit from the ground up, and have a
deep track record of collaboratively crafting policies and programs that enact shared
values. Ithaca can address its affordability crisis by leaning into its progressive values
and using them to do good work! I want to incentivize the development of affordable
housing that is grounded in community; strengthen tenants’ rights; implement a more
progressive tax and fee structure for the city; and get the bigger institutional players like
Cornell to participate in making Ithaca a great, affordable place to live.

Lastly, I am running to do the job, not to build a resume. We are witnessing some
disappointing, self-preserving Democratic leadership in the face of tyranny. The
antidote is for local leaders with big ideas who don’t have a career stake in party politics
to stand up, connect with voters, and enact bold, practical, progressive policy that
helps people who are struggling. If elected, I promise to ambitiously respond to the
gravity of this moment, in all its threat and possibility.”

Fisher moved to Ithaca in 2022. She is the Chief Instructor of Ithaca Aikikai, a dojo
dedicated to supportive, rigorous training in aikido, weapons, and zazen.

She also works as a personal and nonprofit consultant, and serves as President of the Board of
Birankai North America, a federation that maintains high standards in aikido training.
Until 2021, she was the Founding Executive Director of A Blade of Grass, a nonprofit
dedicated to supporting artists working in communities to enact progressive social
change. She lives on Linn Street with her daughter and husband.