Dennis suspends Lansing legislature bid, endorses Dawson’s write-in campaign

John Dennis, an environmentalist focused on the health of Cayuga Lake, has decided to suspend his candidacy for the Tompkins County Legislature’s 7th legislative district. 

The move clears the field for incumbent Deborah Dawson, who has represented the district area since 2017, to continue her write-in candidacy in a narrower field. After dropping out, Dennis, who was set to appear on the ballot under the Democratic Party line, endorsed Dawson. Dennis said that he wanted to focus on tending to the health of a close relative and decided to drop out of the race.

“My wife’s health situation is likely to require more of my time going forward than I had understood when I entered the race in February,” Dennis told Tompkins Weekly in an email. “I remain confident that I would have brought many excellent skills to the position of Legislator.  However, on learning of Deborah Dawson’s announcement in September that she would seek a third term rather than retire, it seemed only rational that her eight years of experience on the County Legislature would bring much needed skills in 2026 when funding short-falls are expected to be significant.” 

Dawson had initially pledged to retire from the legislature earlier this year, hoping that a new generation of leaders would bring a refreshing perspective to county politics. After hearing that several incumbents would not seek re-election, and with the looming loss of federal funding due to massive cuts proposed by Washington lawmakers, Dawson reconsidered and launched a write-in campaign to retain her seat. 

The district Dawson currently represents is technically the 10th Legislative District, but it will change to the seventh as redistricting changes take effect. The district encompasses the villages of Cayuga Heights and Lansing.

Dennis, who has lived in the county for 31 years, endorsed Dawson’s campaign in a letter last week. 

Dawson said that she appreciated his endorsement. The two local politicos have worked together on environmental matters as part of Cayuga Lake Environmental Action Network, a nonprofit co-founded by Dennis. 

“John and I have worked on Cayuga Lake and environmental issues off and on for years,” Dawson said in an email. “I am grateful for his endorsement, and I value the confidence he has in my representation.  I am also glad that we can continue to be friends and collaborators on issues of shared interest.”

Dawson said that despite Dennis’ decision to abandon his campaign, her write-in re-election bid will not be easy. 

“Despite John’s decision to abandon his campaign — which I know was not easily reached — I still have an uphill battle,” she noted. “John’s name is the only one on the ballot, so my challenge is to get the word out to the voters that they have another choice, and how they can cast an effective write-in vote.”  

Dawson noted that voters will have to fill in the bubble at the bottom of the Legislature District 7 column and write in Dawson’s name.

In the event that Dennis wins by getting more votes, Dawson said that Dennis will decline to serve or will serve only for a portion of the term. This would trigger a special election to fill the seventh district’s seat.

“One or more candidates will have to circulate petitions and a special election (and perhaps a primary) will have to be conducted at the county’s expense,” Dawson said. “While that occurs, the seventh district seat will be unoccupied, and the residents of the district will be unrepresented. This is a result that John and I very much want to avoid — and that’s why we’re both working hard to encourage people to cast an effective write-in vote for me.”

Tompkins County Democratic Committee Chair Linda Hoffmann said in a press release that she commends Dennis for his decision.

“A write-in campaign is an unusual circumstance for our local elections. John exemplifies a depth of grace in his having stepped away from this race and endorsed his write-in opponent, Deborah Dawson,” Hoffmann said in a press release. “I offer my sincere thanks to John for putting himself forward to serve our community in the County Legislature. Though he has ended his campaign, I know that John will continue his important work as one of the founders of [Cayuga Lake Environmental Action Network {CLEAN}] to protect our lake and the quality of our water.” 

Dennis said he would continue to co-manage CLEAN and is exploring advisory positions at the county and municipal levels.

Dennis told Tompkins Weekly last month that he was interested in making government more functional and streamlined. He also saw the opportunity to sit on the legislature as a chance to bring big-picture thinking to local matters. 

“It made me more aware of the need to think globally but act locally,” he told Tompkins Weekly at the time. 

Dennis is the co-founder of CLEAN, an environmental organization advocating for the health of Cayuga Lake and the surrounding communities. At CLEAN, Dennis draws from his expertise monitoring agricultural development projects. He has experience with the technical aspects of irrigation and fertilizing, as well as the education, health issues, nutrition and access to family planning aspects of development in other countries. 

Election day is Nov. 4.