Posted on 04/21/2010 7:39:10 AM PDT by Behind Liberal Lines
Last week, Janis Kelly announced the revival of monthly meetings for the City of Ithaca Republican Committee. Republicans have been absent from city politics for years, as local government has been dominated by Democrats and third party members. As committee chair, Kelly said the citys current Democratic administration is setting Ithaca on a path of unsustainable job-killing policies, regulatory overkill and financial foolishness, and asked fellow Republicans to help restore bipartisan politics in Ithaca.
Michael Sigler, chair of the Tompkins County GOP, said the primary goal of the monthly meetings is to get attendees more involved in political dialogue.
Irene Stein, chair of the Tompkins County Democratic Committee, commended Kellys effort to organize.
The Republican city committee has been invisible for years, and I think [Kelly] alludes to that. Shes trying to rebuild it and thats to her credit, Stein said.
However, Stein was quick to defend her position as well.
Republicans have not done well, not only in the city but in the county as a whole, she said. We have provided, in general, open and accountable government, and I think people are happy with their local governments here in Tompkins County.
Prof. Theodore Lowi, government, agreed that Ithacas current administration is not the worst he has seen during his 38-year tenure at Cornell. However, he argued that the GOPs inability to elect an effective number of public officials is not good because there is no significant power that keeps the Democrats in check.
Lowi characterized Ithacas current political landscape as a one-and-a-half-party system because the third parties occasionally team up and elect a mayor before the Democrats regain control. However, most of these victories are short-lived and the third parties do not maintain power after a loss, he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at cornellsun.com ...
Leading, of course, to Ithaca being....the City of Evil.
You ain’t kiddin. It’s a regional embarrassment. Lots of good, hard working Republicans live within just a few miles of it and have been wondering for generations what they ever did to deserve it.
You know the Ithaca bumper sticker: "ITHACA: 10 Square Miles Surrounded By Reality"??
Somebody's gotta be the "reality". It's a crappy job but somebody's gotta do it.
The worst thing about Ithaca is how it spreads liberalism like a cancer into the rest of Upstate New York. The surrounding towns are starting to transform into “Ithaca lite” a little more each year.
Yes, and then there’s Rochester. They’re spreading their influence toward an eventual meeting in Seneca Falls.
From what I’ve seen, Seneca Falls has already turned. It’s full of chiropractic students, “birthplace of women’s rights” types and people begging for canal trails.
Yep, it’s the feminist mecca, a big local attraction. The holy city.
New York State's motto is going to change from “Excelsior” to “Oya Hitsay”
There are, actual Republicans living INSIDE the city???
I’d never have known.
Ithaca, NY ... city founded by hippies taking a Wrong Turn out of WOODSTOCK!
Maybe we should give it (Seneca Falls) back to the Indians?
Maybe they would say, “No thanks.”
The NYGOP needs fresh blood! Replace the old RINOs. Those RINOs killed it.
Actually, the Indians have been suing and trying other methods to get Seneca Falls (and a large chunk of the rest of the area on the north end of Cayuga lake) back for about thirty years.
You live there, and you know that there is only ONE political party in Thompkins County.... which happens to be the largest landowner. Cornell University. What the University wants...it gets. Want to change the politics of the area, gain control of the university administration. Republicans....yeah right.
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