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Democratic Party candidates Walaa Maharem-Horan, Joseph Wetmore, and Michael Koplinka-Loehr report they have received an overwhelmingly positive response from independent voters to their petitioning for inclusion on the Lighthouse Party line. Maharem-Horan and Wetmore are running as the Democratic candidates for the Lansing Town Board, while Democrat Koplinka-Loehr is running for the District 6 seat on the Tompkins County Legislature.

The canvassing efforts of the two town board candidates resulted in 364 signatures from independent voters—more than double the amount needed to secure their positions on the Lighthouse line. In these times of shifting political allegiances, their conversations with Lansing's residents have been crucial.

According to Walaa Maharem-Horan, "We have to reach out directly to individual voters now, because there's been an earthquake on the political landscape. We're taking local democracy back to square one and starting over at an intensely participatory, grassroots level."

The Maharem-Horan and Wetmore campaigns spread out into the town for the second time this summer, talking to people with a wide variety of political affiliations.

"I'm not running a partisan campaign, I am running a campaign of issues," Joseph Wetmore said. "Residents of every political persuasion feel a need for more community involvement in planning decisions."

Michael Koplinka-Loehr, who's running for the Tompkins County Legislative seat in Lansing's largest district, the 6th, turned in 400 signatures to the Board of Elections—almost 3 times the number required to get on the Lighthouse line. Koplinka-Loehr, who will also be listed on the Democratic and Working Families lines, was continuously encouraged by the readiness of voters to engage in first-hand conversations about their lives and the issues that directly affect them as local residents.

Koplinka-Loehr said of his petitioning experiences, "I love Lansing. It's been rewarding visiting over 1500 households so far, hearing face-to-face about what matters to Lansing families and individuals. Every household has a unique story and it's truly a privilege to converse about them at each door."

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