Archive: News

If you watch television news you'd think that the next election isn't for another 14 months!  But the fact is that on November 6th there will be an election for several offices, including many local elected positions, including Town Supervisor, Council people, Highway Superintendent, Clerk, State Senator, and more.  Democrats chose their candidates by caucus at Lansing Community Center last month, while Republicans submitted petitions to the Tompkins County Board of Elections.  There will be no primaries this year, but some seats are likely to be hotly contested in the general election.
{styleboxjp width=400px,float=center}The Lansing Star begins its election coverage this week with an interview with Town Supervisor Steve Farkas.  We do our best to interview all local candidates, asking the same questions to those running for the same office.  After we run these interviews we keep them live on the Elections page so that voters can re-read them as the election grows near and compare what the candidates have to say.{/styleboxjp}
Of the 61,877 registered voters in Tompkins County (as of April 1), 26,990 are Democrats, 16,372 Republicans, 2,079 Independence Party members, and 1,141 in the Green Party.  There are 374 Conservative Party members, 201 Working Families voters, and 39 Libertarians.  Currently most of the offices that are up for election in the Town of Lansing are held by Republicans, with the one exception being Democrat Connie Wilcox, who is running for another term as Town Councilwoman.  But Wilcox is also endorsed by the Republicans in this year's election, so she will appear on both tickets in the voting booth.


The districts in New York are drawn strangely, with Lansing falling in a different district than Ithaca.  Lansing is the southernmost boundary of US Congressional District 24 in New York State making Michael Arcuri Lansing's US Congressman, while Ithaca's is Maurice Hinchey.  Michael Nozzolio is Lansing's State Senator.  In November he will be challenged by Democrat Paloma Capanna.  Again Lansing is the southernmost portion of the district, in this case State Senatorial District 54.  But Lansing's State Assembly District 125 is drawn differently, and we share Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton with Cortland and other areas to the east.

Locally it's not that complicated.  All registered voters in the Town and Village of Lansing may vote for Town candidates.  Village elections are held in April, and of course only Village voters may weigh in at that time for the Mayor and Board of Trustees positions.


This November 6th Republican Steve Farkas will be running for another term as Lansing Town Supervisor, challenged by Democrat Scott Pinney.  There are three candidates for Town Board members: Republican incumbent Marty Christopher and Democrat incumbent Connie Wilcox will be running for another term, with Independence Party member Hugh Bahar challenging them for one of their seats.  Three incumbent Republicans are running unopposed: Judge John Howell will run for another term as Town Justice, Bonny Boles will be running again for Town Clerk, and Jack French will be up for a new term as Lansing's Highway Superintendent.

The Help America Vote Act of 2002 says that we'll be casting our votes on new electronic voting machines this November.  But politics and unsteady technology says that we'll be voting in our familiar lever voting machines.  The new machines were first delayed by a federal lawsuit, and then because a major certification lab failed to meet certification standards itself.

Turnout is always low in non-presidential election years.  That will make it a challenge for local candidates to get the vote out this November.  Getting that vote out will be the key to winning the election this year.

----
v3i35