Article Written By Patricia Brhel of Tompkins Weekly
Out of the 4,414 votes cast in Tuesday’s Democratic primary election for Tompkins County Sheriff, incumbent Peter Meskill received 2,422, or nearly 56 percent, while Ken Lansing garnered 2,077 votes (44 percent). The two men will square off again in November, as Lansing is also on the ballot as an independent.
As of last week, there were 274 absentee ballots still to be counted. “I’m very thankful to the Democratic party and the party members for their support,” Meskill says. “I’m happy to have the primary behind me and I’m looking forward to the general election. I hope that in November the voters will remember the job I’ve done so far and continue to trust me to be their sheriff.”
Taking a break from training on the new Sheriff ’s Department program to improve interagency information sharing and response, Meskill noted one of the issues that emerged during the debates: political affiliations and his dedication to the Democratic Party. “I’ve been a Democrat all my life. When I turned 18 I did some reading and talked to people in the party about what the Democrats stand for,” he says.
“My parents and grandparents were Democrats and I liked the way they thought and the way they lived their lives. I thought about it and I agreed with what they said and did, so I registered as a Democrat. “When I got into politics later in my life I did it to make a difference, to serve the public,” he adds. Lansing remains confident, despite the primary loss. “I knew, going up against an incumbent, that the odds weren’t good, so I’m actually very pleased with the results,” he says.
“I got about 46 percent of the vote, and while I didn’t win the primary, because I also registered as an independent, I’m still in the running.’ “The voters have another chance to look at both of us and decide which candidate they want on November 2nd,” he says. When asked about the roots of his political philosophy, Lansing, who insists that he’s not politically savvy, says, “In 2003-2004 I registered as a Republican because I thought that I had to run under a different party banner in order to challenge the incumbent. Once I found out that I could run in a primary as a Democrat, I returned to the Democratic party, which I’d registered for in 1970, when I was 18.”
In this election, Lansing says, he registered as an Independent as well as a Democrat so that he would a second chance in November if he didn’t win in the primary. “I really couldn’t tell you why I registered as a Democrat in the first place,” he says. “I’m not even sure what the Democratic, Independent or Republican political parties stand for.”
Please note: you can’t register as both a Democrat and an Independent. Lansing’s running on the IndepenDENCE line, not as an Independent.
