Who Wants to Win in 2024? RAISE YOUR HAND! Local Democratic communities lost two well-respected, influential members this spring: Janice Newman Esman, who died at age 104, and Daniel Konowalow, who was 95. Janice was a member of TCDC and served as Treasurer at a time in the late 1980s/early 1990s when local Democrats flipped Tompkins County from red to blue. She would reach across the aisle to achieve goals that were important to her, for example, working with the late Republican Assemblywoman Constance Cook to legalize abortion in New York state in the early 1970s. Dan became a member and chair of the Lansing Democratic Committee (LDC), served on the Lansing Town Board and encouraged others to do the same. Current LDC Chair Ruth Hopkins says Dan urged her to run for Town Board, and supported her “as I grappled with the controversial issues before the Board. He took the time to attend board meetings and give a strong voice and sound rationale for our shared viewpoints. When Dan showed up to the meeting, board members knew we were going to hear a well-researched, articulate and vigorous comment!” Dan’s widow, Marcy Rosenkrantz, says Dan was looking forward to President […]

Marc Molinaro: Defender, or Defunder, of Senior Citizens? by Ann Reichlin Having recently received a mailer trumpeting how local congressman Marc Molinaro supports seniors and wants to save Social Security, I decided to check out Molinaro’s voting record on issues that pertain to seniors. The Alliance of Retired Americans gave him a score of 10 percent, based on the nine out of ten of his votes that they disagreed with. Then I decided to check out the votes Molinaro is bragging about, which supposedly demonstrate his support for seniors. In his mailer, he claims that he “Voted to protect Social Security, Medicare, Veterans Benefits.” Further examination revealed that what he actually voted for was the short term budget extension. This is bare minimum governance, and doesn’t come close to qualifying as advocacy for Medicare or Social Security. The second item on his list: “Led a bipartisan effort to strengthen Social Security;” is a little more supportive of his claim of supporting seniors, since if the bill passed it would remedy an unfairness in the system. But to call himself a leader is quite an exaggeration. While it’s true that he’s a cosponsor of this legislation, it is also true that […]

Tompkins County and the On-Again, Off-Again Student Vote by Carol K. Kammen Things are different today, but after the opening of Cornell University in 1868, many people wondered what would happen if students were allowed to vote. They found out in November 1870, when it became clear that Cornell students had influenced the outcome of a local election. Two hundred students voted that year: 30 for the Democratic ticket, the rest for the Republican. The Democrats blamed their loss on the student vote. In 1872, of the 500 students at the university, 110 were eligible to vote and in that election every student who was over the age of 21 went to the polls, 70 casting a vote for U.S. Grant and 40 for Horace Greeley. As this was the first election in which they were qualified to vote, none wanted to miss the chance to do so. The political affiliation of the senior class of 1873 listed 51 Republicans, 11 Independents, 20 Liberals and six Democrats. Students insisted that they had “pecuniary interests” in Ithaca and in fact, it was estimated that students spent about $7,000 a week in the village. Students were interested in street lighting, and in […]

At the June 4 TCDC meeting new members will be seated, including newcomer Mollie Leitzes. Mollie is already a member of the Town of Ithaca Democratic Committee. She served as Volunteer Coordinator with the Obama Campaign in New Jersey and was a journalist for the New Jersey Jewish News. Since TCDC’s Volunteer Coordinator position was open, Mollie has already begun working in that capacity. She has taken a deep dive into the analysis of volunteer data that came to the county via Tracy Mitrano’s campaign and is contacting potential volunteers to support our 2024 efforts. Starting with the historical, limited information about voters who volunteered for political campaigns in the past, Mollie—along with County Chair Linda Hoffmann and Technology Coordinator Ted Crane—has identified more than 1,000 potential volunteers. Finding current contact information for them is a challenge. Targeted emails are going out and responses are coming back. In addition, if you know someone who would like to volunteer for the 2024 campaign please ask them to fill out the 2024 TCDC Volunteer Registration Form. Please direct questions to Mollie at volunteers@tcdemocrats.org.

TCDC organizers are working on plans for a rally on the Ithaca Commons in early June. The program will include remarks from a special guest and candidates for Congress, State Senate, Assembly and County and City Judge, music and general uplift. Be looking for an email with date, time and details!

The Presidential Election: Six Reasons for Optimism From time to time, TCDC Chair Linda Hoffmann will share this space with a member who wants to write about an issue of interest to Democrats. This month, the Message is from Communications Director Claudia Montague Wheatley. Rosenberg quotes are lightly edited for length. Simon Rosenberg is a Democratic political consultant and master of Hopium Chronicles, the place for Democrats to go when our nerves are shot from unsettling presidential polls and other campaign news. He shared his reasons for optimism on the April 26 Bulwark podcast. Rosenberg prefaced his remarks by telling listeners to give up dreams of a white knight who will take Trump out of the picture for us. “We have to stop waiting for Jack Smith or the prosecutors,” he said. “And we have to not make it contingent upon him being found guilty. If it happens, great. But if it doesn’t, we have to fight the election that’s in front of us now.” Rosenberg cited six facts about Trump that voters didn’t know in 2020. Number one: “He raped E. Jean Carroll in a department store dressing room.” Two: Trump “oversaw one of the largest financial frauds in […]

I’m going to make this brief, because not only is March petition-passing time, we have a congressional district that might look very different when the stakeholders are finished with it! It keeps a committee chair busy from dawn til dusk. But I wanted to take time to send a shout-out to TCDC members who are carrying petitions for us. In a world where social media has just about replaced face-to-face socializing, members who perform this task are doing more than collecting signatures: They are our ambassadors, using each door-knock as an opportunity to speak with Democratic voters across Tompkins County. Door-step conversations can address misconceptions about who we are, what we believe and why we feel so passionately that the Democratic Party does the best job of representing the values and concerns of everyday Americans. These priceless connections are only possible because of the commitment of our members.

Our congressional district is in flux; our Congressman is in stasis By Ann Reichlin New York’s congressional district lines are in flux yet again. Although the New York State Independent Redistricting Commission tweaked them, Tompkins County remained in NY-19. Then the New York State Legislature tweaked the lines again—again leaving Tompkins County in NY-19—for now. It’s still possible that things will change. But for the moment, Tompkins County is inside one of the very few tossup congressional districts in the country. The new Commission lines would make NY-19 a little harder for Democrats to win, and the NYS legislature map would keep it similar to the current one. Either way, our role in helping a Democrat win in our district will be hugely consequential. The stakes are high. DonaldTrump’s terrifying agenda includes rounding up undocumented immigrants and forcing them into detention camps; restricting reproductive rights by limiting access to mifepristone in all states; rolling back policies that try to mitigate climate change and threatening to impose the military on cities that he detests. It is absolutely imperative that we prevent Donald Trump from returning to office. It is equally imperative to ensure that the House of Representatives is controlled by […]