TCDC News, Events and Opinion

It’s petitioning season and over 90 TCDC members and volunteers are out knocking on doors of democrats across the city of Ithaca and in every town in the county. You responding to their knock and signing the petitions they are carrying ensures that democratic candidates are on the ballot in the fall. This is a critical first step in keeping our Democracy vibrant and strong. Together, we can help make this happen.

by Carolyn Maloney

In 1916, suffragists Alice Burke and Nell Richardson did something radical enough to shake a stalled democracy back into motion: they climbed into a gold Saxon motorcar—the Golden Flyer—and drove 10,700 miles across the country to demand voting rights for women. At a time when few women had driver’s licenses, or traveled alone, and women’s political participation was dismissed outright, their journey was nothing short of revolutionary.

Tompkins County Democratic Committee Chair Linda Hoffmann encourages the public to participate in their democracy by signing petitions.

Today, following the shooting in Minnesota, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer released a statement on the appropriations bill.

“Democrats sought common sense reforms in the Department of Homeland Security spending bill.”

A General Meeting of the Tompkins County Democratic Committee has been scheduled for Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 7pm, via Zoom. This message is the formal announcement of the meeting. If you are a committee member you will have received email with details. If you are not a member and would like to be present, send email to <chair@tcdemocrats.org> for information.

Tompkins County Sheriff Derek Osborne was recently interviewed by WHCU. Listen to his thoughts about current events, personal safety, and protesting at 607newsNOW

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A Special Meeting of the Tompkins County Democratic Committee has been scheduled for Wednesday, December 17, 2025, 7pm, via Zoom. For more information, please email contactus@tcdemocrats.org or call 607-288-3588

The Chair's Message for December gives tribute to former Assemblyman Marty Luster, who represented the 125th District. Our Assemblymember Anna Kelles follows with a tribute to his outstanding public service that continues to have an impact in New York State.

Democrats Deliver a Strong Message

On Tuesday, we celebrated historic victories across the nation! From small towns to big cities, Democrats delivered a strong message to the Trump administration that Americans reject the Republican party's failed leadership and cruel agenda.

Less than a month ago, on Saturday, October 18, nearly seven million people rallied across America for No Kings II. Here in Ithaca’s Washington Park, around 5,500 people gathered for a rally organized by Indivisible Tompkins in protest of the Trump administration.

IndivisibleTompkins is in the planning stages for No Kings II Rally and March, Saturday, October 18, 2025.

The first No Kings rally was an enormous success as thousands of us came together to speak out about the erosion of democratic values and civil rights in our country.

If you want to link an external news source, use the “link” icons on the sidebar. Anything linked externally will automatically be listed as “news” and any article you create on the site itself will automatically be listed as a “press release.”

I am very honored to be asked to be the guest writer for the Chair’s Message for
-dash-, the Tompkins County Democratic Committee newsletter for September. I am Bill Thickstun, Chair of the Democratic Rural Conference of New York State.

TCDC will be registering voters on Saturday, September 27 & Sunday September 28 at this year’s Apple Harvest Festival. Listening to voters and empowering new voters is one of the pleasures of tabling. If you’d like to join us with this effort we need lots of volunteers. Here is a link to sign up.

Public Health Crisis in 2025: Trump cuts hit Medicaid, vaccines, USAID. Learn about the resistance!

The Post Office—USPS—raised postage rates on July 13. A first-class stamp went up from 73¢ to 78¢, a 6.8 percent increase. Other rates will also increase for an overall hike of about 7.4 percent.

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The legislation will require that every eligible voter provide documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote, even though voters in every state are already required to affirm or verify their citizenship status when registering and voting.

The gathering presented a united front to illustrate that the power of the people is much stronger than the people in power.

Tracy Mitrano, who ran for election to the U.S. House to represent New York’s 23rd Congressional District in 2018 and 2020, has written an article entitled, A Call To Action.

The article appears online in this month’s Democratic View section of the Tompkins Weekly.

Until 1937, “A jury of one’s peers” did not include women

By Carol Kammen

Winning the vote in 1919 did not give New York women full citizenship.

Eighteen years later, in February 1937, with much discussion, the New York State Senate passed the ...

From the New York State Democratic Committee, www.nydems.org

This week, Governor Hochul delivered her 2025 State of the State address, detailing her proposals to put money back in people’s pockets, keep New Yorkers safe, and fight for our families.  ...

From the New York State Democratic Committee, www.nydems.org

Governor Hochul Announces New Initiatives to Protect Subway Riders and Transit Workers, NYPD on Every Overnight Train

Governor Hochul announced comprehensive new steps to increase law enforcement presence, expand public resources and strengthen mental health policies to make the transit system safer for New Yorkers. Thes new measures include partnering with New York City ...

While careening towards a year-end government shutdown provoked by billionaire Donald Trump and his shadow president-elect, billionaire Elon Musk, GOP House leaders agreed to pass the current budget. They did so by promising GOP House members that they will slash Social Security, Medicare and veterans’ healthcare as part of a future budget agreement. According to the New York Times, the Republican leadership proposal said: ...

Stories like Ryan Hamilton's are not unique in Texas, thanks to that state's abortion laws. They expose the lie that exceptions are made for rape, incest and life of the mother. They also prove that abortion is not just “a woman’s issue.”