This is an op-ed written by Dan Cogan, former City of Ithaca Alderperson and Chief of Staff. It was not written by The Ithaca Voice. To submit op-eds, please send them to Matt Butler at mbutler@ithacavoice.org.
I took advantage of early voting to cast my vote in the Democratic primary for Kris Haines-Sharp to represent Ward 2 on Common Council. I urge other Ward 2 Democrats to join me in supporting Kris.
Kris is a hardworking, humble, helpful, harmonizer who hears all sides of an issue and does the right thing for our community, whether it be voting, negotiating, problem solving, communicating. She grew up in the Middle East, speaking Arabic and Hebrew, found her way to Ithaca, settled downtown and raised her family here. She is an educator, a published author, a local board member, and she currently serves on Common Council.
There is little that separates the Democratic candidates on the issues. What distinguishes Kris is her ability to work calmly with others, to ask questions and listen, to do the (often unglamorous) work of local government. Having spent a decade and a half in city government, I can state unequivocally that Kris has the qualities we need in our Common Council representative. Please cast your vote for Kris so she can continue to work on our behalf in City Hall for the next two years.