About City Council
About this position
The City Legislature is the municipality's governing body, responsible for voting on ordinances and policies, and often is in charge of hiring a city manager.
- Office level
- City
- Election frequency
- Every 4 years
- Affiliation
- Partisan
- Positions
- 2 open seats
Election type
- Partisan election (party labels appear on ballots)
- Run-off election
How to run for City Council
- Step 1
Meet eligibility requirements
No person shall be elected or appointed to a city office unless at the time of his election or appointment he is a resident of the city.
- Step 2
File for office
- Filing requirements
- 500 signatures or 5% of the district's registered voters affiliated with the party whose nomination you are seeking (whichever is lesser)
- Filing period
- May 18, 2027 - May 25, 2027
- Paperwork instructions
- Submit paperwork to the County Board of Elections' office.
- Where to file
- 128 East Buffalo Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
- Filing phone
- 607-274-5522
- Step 3
Launch your campaign
A real campaign starts with a real plan. Get a custom campaign plan from GoodParty.org, personalized for your race and district.
Get started
Need help? You don't have to run alone. Join the GoodParty.org Community to get advice from real independents who have run and won.
Who's currently in office
Learn about who represents you in Ithaca.
What this symbol means
Candidates and elected officials with this symbol took the GoodParty.org Pledge, promising to serve people first, independent of both major parties and big-money interests.
- View profileGeorge DefendiniWard 1Democratic · Current term 2026 to 2029
- View profileDucson NguyenWard 2Democratic · Current term 2024 to 2027
- View profileJoseph KirbyWard 2Democratic · Current term 2026 to 2029
- View profile
Pat SewellWard 3Democratic · Current term 2026 to 2029 - View profileRobin TrumbleWard 4Working Families Party · Current term 2026 to 2029
- View profile
Hannah ShvetsWard 5Working Families Party · Current term 2026 to 2029
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