Ithaca’s vacant Fourth Ward seat on the Common Council seat has been filled following the unanimous appointment of Lara Tomescu at Wednesday’s meeting.
The seat had been empty since August following former Alderperson Patrick Kuehl’s resignation, cutting short the four-year term he was elected to serve in 2023. Kuehl resigned to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of Texas at Austin.
Mayor Robert Cantelmo said a committee reviewed two applications from eligible candidates before selecting Tomescu. Her application specifically cited Ithaca’s housing shortage, substandard rental conditions and strengthening connection between residents and City Hall as priorities.
Following her appointment, which took effect immediately, Tomescu said in a statement that she is honored to represent Fourth Ward residents and grateful for the opportunity to serve.
“I hope to use my coalition-building and community organizing skills to bridge the gap between the City and its constituents,” Tomescu said. “I want people who feel left out of city politics to get involved and weigh in on decisions that affect them.”
Tomescu is pursuing a Master of Public Administration at Cornell University, where she serves as an Associate Editor for the Cornell Policy Review.
As a student, Tomescu matches much of the demographic in the city’s Fourth Ward, which covers a large swath of the Collegetown neighborhood and part of Cornell University’s campus area.
Before moving to Ithaca, Tomescu was active in Binghamton, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and political science from Binghamton University. She also worked at the American Civic Association, tracking immigration policy changes and helping refugees access benefits.
Tomescu also co-founded and organized the grassroots Concerned Residents of Greater Binghamton group, which established a Rapid Response Network to alert local immigrant communities to the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.
Cantelmo applauded Tomescu’s appointment, citing her enthusiasm for public administration, multi-modal transit and collegiality.
“During her interviews, [Tomescu] also demonstrated a firm commitment to addressing the needs of the City’s unsheltered homeless population in partnership with the County,” Cantelmo said in a statement. “I feel this appropriately carries on one of the chief interests of her predecessor and continues to champion that work on behalf of Fourth Ward residents.”
Tomescu will serve the remainder of Kuehl’s term.
The post City of Ithaca fills Fourth Ward Common Council seat appeared first on The Ithaca Voice.
