The contest between East Hill Unity Party candidate Peter Mack ’03 and Democratic candidate Jamison Moore ’04 for the City of Ithaca’s second Fourth Ward Common Council seat was decided yesterday afternoon.
The Fourth Ward’s first seat was filled by Democrat Carolyn Peterson, who defeated Independent candidate, Joan Speilholz ’73, 168 to 114.
With all districts reporting on Tuesday night, Mack led Moore 154 votes to 133 votes. However, these numbers did not include absentee and affidavit ballots which had the capacity to swing the election in favor of Moore.
When these ballots were counted yesterday afternoon at the Tompkins County Board of Elections, Moore picked up two votes, cutting Mack’s lead to 19 votes.
An additional absentee ballot has not yet been received by the Board. However, it does not have the capacity of changing the election’s outcome.
Mack said he was “very happy with the results.”
As a student member on the Common Council, Mack said he is looking forward to working towards rectifying the complaints many students and local West Campus and Collegetown residents currently have.
Mack said he plans on working towards “better quality housing and alleviating the parking and traffic difficulties in Collegetown.”
He said he also wants to create a “better stream of communication between residents and students” and get “more students involved in local politics.”
According to Mack, one of the “big questions” the Common Council will investigate in the near future is whether or not to allow ‘big box’ chains like Wal-Mart and Target to come to Ithaca.
“The stores will be beneficial to students,” Mack said. “They will provide students with more convenient shopping.”
He said he believes that the stores will also help stop t sprawl from Ithaca and broaden the City’s tax base.
At the same time, however, Mack said he “loves the character of Ithaca” and does not “want to hurt the independent businesses.” “Reasonable development will be beneficial,” Mack said, “but a compromise will have to be reached.”
“I’m interested in seeing how the opinions and perspectives of the other Council Members will change once [we] all take our seats on the Council,” he added.
Mack joins Democrat Carolyn Peterson on the Council representing the fourth ward. Paulette Manos, Independent, will be representing the First Ward on the Council. David Whitmore, Democrat, will be sitting in the Second Ward’s seat, while Democrat Pat Vaughn will be representing Ward Three. In the City’s final Fifth Ward, democrat Dan Cogan will be sitting on the Common Council.
Archived article by Marc Zawel