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ITHACA, N.Y. — Local attorney and native Ithacan Joe Kirby is vying to represent Fall Creek and downtown Ithaca on the Common Council next year.So far Kirby, a Democrat, is running unopposed, as incumbent Second Ward Alderperson Kris Haines Sharp confirmed to The Ithaca Voice she would not be running for re-election.One of the main issues that’s driving him to seek public office is the city’s approach to criminal justice reforms under the Reimagining Public Safety initiative in 2021, he said. Some of the reforms the public was promised have stalled under present leadership, he said.Kirby works at the Tompkins County Treatment Court, a voluntary court supervised program for people with criminal charges and who have a substance-use disorder. He said he sees a lot of room for improvement in the city’s approach to public safety in his day-to-day work in the treatment court.“When police go into those situations, they’re going in as police,” Kirby said. “Whereas if we have somebody operating as more of a mental health advocate or professional in those situations, it’s going to be safer for everybody involved, and it’s going to set people up for longer term success.”The City of Ithaca has implemented a pilot program where a mental health professional accompanies an armed police officer in responding to certain 9-1-1 calls. There is one co-response team, which handles about 20 emergency calls each week — a fraction of those handled by armed officers.The City of Ithaca has yet to implement one of the most significant recommendations from the Reimagining Public Safety initiative: a team of unarmed public safety officers.The initiative, however, had been on standby during the city’s longer-than-expected search for a deputy city manager, who would oversee the project. The role was filled last November and the city could be poised to take up the matter soon, regardless of election outcomes.The union that represents Ithaca’s police officers has pushed back against the unarmed officer initiative, saying the measure could exacerbate crime in the city. Kirby said in his own work within the criminal justice system, he feels some of these fears are overblown.Kirby said he feels like gridlock within the Common Council has created delays in implementing Ithaca’s more ambitious policy goals, but he feels equipped to work through disagreements.“My day-to-day is navigating personalities, both with clients and other attorneys, to try and get people the best results,” Kirby said. “I think that requires a level of willingness to work with different people.”Kirby said that while national issues have inflamed divisions within the Common Council, he wants to focus on the local issues that are within the city’s power to change. “I do think you’ve got different groups within the Common Council trying to do different things,” Kirby said. “Maybe some are going a little more with national worries. […] I think we need to be a little bit more worried about local [issues], making sure everything’s functioning in a manner that it’s supposed to be.”The post Local attorney highlights police reform in Common Council bid appeared first on The Ithaca Voice.First published by The Ithaca Voice.

Daily Archives: March 14, 2025

Local attorney highlights police reform in Common Council bid

Martial arts teacher vying for Fifth Ward Common Council seat