Meet Zach

My name is Zach Winn. I am a local resident and citizen journalist who has been writing about Ithaca’s decline for almost four years at IthacaCrime.com. Ithaca is dying, suffocated by high taxes and poor policies that have seen quality of life plummet while costs skyrocket. Long time residents and businesses are fleeing. Ithaca is my home, and I can’t stand idly by while it happens. I am running for First Ward Common Council foremost to give voters a choice. 

Donate

My Platform

Ending the Cornell MOU

As a member of Common Council I will advocate to begin the process of ending the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Cornell, a fifteen year agreement which sees only about $4 million contributed to the City of Ithaca by the university. This was a bad deal when it was signed and it must be renegotiated.

Increasing City Revenue

The City must find a way to increase revenue without increasing taxes. Leasing the naming rights to the roads on Cornell’s campus could fill the gap created by ending the MOU, with the potential to increase revenue while eroding the university’s prestige. 

Addressing Ithaca's Drug Crisis
Ithaca has a major crisis of Methamphetamine and Fentanyl abuse. Ithaca needs a secure psychiatric and drug rehabilitation facility to intervene in the lives of those in the process of suicide by drug abuse. As a member of Council, I will work to see that the lack of cooperation between the City and County on this crisis will to come to an end. 
Sanctioned Camping's Failure

The City sanctioned “camping” area behind Walmart remains a hotbed of drug abuse, crime and other illicit activity. The area lacks even the most basic amenity of water. If the City is to remain committed to this approach of addressing illegal camping in the rest of the city, the area should conform to New York state regulations for campsites for the sake of its residents. 

Election Reform

Ithaca’s political system is broken. Every race in the city is determined by the result of the Democratic primary. I will work towards the implementation of Open Primaries, which will allow voters from other parties, Independents and unaffiliated voters to have agency over who represents them. The belief held by many that there is no point in getting involved in the political process must be addressed.

Government Overreach

From restrictions on private property rights through short term rental legislation, an economically illiterate effort to raise the local minimum wage to $25 an hour and plans to eliminate at-will employment, the City has a pattern of interfering in the lives and businesses of private citizens. I will advocate for the City to remain focused on issues within the scope of its authority.