Carolyn Peterson is running on the Green, Democratic and Working Families Party lines.
Carolyn Peterson is a candidate for City Council (Alderman)in the 4th ward. This ward encompasses the Cascadilla Park Road area, up the north side of Buffalo Street, most of Collegetown, and a number of dormitories, Greek houses, and co-ops. Carolyn, a Democrat,is challenging an incumbent Democrat, Joan Spielholz, for the two year seat.
This ward has faced and will continue to face, as does the rest of the city, development and redevelopment issues for both housing and businesses. The ward is substantially student voters and students need to be included in future decision making for this area. Quality, upkeep, and safety of housing will be a priority. Increasing public transportation availability from East Hill to other areas of the city is also an issue.
The lower part of the ward, along with the second ward, is concerned with downtown development and retention of Ithaca's character and keeping it a liveable city. All these issues need to be addressed with an understanding of Ithaca's eroding tax base, a sensitivity to the environment, and a desire to enhance all kinds of pocket neighborhoods.
Although each ward has issues, I am also running because many people have felt that the current administration is operating with (mostly) one voice and that my prior Council experience and history of environmental support will serve the citizens well. My tenure on Council included the Human Services committee chair which meant extensive work with youth, fire and police services, and funding allocations for human service agencies. I have recently completed a certificate in Gerontolgy at Ithaca College so much of my time has been devoted to senior issues, including serving as a board emmber on Foodnet, a program that provides nutritious meals to the elderly.
While I was in school, I worked more quietly on issues such as Southwest Park Development (reading the documents and forwarding comments, making phone calls), assisting the anti-flouride campaign through literature dropping, working on campaigns such as Dan Hoffman's, and speaking at Council regarding building heights on the periphery of downtown. Some of my past efforts include preservation of the Six Mile Creek area, liveable zoning regulations in neighborhoods, consistent work with the Conservation Advisory Council, and a belief of inclusiveness and full,open debate on local issues.
Historically, I was active in Ecology Action of Tompkins County, the Community Self Reliance Center, Citizens Concerned About Route 96, Citizens Concerned About Nuclear Power, Greenstar Board, to name a few.
In health, Carolyn Peterson
