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The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/2003/11/04/vote-for-warm-weather/)

November 4, 2003

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Vote For Warm Weather!!

By wpengine | November 4, 2003

On this Election Day, it is crucial you get out there and rock the vote! Forget about the Mayoral Elections, if we all vote for warm weather, maybe our climate will change and Ithaca will become a Tropical Paradise. Nah… who am I kidding? Today its going to be another gloomy day around town, with early showers giving way to cloudy conditions in the afternoon. I can’t rule out a shower throughout the PM hours but I wouldn’t worry too much. The humidity will be high, so beware of frizzy hair conditions. The temperature should remain mild and unseasonably warm in the mid-60s, with light winds blowing across the quads. The end of the week is looking great, but I smell snow on the horizon.

Archived article by Adam Daum

City Approves '04 Budget, Cohen Vows Veto

By wpengine November 5, 2003

Last night, at a Common Council meeting in City Hall, the council passed the city’s budget for 2004. However, due to the absence of $29,000 for purchasing wind power in the budget, Cohen said he intends to issue a line-item veto, restoring funding to investment in the renewable energy source. The Common Council will have until Nov. 20 to react to Cohen’s veto. Ron Kamen, director of New York Operations for Community Energy, attended the meeting unannounced. At the meeting, he spoke to the Common Council to make his case. ‘If Not Now, Then When?’ “If not you, then who? If not now, then when?” Kamen asked, adding that there are environmental dangers posed by other energy sources, including oil, coal and nuclear power. Community Energy is “the leading marketer-developer of wind-generated power in the market,” according to its website. Kamen suggested that wind power has a potential to generate up to 10,000 mega-watts of energy in New York state, but it needs communities to purchase early on to reassure investors. Recommendations “I recommend that we spend $29,000 [on wind energy],” Cohen said. Spending this amount would result in Ithaca getting approximately 20 percent of its power from that source. Not all members of the Common Council were enthusiastic about the tax increases that would result from this investment. “I would like to [purchase wind power] by getting funds from some other place in the budget,” said Patricia Pryor (D-1st Ward). No Vote Since the mayor expressed his intention to alter the total expenditures in the budget, the Common Council opted not to vote on increasing taxes until the budget is worked out. Adding wind power into the budget would cause property taxes to be higher than projected in the motion scheduled for last night — which had property tax raised to $12.7526 per $1,000 of taxable property, an increase of slightly more than nine percent. This increase would not apply to Cornell, which accounts for a significant portion of the $2,215,719,400 worth of tax exempt property. The taxes were initially proposed to be substantially higher, at 14.11 percent, but the Memorandum of Understanding between the University and the city allowed for the tax increase to be lower in the budget, while preventing virtually all layoffs. Other items discussed during the meeting included the passage of a local law allowing tax exemption for capital improvements to residential buildings, the adoption of a public art plan for the city and a 50 percent increase in carousel fees to 75 cents.Archived article by David Hillis
Ithaca Elects Peterson First Female Mayor

By wpengine November 5, 2003

Democratic candidate Carolyn Peterson was chosen as Ithaca’s new mayor in yesterday’s election, winning 61.65 percent of the total vote. Peterson, who in January will be sworn in as the city’s first female mayor, carried every district in each of the city’s five wards to defeat Republican challenger Lt. Beau Saul ’97 and Green Party candidate Paul Glover. Common Council Also decided in last evening’s elections were two positions for the 4th ward Common Council, won by Michael Taylor ’05 and Gayraud Townsend ’05 in uncontested races. Taylor will serve a two-year term while Townsend will serve a four-year term. The 4th ward encompasses the majority of Collegetown and an area of West Campus. The race for the 5th ward council seat was won by Democract Robin Holtham Kohrerr, who received 86.89 percent of the vote against Republican challenger Lindsey Plotnik ’05. The 5th ward encompasses, in part, North and West Campuses. All four Democratic candidates were present to celebrate yesterday evening’s results at the Plumber’s and Pipefitter’s Union on W. State St. ‘What a Win!’ “What a win!” Peterson said, addressing an excited crowd of local residents and student supporters. “I am awed by the trust and responsibility this community has given me.” In her victory speech, Peterson promised to tackle issues both large and small during her tenure as mayor, from severe budget problems to residents’ concerns regarding traffic. Following her speech, Peterson detailed her vision of continuing the relationship between Cornell and the Ithaca community. “I represented the 4th ward for the last 2 years … and I’m also a member of the Collegetown Neighborhood Council,” Peterson said. “The relationship has been improving over the last few years, especially [with] activities that Cornell is providing, … really positive moves for cooperation with the city and students and Cornell University. Having two new students representing the ward is going to be a whole new direction, and I think it’s going to be very valuable.” Townsend and Taylor shared in Peterson’s optimistic outlook, promising to continue to enhance the relationship between Ithaca and Cornell. Immediate Impact “There are issues that city government discusses which clearly have a very immediate impact [on] students’ lives at Cornell,” Taylor said. “The median age in Ithaca is 22 years old, so Gayraud and I really have an opportunity to be the young people’s voice.” “I think it’s a great feat for students of Cornell that we have a voice on the Council for the next couple of years,” Townsend said. Following the final tally of votes, Saul expressed both disappointment with the results as well as faith in Peterson’s ability as a community leader. “It’s … not totally unpredicted [but] I think that we did good, we’re all a bunch of human service workers … [and] I think we did a really good job for the first time out,” Saul said from his campaign headquarters on East Seneca St. “The city will survive just fine with Carolyn at the helm. I look forward to working with [her], I’ve known her for years — she’s a good, honest person.” Glover, while offering cautious assistance to Peterson, tempered his comments with a stern warning to the new mayor. “Carolyn will be faced with hard choices immediately — to restrain taxes, maintain services, to serve environmentalists as well capitalists, to serve labor as well as big box stores,” Glover said. “I’ll be active [in assisting] her with grassroots economic devlopment, [but] if she seeks to install more chain stores in the city’s southwest 80 acres, I’ll be her worst pain in the ass.” Both Saul and Glover said that they would return to their work, citing no plans for future political campaigns. “We will move forward these next four years with anticipation,” Peterson said. Archived article by Jeff Sickelco