TOMPKINS COUNTY, N.Y.—Dryden resident Greg Mezey has announced his candidacy for the Tompkins County Legislature, seeking to fill the District 13 seat that is being vacated by longtime legislator Martha Robertson. Robertson announced that she won’t be seeking re-election.
Mezey, running as a Democrat, is currently a member of the Tompkins County Strategic Tourism Planning Board and owns The Laundry Room laundromat in Bishop’s Small Mall in Ithaca, along with his partner Ryan Mitchell. He graduated from Cornell University and moved back to Tompkins County 10 years ago. Mezey also “owns and operates a small portfolio of residential and commercial properties locally.”
“We are at a critical juncture with the post-pandemic recovery, affordable housing shortage, need for public safety reform, access to health and family services, and efficient and effective government that listens and learns from all community voices,” he wrote in his announcement. “It will take all of us working together to find solutions that finally take these issues off the table.”
In presenting his platform, Mezey emphasized arts and tourism, touting them as “vital economic engines that drive our local economy” and that they would be essential to the economic recovery of the area in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
His platform focuses on five primary topics: the aforementioned economic recovery, including workforce development; continue the work on public safety reform to “create safe communities for everyone”; improving access to health services and founding more affordable childcare options, along with enhancing nutritional food access to low-income families; maintain and improve government efficiency; and encourage affordable housing development.
“As an entrepreneur, I bring the business, governance, and community experience required to be an effective legislator that will bring community voices together to get the job done,” he said. “Elected office is one of the highest forms of service and, for me, a way to give back to the community that has given so much to me. I want to be able to contribute to creating a better Tompkins County for all.”