The voters have decided to consolidate 11 Advisory Commissions into four and to elect a Democrat newcomer into the City of Ithaca’s Common Council in Tuesday’s elections.
Common Council asked voters at the ballot whether “the Ithaca City Charter and City of Ithaca Municipal Code [should] replace 11 boards, committees, commissions and councils with four new volunteer Advisory Commissions.”
“The current board and committees’ organizational structure is confusing to the public and challenging for citizens to understand how to participate,” the Common Council agreed in a meeting in July.
The proposal was accepted by voters roughly two to one.
Question: “Shall a local law be approved that would amend the Ithaca City Charter and City of Ithaca Municipal Code to replace 11 boards, committees, commissions and councils with four new volunteer Advisory Commissions intended to empower public participation in setting City policy?”
| Voters | Percentage (%) | |
| Yes | 1901 | 63.24 |
| No | 1105 | 36.76 |
| Total | 3006 | 100 |
While six out of 10 seats of Common Council were open, four of them was uncontested. Another seat was between an incumbent and newcomers. Laura A. Lewis, a board member of the Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services, came out on top in the race for the Fifth Ward seat.
Josephine Martell, the previous occupant of the contested seat, endorsed Lewis as “a smart, capable and lovely women” in a text to The Sun prior to the election.
“I am grateful to my family, neighbors and friends for their support of my campaign for Common Council, and I am so pleased for this opportunity to represent my wonderful community,” Lewis told The Sun. “I look forward to working with the dedicated members serving on Ithaca’s Common Council as we look to solutions for challenges facing our city.”
| Voters | Percentage | |
| Laura A. Lewis | 493 | 57.46 |
| Melissa Hall | 268 | 31.24 |
| Aryeal M. Jackson | 93 | 10.84 |
| Write in | 4 | 0.47 |
| Total | 858 | 100 |
Sun Graphics Team
Fifth Ward election results.
Rich John won an unopposed election to become the county legislator. While Reed Steberger was also on the ballot, he dropped out from the election in September after allegations of sexual assault.
| Voters | Percentage (%) | |
| Rich John | 220 | 89.43 |
| Reed Steberger | 23 | 9.35 |
| Write In | 3 | 1.22 |
| Total | 246 | 100 |
A quarter of the Tompkins County voted in favor of holding a state constitutional convention. This was roughly 7.5 percent higher than the statewide average.
Sun Graphics Team
New York State–wide Constitutional Convention referendum results.
Sun Graphics Team
Tompkins County Constitutional Convention referendum results.