School of Industrial and Labor Relations faculty member and Ithaca native Iris Packman ’06 announced her candidacy for the Tompkins County Legislature seat for District 3 on Feb. 24, receiving endorsements from Susan Currie, the current county legislator for the district, and the Working Families Party.
Packman currently works as a senior research and policy development associate at the ILR School’s Climate Jobs Institute, noting that she hopes to utilize her expertise in labor and climate policy when in office.
“As a lawyer, to watch the constitution at a federal level be really threatened is terrifying [and] kind of shakes the foundation of what I believe in and what I thought was true,” Packman said. “The idea that there could be some action that can be taken at the local level … is really a point of hope for me.”
Packman is currently in the early stages of the race for the seat.
“Right now, I'm in the middle of petitioning, going door to door, asking for signatures so I can be on the ballot,” Packman said.
Packman, who is seeking the Democratic Party nomination, felt compelled to run for the County Legislature to represent families with young children and to inspire her own — showing them that there is a place for women in politics.
Packman’s connection to Ithaca runs deep, having met her husband at Ithaca High School before they both completed their undergraduate degrees on the Hill. After moving to other cities across the East Coast, the couple returned to Ithaca in 2019 because they felt it was the best place to raise their two daughters.
With her commitment to Ithaca comes dedication to the community — Packman has engaged in activism since high school. She has served as the vice president of the Ithaca Children’s Garden Board for two years and has also participated in the Ithaca Elementary Outdoor Gear Project, which provides items such as snow pants, jackets and rain boots to young, under-resourced students.
In 2023, Packman was appointed by Laura Lewis, the mayor of Ithaca at the time, to be part of Ithaca’s Sustainability and Climate Justice Commission, providing a labor-based perspective on how the Council should implement Ithaca’s Green New Deal.
At the same time, Packman conducts research with the ILR School’s Climate Jobs Institute about climate change and renewable energy policy, particularly regarding labor unions.
“Historically, labor and environmental groups have sometimes been pitted against each other. [People believe that] environmental groups are trying to shut down industries that are traditionally unionized,” Packman said. “This is a response to that, to try to create opportunities for good union jobs even in these new industries.”
Packman also expressed her concerns regarding the current state of the housing market in Ithaca, sympathizing with both landlords and tenants. Packman experienced difficulty as a student trying to secure affordable housing in Collegetown.
“We rented a house that had seven bedrooms and I took the tiniest room,” Packman said. “I think it was like a servant’s bedroom. … You shouldn’t have to make those kinds of concessions.”
She expressed concerns about the affordability of housing for families who want to buy homes, pointing to a 75 percent increase in the cost of single-family homes in Tompkins County over the past decade and labeling it a “huge issue.”
Packman explained that housing issues originate from and perpetuate inequality.
“We need to look at the taxation system and ensure that it is equitable … — that everyone's kind of shouldering a fair share [and] that it's being distributed well,” Packman said. “That's something I would be committed to investigating.”
Though she has a deep understanding of the issues she wants to tackle, Packman stressed that she would observe others for some time before springing into action in office.
“I think there's a fair amount of learning and listening to the experts … and the legislators who are staying on,” Packman said. “That's something I love to do. I love to take an issue and study it.”
