Linda Holzbaur

Author: Kylie Spooner

Topic: Local Candidates

Linda Holzbaur is running exclusively on the green line for the Town of Ithaca Board. Except for the Town Supervisor, all Board positions are at-large. Listen to a great speech that Linda gave at the Ithaca Progressive Festival. (6 min, 51 sec)

Since moving to Ithaca in 1988 I have been greatly involved in the homeschooling movement. I founded the Fingerlakes Unschoolers Network, a support/information group for people involved or interested in home-based education which publishes a bimonthly newsletter. I have also been active in the effort to change the NYS home education regulation, one of the most restrictive in the nation, and am part of the coalition against High Stakes Testing. I have also been active in the local School of the Americas Watch and in actions protesting the sanctions against Iraq. My family and I have been volunteering at Loaves and Fishes on Thursdays for over a year now.

Since the Town of Ithaca surrounds the city, development issues are similiar here to the ones that city dwellers face. Maintaining green space, planning for public transportation, etc. are all important in town government. Just as important however in this town and in this year, is the need for a more diverse board and a more open government. Up until this year, the Democratic party in the Town - which holds every elected position - has drafted candidates during a caucus rather than holding a primary, meaning of course that those in power have selected their co-workers and successors instead of allowing the electorate to do so. There is no possibility that an outsider can run. I have been told that people who live in the town who would like to read the board's meeting minutes must file Freedom of Information Act requests in order to do so.

Almost the entire Board lives in one area, South Hill. (Admittedly I live there also but in the hobo end rather than the suburban end.) Dividing the town into representative wards or districts would be an attempt to address the interests of all the people of the town. The Town of Ithaca encompasses city-like areas, college ghettos, suburbs, farms and trailer parks: the composition of the Board does not reflect diversity. I also think it is time to discuss the living wage in a town election.