2023 Local Elections
This coming November, voters in Caroline will vote for Town Supervisor, two Town Councilpersons, one Town Justice, the Town Highway Superintendent, and the Town Clerk. The incumbents and their terms are listed in the table below.
Note that Katherine Goldberg recently resigned from the board. The remaining board members have appointed Michele Brown to fill out the first 2 years of Katherine's term, and Michele will also be running in November for another 2 year Town Council term.
Running for office
If you are a Democrat and would like to run for office in 2025, you should meet with the Tompkins County Democratic Board of Elections Commissioner (Steve DeWitt), and/or with the Caroline Democratic Committee Chair, Emily Adams. They can advise you on the requirements, especially regarding the petitioning process and deadlines and the filing of financial reports. While anyone can run for office (assuming they meet an age requirement and the relevant residency requirement), candidates are more likely to win and go on to be successful in office if they have already served their community in other capacities, perhaps on a task force or commission or advisory board. The Caroline Democratic Committee is happy to suggest ways for people to "build their resumes" this way, and also to give other advice.
If you would like to run as a Democrat, on the Democratic Party line, and you were not registered as a Democrat, you have until February 14th of the given election year to change your registration to Democrat.
The Caroline Democratic Committee may choose to endorse a candidate in any race at any time (or they may choose not to endorse anyone). An endorsement from a Democratic Committee does not nullify or replace an election. The voters will still decide the candidate (i.e. the Democratic nominee) on the primary election day, or the ultimate winner in November. An endorsement simply means that the committee has interviewed the candidates and studied their records and policy statements and so forth, and concluded that in their view certain candidates are stronger than the others.
Interviews for any potential endorsements by the Caroline Democratic Committee in 2023 have already taken place. Our endorsed candidates are Mark Witmer, running for Town Supervisor, Kate Kelley-Mackenzie and Tim Murray, running for Town Council (4 year terms) and Michele Brown, running for Town Council (2 year term).
All candidates, whether they have a primary or not, are required to gather petition signatures to get on the ballot. The petitioning period is roughly 5 weeks long. Candidates who do not collect enough valid signatures do not earn a place on the ballot. Committee members often assist candidates in collecting signatures, especially if a candidate has earned an endorsement. Candidates can also recruit friends and family to gather petition signatures, but the person who carries the petition (the witness) must be either a registered Democrat or a notary.
If you would like to run as a Democrat, on the Democratic Party line, and you were not registered as a Democrat, you have until February 14th of the given election year to change your registration to Democrat.
The Caroline Democratic Committee may choose to endorse a candidate in any race at any time (or they may choose not to endorse anyone). An endorsement from a Democratic Committee does not nullify or replace an election. The voters will still decide the candidate (i.e. the Democratic nominee) on the primary election day, or the ultimate winner in November. An endorsement simply means that the committee has interviewed the candidates and studied their records and policy statements and so forth, and concluded that in their view certain candidates are stronger than the others.
Interviews for any potential endorsements by the Caroline Democratic Committee in 2023 have already taken place. Our endorsed candidates are Mark Witmer, running for Town Supervisor, Kate Kelley-Mackenzie and Tim Murray, running for Town Council (4 year terms) and Michele Brown, running for Town Council (2 year term).
All candidates, whether they have a primary or not, are required to gather petition signatures to get on the ballot. The petitioning period is roughly 5 weeks long. Candidates who do not collect enough valid signatures do not earn a place on the ballot. Committee members often assist candidates in collecting signatures, especially if a candidate has earned an endorsement. Candidates can also recruit friends and family to gather petition signatures, but the person who carries the petition (the witness) must be either a registered Democrat or a notary.