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Election season has started, and the November slate for Town seats took a major step toward being finalized Wednesday when the Lansing Democrats held their caucus to nominate candidates.  18 Democrats participated in the caucus, and not all of the heat could be attributed to the weather as candidates were challenged to defend their Democratic beliefs.  While a caucus doesn't have to be concluded until September 25th, Lansing Democratic Committee Chairman Greg Lawrence explained there are practical reasons for holding it early.  "We have Harbor Festival coming up," he said.  "It's a good opportunity for our candidates to meet the public.  The more delay the less time we have for the Lansing Democratic Committee  to help the candidates campaign."

Lansing voters will choose six candidates in September for the positions of Town Supervisor, two Town Councillors, Highway Superintendent, Town Justice, and Town Clerk.  The latter three will almost certainly be uncontested, with incumbents -- all Republicans -- running for another term.  Democrats considered candidates for Supervisor and Councillor, and voted to endorse one candidate for each position.

	Who Will They Run Against? While some Democratic Committees choose their candidates at a caucus instead of by petition, Republicans gather signatures to qualify as candidates. Steve Farkas Because the deadline for filing a designation petition was July 19, the Republican slate was set last month.  Lansing Republicans have endorsed one candidate for each of the six positions, all encumbants. Steve Farkas will run for another term as Town Supervisor.  Marty Christopher is running for his seat as Town Councilman.  Although Connie Wilcox is a Democrat, Lansing Republicans have also endorsed her as a candidate, so she will appear twice on the ballot.  Highway Supervisor Jack French, Town Clerk Bonita Boles, and Town Justice john Howell are all running for another term. Marty Christopher While Hugh Bahar lost his bid for a Democratic nomination, he is already on the ballot as an Independence Party candidate. With no challenges between Republicans, there will be no Town primary election.  Voters will get to choose in the general election on November 6th.

The meeting began with Lawrence being elected the chair or the caucus, and Pat Pryor as secretary.  Once they were sworn in Lawrence explained that only registered Democrats could participate and vote, and outlined the law governing the caucus.  He then opened the floor for nominations for Town Supervisor.  Scott Pinney was nominated, and accepted the nomination.

Ted Laux asked Pinney to explain what he believes in as a Democrat and why he should vote for him.  Judge William Burin accused the current administration discourages businesses from moving into town, and asked Pinney if he supports bringing businesses like a grocery store, drug store, laundromats into the Town.  "We need all that stuff in the Town," Burin said.  "We have nothing but convenience stores."

Pinney gave a bit of background about himself, then talked about a town center, saying he disagrees with current Supervisor Steve Farkas on where it should be.  When pressed he said he sees it along Ridge and Peruville Road, between the East Shore Drive and Triphammer intersections, and advocated commercial development on the Town land across the street from the Town Hall.  He outlined other areas where he says he differs from Farkas, including the sewer and handling Town personnel.  "Eventually the Town needs a sewer," he said.  "But if you listen to taxpayers, obviously the price of it at this point -- they can't afford it.  So why try to push it on the Town at this point?"

But Pinney declined to outline a specific platform, saying that he would fine tune it as a candidate with input from the Democrats, and that it would be more appropriate to be specific later in the process.  "If this isn't the time, when is?" Pryor persisted.  "If we're going to support you to run as Supervisor we should hear more about your vision."

Pryor also questioned his issue with Town employees, asking whether it was specific to individuals, or a perception of town workers in general.  Pinney said that his issue is with a few individuals.  "There are a lot of good people in the Town," he said.  "In my business my employees need to react with my customers the way I would react.  When town employers react with taxpayers, which is the same thing as customers in my opinion, they should react with them the way the Town Supervisor would react himself."

Incumbent Town Councillor Connie Wilcox was then nominated for a second term in that position.  She made a statement outlining her accomplishments and involvement since being elected, as well as a large number of projects and organizations she has been involved with in the Lansing and Tompkins County communities.  She advocated helping Lansing residents in need, alternative energy production, and said she voted against the sewer project because it was just too expensive for residents.  

"My feeling on the sewer issue is that there are a couple of things to finish so the map plan is done, because I feel that the issue is going to come back again in ten to fifteen years, and why spend all that money again?" she said.  "But I think there should be a resolution that the sewer is done.  It's not tabled.  It's done.  It's over with until such a time that there can be some sort of federal funding.  I believe ten to twelve years down the road we are going to have  a few billion dollars in federal funding for infrastructure for towns and municipalities.  They're staring to look at it now.  My goal is to have it put in mothballs deep in the attic until such a time as it is affordable and feasible."

But Wilcox was challenged because two months ago Republicans endorser her as a candidate, tried to get her to switch to their party.  Wilcox said she considered that proposal  even though she is a lifelong Democrat from a family of Democrats.  Steve Kyle asked whether she would change parties after the election.  "I believe in Democratic ideals of open government, diversity, all the things that Democrats stand for," she said.  "I've been very disillusioned by the Lansing Democrats."

Resisting getting into personal issues, she was finally pressed to explain specifically where her disillusionment stemmed from.  But Hurf Sheldon, who recently ran for County Legislature noted, "At the last meeting we asked Connie not to come tonight if she wasn't committed to being a Democrat.  She's here, and I don't think we should question that at this point."

"I'm not going to change parties," Wilcox declared.  "That's good enough for me," Lawrence said.

Wilcox went on to say, "I will not come to committee meetings and be personally attacked.  And I will not come to committee meetings where there are just a couple of people who have their own agenda.  I stay away from committee meetings, because I don't want to get into discussions that are unfocussed."

"I don't think my question was unfair and you gave a straight answer, which is what I was looking for," Kyle said.

"When I walked in tonight and saw Connie sitting here I was glad that she was here," Pryor added.  "Because that indicates to me that she had seriously thought about what we talked about in the committee, and she had chosen to be here as a Democrat."

The third candidate to be nominated was Hugh Bahar.  Marcy Rosenkrantz and her husband Dan Konolowalo had asked him to attend the caucus, even though he is not a Democrat.  Rosenkrantz asked to read a staement for Bahar, but Konowalo suggested a vote to allow him to speak for himself, which passed unanimously.

Bahar told the group that he had organized NoLansingSewers.com, and had led community action against the project.  He was highly critical of current Town Board members, especially Deputy Supervisor Bud Shattuck, who chaired the sewer committee, and accused the committee members of pushing the sewer project to benefit their own special interests.  

	Levers or Computers The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) mandated that we would be using the new electronic voting machines by January 1, 2006.  But security concerns, glitches, and governmental delays will mean that Lansing voters will still be flipping levers in the November election.  The most recent delay has to do with Ciber Labs failing to meet US Election Assistance Commision requirements for certification as a testing lab.  Without the ability to certify machines as reliable, New York municipalities cannot implement them.

"I've lived in Lansing for 25 years," Kyle stated.  "I've been on lots of committees and worked with lots of people, and I've been a congenital Democrat for my entire life.  I have to say that I never met anyone in Lansing who I thought had ill will, or who I thought was a bad person.  I don't think there are any villains.  I don't think painting them as bad people will get you elected in Lansing."

But Bahar disagreed, saying, "I think what you have is a sort of superior position where 'we know what's best for this community.'"

As an independent, Bahar was asked by several people why they should endorse him as a Democrat.  Pryor expressed several reservations.  "I was struck by your negativity," she said.  "Were you were to be elected you would have to serve with some of that current Town board.  That bothers me.  What I would like to know is how you would position yourself to work productively with the people you were so highly critical of."

"A productive working relationship has to be built on trust and intelligence," Bahar said.  "I can't promise it's going to be a productive relationship.  What I can promise is that I'll put in the time and effort necessary to try to understand where everybody's point of view is coming from."

When it came to a vote 17 of the 18 voted to endorse Wilcox, while only 5 voted for Bahar.  That resulted in only two Democratic candidates being nominated for the six Town positions.  Some asked that the caucus be extended to see if others would come forward, but Lawrence argued that the benefits of being able to get on with the campaign with two candidates Democrats support outweigh the dubious chance of someone stepping forward.  His argument won the group over, and they voted to adjourn the caucus.


The caucus adds only one candidate, Pinney, to the slate already registered with the Tompkins County Board of Elections, because Wilcox is already listed there because of a petition submitted to gain the republican endorsement.  Bahar is also on the ballot, because he submitted a petition to run in the Independence Party.  Other independents may join the fray if they petition before August 21.

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