Members of the Ithaca Democratic Socialists, Ithaca Tenants Union, New York Working Families Party & The Solidarity Slate are in “phase 2” of an attempted takeover of Ithaca’s Common Council & the office of Mayor.
The Solidarity Slate will expand its influence with the election of Tiffany Kumar, whose ascension to the Common Council as a representative for the 4th Ward is a virtual certainty. Kumar, representing the Working Families Party, eliminated rival Patrick Mehler in the Democratic primary. Kumar now runs unopposed.
“We just primaried out a centrist Dem in Common Council, replacing him w/ real progressive (Tiffany Kumar) & aim to do the same with the acting mayor, who refuses to take a strong stand on progressive issues,” Ithaca Tenant’s Union member Aaron Fernando tweeted in response to Katherine ‘Katie’ Sims’ announcement of her campaign for Mayor.
Sims is an Ithaca Tenants Union member and has done work as an organizer for People For The American Way’s ‘Ithacan’s For Reimagining Public Safety.’
Sims’ website and campaign materials do not emphasize her work with Ithacan’s For Reimagining Public Safety’, its parent organization People For The American Way or former City of Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick. Myrick is Executive Director of People For The American Way.
Sims had previously sought to fill a vacancy on the Ithaca Common Council, losing out to Patrick Mehler.
The takeover effort, orchestrated primarily by hate crime hoaxer and Ithaca Tenants Union organizer Genevieve Rand, aims to expand the influence of “Ithaca’s elected progressive bloc,” most prominently the Ithaca Solidarity Slate.
Rand organized Sims’ Independent Nominating Petition & is spearheading graphic design for her mayoral campaign.
The goal of the progressive bloc is to achieve a majority on the Ithaca Common Council, with Sims serving as the tie breaking vote as Mayor.
Common Councilpersons Ducson Nguyen & Robert Cantelmo are frequently aligned with the Solidarity Slate’s progressive bloc.
Kumar will join Common Council and Solidarity Slate members George DeFendini and Phoebe Brown. DeFendini and Brown represent Ithaca’s 4th and 2nd wards, respectively. DeFendini, Brown, Sims & Kumar have all expressed intent to redirect funds from the Ithaca Police Department to social programs.
DeFendini is a Democratic Socialist, and alongside Kumar, Rand & Sims, a supporter of the Ithaca Starbucks Worker’s Union. Many of Ithaca’s leftist groups and causes are intertwined.
“Ithaca’s leftist groundgame is getting real organized,” Fernando wrote in a tweet following the camp out.
“Ithaca’s leftist groundgame” has in the past devolved into violence, roadblocks, acts of vandalism and intimidation.
A counter protest organized by the Ithaca Democratic Socialists at the GOP campaign office October 16th, 2020 shut down traffic on Route 13. Several people were injured, including an elderly woman who had her shoulder dislocated. Stolen flags and articles of clothing were burned in the street.
The counter protest rapidly devolved into violence. Individuals from the Ithaca Democratic Socialists, Ithaca Tenants Union & The Ithaca Pantheras stole signs, flags & clothing that were later burned in the street.
Frequent protest attendee and registered sex offender Massia Saunders served as muscle for the group, assaulting several people during the course of the afternoon. Saunders was recently arrested while driving a stolen vehicle.
In a statement posted to Facebook, The Ithaca Democratic Socialists were unrepentant; “when keeping order means normalizing racist aggression and class war against the poor, is it any wonder that the people of Ithaca respond to hostility in kind?”
“Our goal was to let them know they are not welcome in our town, that they have no foothold for organizing against the people of Ithaca,” the statement continued.
Congressmen Tom Reed announced an October 22nd press conference at the site to condemn the violence. Rand organized a protest.
The press conference was disrupted by heckling and the revving of a scooter engine.
Following the arrest of Massia Saunders for throwing a bottle at a car, the protest moved to the Ithaca Police Department on Clinton street.
Rand soon found herself arrested after blocking an Ithaca Police Department vehicle from leaving while demanding Saunders’ release. The Ithaca Police Department vehicle was en route to a shots fired call.
Rand’s arrest triggered a further demonstration outside of the Ithaca Police Department. Rand refused to be processed by the arresting officer, preventing her from being released as the crowd demanded.
Massia Saunders, having been processed and released, climbed on the roof of the police department vestibule. He was later rearrested.
After approximately three hours, and with the threat of an additional charge, Rand’s lawyer was able to convince her to assent to being processed. She then exited the Ithaca Police Department with her lawyer, a Cornell law school professor.
During this delay, a protest outside of the police department has escalated into a number of arrests, culminating in a deployment of pepper spray.
Following a call for a rigorous investigation, the City of Ithaca released a trove of officer body cam and security video, including a montage showing the progression of the day’s events.
The investigation into the incident catalyzed the creation of color coded guidelines for police response to protests.
Rand, Sims & Kumar have personally participated in roadblocks on Clinton Street as recently as this year.
Sims led a roadblock and chant via megaphone during an eviction protest at the City of Ithaca Court on February 17th & February 24th, 2022.
Sims can be seen in the blue coat with a megaphone leading the roadblocks, wearing the same hat she wore in her Twitter profile photo. Sims recently erased all of her previous tweets, updated her profile image and Twitter address for her mayoral campaign.
On February 24th of this year, shortly after the roadblock was performed on Clinton street, Rand stated her belief that there will be more roadblocks in 2022.
In 2020, then Mayor Svante Myrick acknowledged that protestors shutting down roads without a permit is illegal.