ITHACA, N.Y.—After the tragic passing of Henry Granison left a void on the Tompkins County Legislature, the Tompkins County Democrats have announced a candidate to fill his spot.
Susan Currie, formerly the Tompkins County Public Library director, was announced as the pick on Thursday after a unanimous selection by a county Democrat search committee made up of District 3 residents, which is in the city of Ithaca.
The election to fill Granison’s spot will be held Jan. 24, though no other candidates were announced so it appears that Currie will not be officially opposed. Write-in candidates are still eligible. Granison was also a Democrat, and served since being elected in 2017.
“They have a very difficult job,” Currie said of the legislature. “There are so many needs, and they’re all very important. But the county legislature has a thoughtful balanced view. They listen to all the feedback of constituents, they seek out additional information for their decisions, and they work well together.”
The announcement touts Currie’s accomplishments as director of TCPL, a role she held from 2009 to 2017, guiding the library out of the wreckage of the 2008 global economic crisis that left TCPL with a $750,000 deficit.
That experience gave her some insight to the other side of the table—negotiating the library’s budget before the legislature, arguing for more funding to help steady the ship at the library.
“This legislature is very invested in the county and has done incredible work, especially during the pandemic, to ensure that residents are taken care of,” Currie said.