The Democratic View: Off and Running

By Kathy Zahler

June is the official start of the 2017 campaign season. From Tuesday, June 6, on, you will see candidates and committee members canvassing the neighborhoods with petitions for Tompkins County Legislature and Common Council, as well as for town positions in Ithaca and Lansing. Out in Danby, Dryden, Enfield, Groton, Newfield and Ulysses, we will be scheduling caucuses to choose candidates, with the earliest caucus probably Dryden’s, now set for 7 p.m. Monday, June 19, in Dryden Village Hall.

In addition, all members of the Tompkins County Democratic Committee will be circulating petitions to stay on the committee. In our role as committee members, we are actually elected officials chosen to represent Democratic voters in our particular election districts. We circulate our own petitions every two years.

All of those petitions will be filed by early July, and all caucuses will take place before mid-September. Although summertime is usually a slow period on the electoral calendar, this summer will feature candidates vying for a spot on the ballot in the September 12 Democratic primary. Expect to see and hear from county candidates often this summer, especially if you live in legislative districts 3, 4, 5 or 11.

Of the 14 county legislators, we know of four Democrats who will not be running again. Carol Chock (District 3), Dooley Kiefer (District 10), Peter Stein (District 11), and Will Burbank (District 12) represent a combined 50 years on the legislature, and we appreciate their service to the people of Tompkins County.

Right now, assuming all goes well with petitioning, the Democratic lineup for county legislature looks like this: Leslyn McBean Clairborne in District 1; Anna Kelles in District 2; new candidates Carolina Osorio Gil, Henry Granison and David Shapiro in a September primary for the seat in District 3; Rich John and primary challenger Reed Steberger in District 4, Jim Dennis and primary challenger Anne Koreman in District 5; Mike Koplinka-Loehr in District 6; Dan Klein in District 7; Deborah Dawson in District 10; Shawna Black and Herb Engman as primary contenders in District 11; new candidate Amanda Champion in District 12; Martha Robertson in District 13; and Mike Lane in District 14. No matter what happens in September and November, there will be new faces on the Tompkins County Legislature in 2018.

Competition is good! It brings out voters and stimulates discussion of the issues. Your ward and town chairs may be looking for candidates for some city and town positions. Contact them if you are interested, or if you would like to help with the petitioning process. More information can be found at TCDemocrats.org/contact.

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My Republican counterpart wrote on these pages in May about our mutual goal to transition to a better energy future. Although he supports heat pumps and solar panels, he mentioned the often out-of-reach costs of each, especially when one is trying to retrofit an existing system. What he did not mention is the potential of community solar to offer cheaper electricity to those who cannot afford their own solar panels or whose homes are not configured to provide effective use of panels.

In my town of Dryden, where we are working step-by-step to become fossil-fuel free, people are even examining options for greening the building code, since heat pumps and solar in new construction are surprisingly cost effective. Air source heat pump installation is now comparable in cost to installation of gas or oil furnaces, and increasingly, thoughtful local builders are encouraging heat pump use.

The best thing about energy discussions in Tompkins County is that the concepts and concerns cross party lines. Out in Dryden, we have substantial support for community solar from people who have voted the straight Republican ticket most of their lives.

The worst thing about energy discussions in Tompkins County is that it’s still a slog to get everyone on board. It seems no matter what ideas are proposed, there is always a sizable “no” reaction. If we cannot support heat pumps, wind and solar in Tompkins County, of all places, I don’t see much hope for the rest of the state, nation, or world.

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It is now easier than ever to stay on top of events in your town or ward. See our calendar to learn about caucus or meeting dates and to see other actions and events scheduled around the county at TCDemocrats.org/tcdcgooglecalendar.
See you at the Ithaca Festival and/or Dryden Dairy Day!

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Kathy Zahler is director of communications for the Tompkins County Democratic Committee.