Former Ulysses GOP chair recruits political candidates

Rocco Lucente, former chair of the town of Ulysses GOP, is recruiting candidates to run for office in 2023. The Ulysses native is also starting a series of community conversations that he hopes to rotate between Ulysses and Trumansburg as well as various surrounding towns.

“Many of the individuals involved either live or work in Ulysses and Trumansburg, so their involvement is usually based out of those towns,” Lucente said.

Having a rich family history that spans over 100 years in Tompkins County land development, Lucente works for his family’s business, Lucente Holdings, one of the most prolific real estate developers in the region.

“I arrange financing and loans for building,” Lucente said. “I’ve worked with my family’s business for six years. My grandfather started building and developing property on Hanshaw and Warren roads decades and decades ago.”

Lucente graduated from and later coached football at Charles O. Dickerson High School. An avid sports lover, Lucente has also coached youth baseball and regularly shows up to local youth sporting events to show community support.

“I really enjoy coaching kids,” Lucente said. “I’m very dedicated to physical fitness and genuinely enjoy sportsmanship.”

In addition to his financing position and coaching roles in the community, Lucente is an activist and a writer.

“I have written for The Liberty Conservative, the Ringside Reporter and Inside the Loud House,” Lucente said. “I also host a YouTube show about local politics called Ithaca Uncensored.”

Although he shares his first name with his grandfather and his last name with a legacy of regional development, his name has most recently become synonymous with controversy.

Having arranged a rally in support of then-President Donald Trump in September 2020, a rally to support the Ithaca Police Department and rallies to protest pandemic mandates, Lucente has become one of the most controversial activists in Tompkins County.

“I, as well as the people who have supported and joined me, believe that the actions taken to abolish Tompkins County law enforcement are an attempt to eliminate law and order,” Lucente said. “We believe that that’s what they’re striving for and is their ultimate goal, not only in Ithaca, but the surrounding outlying areas.”

Lucente has openly and publicly protested the merits of the New York state mask mandates since the beginning of the pandemic.

“I’m part of a group of concerned citizens in Tompkins County pushing back against the mandates,” Lucente said. “We have kids masked outdoors far more than the surrounding counties.”

Lucente also stated his belief that “the decisions made in Tompkins County were arbitrary.”

A staunch Republican, Lucente joined others to host a rally in the fall of 2020 to support Trump’s bid for re-election. The rally, which took place in the Staples parking lot on Route 13 in Ithaca, quickly became contentious, escalating to violence and property destruction.

“A local group representing the Black Lives Matter movement as well as the self-described Ithaca Democratic Socialists of America showed up to the rally,” Lucente stated. “As tensions continued to rise, it evolved into a riot. It appeared that the Ithaca Police Department was instructed to stand down and refrain from taking actions to deescalate the situation by the mayor at that time, Svante Myrick.”

Feeling that this was an action that demonstrated the dangers of the department’s reimagining project spurred by Myrick, Lucente was outraged.

“A 64-year-old woman had her shoulder dislocated and her ankle injured,” Lucente said. “Trump hats and paraphernalia were burned and property destroyed. We were trapped in the Republican headquarters screaming and pleading with the dispatcher after calling 9-1-1 for assistance. None was forthcoming. I believe it is a perfect example of how you’re treated like a second-class citizen if you don’t agree with the general popular opinion presented by people with a liberal agenda.”

Seeking to garner support from like-minded individuals, Lucente is continuing to seek candidates from Ulysses and Trumansburg to run in 2023.

“He’s intelligent, articulate, thoughtful, caring and has a steel trap memory, a solid grasp of logic and facts,” said landlord and supporter Anita Graff. “He’ll debate anything he cares about with anyone using stats and sources. He wants the best for the community that he cares about. He cares about the economy, small businesses, crime reduction and freedom.”

Despite past contention between opposing parties and the controversy that still trails his name, Lucente will not be deterred in seeking candidates from the Trumansburg area.

“My current and ultimate goal is to foster a political culture throughout the county which is conducive to a heterodox political debate, and currently, we have the exact opposite of that political culture,” Lucente said. “We have a political culture which is stifling and which relies on bullying. We have a political culture which encourages everyone in our community to embrace the worst elements of our personality when being active in politics. We have a political culture which lionizes bigotry and discourages critical thinking. That is what I am ultimately seeking to change.”

Lucente can be reached at lucenterocco@yahoo.com.

Trumansburg Connection appears every Wednesday in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com.

In brief:

Guild of Natural Science Illustrators show

Our Capacity for Wonder: Exploring the Natural World, an exhibit of artwork by members of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators — Finger Lakes Chapter, runs through May 22 at the Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts, 5 McLallen St. Open gallery hours are Fridays and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. throughout the exhibit’s runtime.

In this exhibit, you will see the diverse interpretations of Finger Lakes artists, their mediums of expression and how their observations lead to new discoveries and a deeper appreciation for the natural environment. These observations require careful study and can be time intensive, but the rewards are incredibly satisfying.

Visit tinyurl.com/yc2ut7ty for more information.

Dark Hollow at the Conservatory

Also at the Trumansburg Conservatory, on April 15 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., come see a performance by the Syracuse-based band Dark Hollow. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $17 in advance and $20 at the door. Advance tickets are available at tinyurl.com/y77e3rwk.

Dark Hollow is now entering its 25th year paying tribute to the music of the Grateful Dead. Known for its dynamic performances, the band crafts songs from the extensive Dead family catalog to create unique concert experiences.

Members’ ability to move seamlessly between songs and musical styles enables them to tell a musical story that both honors the original song versions and allows them to create new interpretations. Don’t miss this show in the historic Conservatory auditorium!