County Legislature
Travis Brooks – District 1
By Jacob Gelman
Democrat Travis Brooks is running unopposed for reelection for Tompkins County Legislature District 1, which includes the City of Ithaca and Westside Ithaca. This will be his second term. Brooks is currently chair of the Health and Human Services Committee and vice chair of the Housing and Economic Development Committee.
Brooks said he took a more measured approach during his first term on what he chose to take a stand on. Brooks said he built relationships during his first term and grew to understand the legislative process better. Moving forward, Brooks plans to involve himself and the community more in decision-making.
“Even though we have some talented legislators, they don’t know it all, and we have to find the people in the community that do in each area,” Brooks said. “So to me, it is bringing people with lived experience. People that have built, created and sustained programs.”
Brooks said that over the next two years, the Tompkins County community could face challenges due to the current administration and that they are only beginning to see these challenges. Brooks said he wants to work with Tompkins County Department of Social Services and community agencies to collaborate on housing and food insecurity.
“I think it’s an exciting time,” Brooks said. “We are dealing with a great deal of pressure, with decisions that are being made in Washington. It’s an opportunity where the community can come together regardless of party line, and figure out how we can do right and do best.”
Veronica Pillar – District 2
By Jacob Gelman
Democrat Veronica Pillar is running unopposed for reelection for District 2 legislator of Tompkins County, which includes The Commons, Seneca Street, Green Street and Buffalo Street. This will be her second term. Pillar is currently the chair of the Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Committee and vice chair of the Planning, Energy, & Environmental Quality Committee.
Pillar said that it is always a fight to maintain structural internal equity work and that one of her top priorities is ensuring this work continues robustly. Pillar said that she is working on a report with the equity and diversity team to achieve this. This report also serves as a framework and procedure for certain actions.
“There is a road map laid out for the next few years,” Pillar said. “It’ll just be following it, which can be surprisingly challenging.”
Pillar said she wants to establish a space to hold natural conversations between the county government and the county’s people. Pillar said that she needs to solidify this idea but that it is one she wants to establish and leave behind as her legacy when she exits office.
“I’m learning … that having relationships with people is one of the most important things you could have to make any initiative or policy succeed and actually work for folks,” Pillars said.
Iris Packman – District 3
By Jacob Gelman
Democrat Iris Packman is seeking election for District 3 Legislator of Tompkins County, which includes Coddington Street, Aurora Street, Hudson Place and Grandview Avenue. She won the primary vote June 24 with 64% against Pierre Saint-Perez, a current alderperson of Ward 3.
Packman is a lifelong Ithaca resident and studied labor law and union organizing at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Later, she worked as a strategic campaigner for an international labor union and as a shop steward for her staff union.
Packman was appointed to the City of Ithaca’s Sustainability and Climate Justice Commission in 2023. She was also elected vice president of the Board of Directors of the Ithaca Children’s Garden and currently serves on the Cornell Faculty Senate as a representative from the School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
According to her website, Packman’s mission is to “ensure working families have an experienced advocate who understands the challenges of raising children, securing affordable housing and navigating systemic barriers.”
Adam Vinson – District 4
By Gabriella Dearden
Adam Vinson, a 2025 Cornell University graduate, is running unopposed for Tompkins County Legislature District 4. While at Cornell, Vinson was executive vice president of the Cornell Student Assembly and was chair of the environmental committee, which was tasked with establishing new regulations and enforcing environmental rules. As a legislator for Tompkins County’s fourth district, he will oversee portions of East Ithaca, including parts of the Cornell campus with a large student population.
In reference to college students being engaged in local politics, Vinson said there is often a discrepancy between age and awareness of politics in Ithaca. While there is a big student population in Tompkins County, there is no current student in the county legislature. Vinson said it can be a difficult demographic to interact with.
“There’s a very big disconnect, not only in students not really having an understanding of it, but also the policies of the legislature,” Vinson said
Vinson said the key issues of his campaign include affordable housing, especially for college students, and shifting the direction to creating more affordable buildings. In addition, Vinson said he aims to secure funding for the Ithaca Green New Deal.
“I’m pledging to try and do everything I can to make sure that our environmental programs are not cut, and face as little change as possible in a negative direction,” Vinson said.
Vinson said he is also working on the “Tompkins till 2” policy proposal with Robin Trumble, a ward four Common Council candidate. Vinson said this policy aims to keep bars open at 2 a.m. instead of 1 a.m., a common practice in most other parts of the state.
“I think that we can make a lot of changes to make [Tompkins County] much safer,” Vinson said.“[Extending bar hours] could help reduce the amount of people who get alcohol poisoning, and also would be a great way to collect sales tax revenue.”
Judith Hubbard – District 5
By Liam McDermott
Judith Hubbard is running unopposed for Tompkins County Legislature District 5. The fifth district consists of the Fall Creek and Cornell Heights neighborhoods as well as parts of the Cornell University campus. Hubbard is also a structural geologist who studies earthquakes and is a visiting professor at Cornell.
Hubbard said she is focusing her campaign on county finances, taxes and environmental issues. Hubbard also said that the county needs to be more careful about the tax abatements it gives out. She feels that the money being lost could be money going towards the community to support things such as libraries and keeping services throughout the county affordable. When it comes to the environment, Hubbard acknowledged that the City of Ithaca is doing a lot to reduce carbon emissions and that the county should try to follow in the city’s footsteps.
As a natural scientist, Hubbard said she is concerned about the TeraWulf AI Data Center proposal in Lansing.
“There’s been recent work showing that energy prices statistically are higher around data centers because they are such energy hogs that it raises demand for electricity,” Hubbard said. “So if we put in things like data centers, that might come with further increases in prices on electricity. It might actually make our cost-of-living problems worse.”
Hubbard also said AI data centers, just like the one proposed in Lansing, release carbon emissions into the air and emit carbon into Cayuga Lake.
Another issue Hubbard said she is concerned about is the county budget. Hubbard said that because of budget cuts from the federal government, which have provided the county less money since the new administration took over in January, the county legislature has to make important decisions about prioritizing where the money is needed the most.
Shawna Black – District 6
By Sarah Payne
Shawna Black is running unopposed for a chance at a third term in the Tompkins County Legislature. While she was previously a legislator for District 11, she is now running for District 6. Black served as chair of the Tompkins County Legislature for two years after being elected in 2022 and was formerly vice chair.
Black is serving as vice chair of Public Safety and Health and Human Services, and chair of the Tompkins Intergovernmental Relations Committee. Black said she has been a part of the Health and Human Services Committee and Public Safety Committee to aid in addressing these issues. Black said she supports efforts to help unhoused individuals through providing health services, supporting shelters and utilizing various harm reduction tactics, like NARCAN.
Black said that she believes that the county should invest in mental health services and ensure that there are enough providers. Black said she ultimately chose to run for another term due to the number of veteran legislators retiring, believing that having some people with experience returning could help with the transition.
“[It is] really important to hear the voices in our community and always be accessible,” Black said. “There have been things that have come up in our community, and sometimes, whenever you’re in the meetings, you don’t understand the full picture.”
Deborah Dawson – District 7
By Sarah Payne
Deborah Dawson is running unopposed for reelection to the Tompkins County Legislature in District 7. Originally, Dawson had plans to retire after serving for eight years in the legislature, but announced her intentions to run due to a significant turnover rate in the legislature that coincides with ongoing federal and fiscal challenges, like observing and dealing with how the Big Beautiful Bill might impact the county. Dawson said that her experience in the local government and with federal regulatory enforcement, would be beneficial for the community.
Dawson has also previously focused on sustainability efforts through work on the Climate and Sustainable Energy Advisory Board and has experience chairing the Planning, Development and Environmental Quality Committee and the Planning, Energy and Environmental Quality Committee. At the latterly mentioned committee she aided in administering the Scoping Plan, which came about under the NYS Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
Dawson’s bid is a write-in one and former competitor John Dennis will be on the November ballot because he removed his bid too late to be removed. On Sept. 24, Dennis announced he was ending his bid. Both Dennis and a former third-party candidate, Joshua Jahani have endorsed Dawson.
Dawson said she wants the Tompkins County Legislature to focus on assessing needs and issues with housing, medical care and food.
“Governance is a lot like a Rubik’s cube: if you move something on one side of the cube, it has an impact on the other five sides,” Dawson said via email. “As balancing our residents’ conflicting needs, interests, and opinions to find the best solutions to as many of our community’s problems as possible, and to keep our residents informed about what we’re doing and why.”
John Hunt – District 12
By Sydney Martin
John Hunt is running for District 12 legislator of Tompkins County, which covers the Town of Ithaca, as well as parts of east Ithaca, parts of Cornell University’s campus and the South Hill area. A retired Cornell researcher in geology, Hunt is running unopposed as the Democratic Party nominee for this race. Hunt was inspired to run after seeing the wide number of representatives retiring.
Christy Bianconi – District 14
By Sydney Martin
Christy Bianconi ’02 is a social worker running as the nominee from the Democratic and Working Families parties for District 14 of the Tompkins County Legislature. The district seat, which includes Ithaca College and Namgyal Monastery, is a contested race between Bianconi and independent Michelle E. Wright.
Bianconi has lived and worked in the Town of Ithaca for 30 years, graduating from both Ithaca High School and Ithaca College. As a social worker, Bianconi has held positions with Tompkins County, New York state prisons and Veteran’s Health Administration hospitals. She currently works with a telehealth company that provides care for Medicaid recipients across New York.
Her campaign is built around expanding mental health resources and housing affordability in Tompkins County. Bianconi said she is also a strong proponent of social justice and ensuring that the government works for all of its citizens.
“I have this conviction that regular, everyday people need to run for office,” Bianconi said. “I feel this extremely strongly, especially people who are boots on the ground, who are in public service … who can build trust back up in the political system [and] who really have such expertise in actually thinking about what is best for everybody and getting the job done. … I am a working, everyday person. I’m a mom, I have a family, I have a house, I have a full-time job. As I’m doing all of this, I’m balancing all of that with wanting to really provide public service.”
Michelle E. Wright – District 14
By Sydney Martin
Michelle E. Wright is an administrative assistant running as an independent for the District 14 legislator seat in Tompkins County. The seat includes parts of South Hill, including Ithaca College Campus and Namgyal Monastery. Wright grew up in the town of Hector, NY and received a Master’s of Professional Studies in Global Development from Cornell University in 2025. She is running against Democratic nominee Christy Bianconi.
Having held several roles in local government for the town of Ulysses, particularly in the financial area, Wright said that she hopes to bring her experience to a legislature that will experience a nearly 50% turnover in representatives in this year’s elections.
Other campaign priorities include a more affordable cost of living across Tompkins County and the importance of local government, especially the role that young voters can play in the election, with one of her campaign advisors being a current senior in high school. As IC falls within the new District 14 map, Wright said she wants to put emphasis on working with IC students through a Constituent Advisory Council, even if they may be a less permanent part of the overall local population.
“IC is such a cherished establishment for our community, but it is often in the shadows and I’d like to change that,” Wright said. “Especially being their representative, it would be my absolute honor to include IC in the conversation, IC students specifically.”
Town Court Judge
Jim Salk – Town Judge
By Sydney Martin
Jim Salk ’74 is an incumbent running unopposed as a Democrat for Ithaca Town Court Judge. An Ithaca College alum, Salk practiced transactional law for 20 years. Salk said he ran for town judge at the suggestion of one of his firm partners.
The state-wide system of Town and Village Court is unique to the state of New York and ensures that the judge presiding over a case is a member of the local community. Salk said this fact is what informs his work in the Town of Ithaca, alongside maintaining neutrality in all cases that come before his bench.
“Everybody who comes before me … is a member of my community,” Salk said. “I have to listen to what’s going on and try to both be fair to the person who’s in front of me, but also be mindful that something’s happened that brought this person to my attention and the community needs to be protected as well.”
