Groff and Griffin seeking supervisor seat

Lansing Town Board Councilperson Ruth Groff, a Democrat, and Republican Dennis Griffin, a longtime fixture of the Lansing Fire Department, will vie to become the next town supervisor in November.

Both candidates have come into the fold as current Town Supervisor Ed LaVigne recently announced he would not be seeking re-election. LaVigne, who has served two terms as supervisor, told Tompkins Weekly he will be following his faith into a new facet of his life.

“It’s a different phase of my life. I’ve given 12 years of public service to the board, eight as a supervisor, and life calls me to move in a different direction now,” LaVigne said. “I’ll be doing more work with faith-based groups. I can reach more people that way.”

LaVigne also said that he wanted to leave his position due to increased political polarization he has observed at the national level of electoral contests, which he noted has made its way to the town.

“I think we need a giant reset here as far as being more civil to each other,” LaVigne said. He called the national political landscape “‘West Side Story’ on steroids.”

Despite his disillusionment with politics at the national level, LaVigne said that he feels comfortable with his tenure leading Lansing’s government board and the board’s accomplishments during that time.

“My philosophy has always been that you try to leave it better than you found it,” LaVigne said. “You try to serve everyone, regardless of what their political affiliation is, and you try to listen to [them] intently and at the same time look at protecting the town.”

LaVigne said that having good employee compensation and continuity across county departments are some of his proudest accomplishments. Conversely, having to raise taxes on residents during times of economic turmoil due to the pandemic is one of his regrets.

For Groff and Griffin, winning the race would signify a chance to take the town in a new direction. The two candidates shared details about their professional careers, lives in public service and plans for the town board in a Friday interview with Tompkins Weekly.

Ruth Groff

Groff is around a year and a half into her first term as a councilperson on the town board. She is a retired certified public accountant who had previously moved around the Midwest and eventually chose to move to Lansing to live a quieter life.

“I spent a couple years doing research on where we would want to make the final move of our lifetime. In my research, the Ithaca area just kept popping up – no matter what my criteria was,” Groff said, adding that she was persuaded by Lansing’s foliage colors in the fall, the overall environmental consciousness of local residents and the large support for the Democratic Party in the region.

Initially, Groff launched her campaign for a spot on the town board because she wanted to change local government.

“I love the feel of Lansing. I love the community here. I love what it has to offer,” she said. “But I wasn’t particularly happy about things that were happening that weren’t helping to preserve the character of the town. Rather than just complaining about it, I thought I’d try to do something about it.”

One of the things Groff wanted to do was to bring increased fiscal transparency. She has worked at small nonprofits, mid sized outfits and Fortune 500 companies, and she hopes her financial expertise can help improve budgetary and financial processes at the town level. 

“I want to make sure that the town has more transparency and a stronger budget than it does,” Groff said.

Groff also wants to offer residents clear lines of communication with town officials. She also wants to potentially offer a town newsletter periodically and add new informational components to the town’s website. 

“The other thing I would like to do is have someone who writes grants because I feel like we might be leaving a lot of money on the table,” Groff noted. “Because our staff is so overworked right now, we have several staff members who may have the ability to write grants, but they don’t have the time.”

Dennis Griffin

Griffin, who has worked as a volunteer firefighter for 47 years, is well known in the community. He is one of the assistant fire chiefs for the local department, and he also works in transportation at Lansing Central School District. 

“We moved here because I wanted my kids to go to Lansing schools,” Griffin said. “I liked the community.”

One of the issues Griffin wants to focus on is keeping property taxes at bay.

“My concern is the taxes keep going up. I always had a feeling that sooner or later, we had to put a stop to that,” Griffin said. “A lot of people who have been here, who grew up here feel like they’re being kind of pushed out of the town. Somebody’s going to fight for these people.”

Griffin lamented the loss of the Cayuga Operating Company, LLC power plant, which shut down around three years ago. He said its closure has stifled meaningful positive forecasts on the local economy.

“One of the biggest things I’ve heard from some of the residents is they got to get some businesses into this town to offset the tax rate,” Griffin said. 

Griffin also proposed sitting down with department heads to see what needs from different county departments can be fulfilled. 

“There’s a need for somebody to be there and say, ‘Tell me what your issue is. Let me see what I can do to solve it,’” he noted.

Election day is Nov. 7.

Lansing at Large appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com. Contact Eddie Velazquez at edvel37@gmail.com or on Twitter @ezvelazquez.

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Lansing Events Committee fundraiser

The Lansing Events Committee (LEC)  is set to host a fundraising dinner at the Texas Roadhouse located at 719-25 S. Meadow St. in Ithaca on June 25. Attendees wishing to support the local event organizing group can show a poster found on the LEC’s Facebook page to donate 10% of their bill to the LEC. The funds will go toward the organization’s scholarship fund and the Lansing Food Pantry.