In a striking outcome in local politics, 20-year-old student organiser Hannah Shvets has been elected to the Ithaca Common Council in Ward 5, upstate New York — making waves as a young candidate affiliated with the Communist Party USA.
Victory details
Shvets, a student at Cornell University originally from Austin, Texas, ran on the Democratic line, backed by endorsements from groups such as the Democratic Socialists of America and the Ithaca Tenants Union. She defeated an independent candidate, G.P. Zurenda.
During her campaign she advocated for a $25 minimum wage, just-cause protections for workers, and stronger tenant rights — priorities reflecting her progressive and radical platform.
Significance
- Her election marks one of the youngest entrants into local government in the region.
- The affiliation with the Communist Party USA is notable given the rarity of openly communist-labelled candidates winning public office in the United States.
- It reflects changing dynamics in places like Ithaca — a city with a strong student and progressive base, where political newcomers can gain traction.
- Her platform also emphasises student-resident balance in a city housing a major university and long-term residents. She stated: “We need to find ways to make Ithaca a place in which both locals and students can live and afford to live and thrive.”
What’s ahead
Shvets will begin her term representing Ward 5, which includes large parts of the Cornell campus area. With her agenda and youth, she faces the challenge of building coalitions, navigating city governance and translating campaign promises into policy while representing a diverse ward that includes students and non-student residents.
Her election may also serve as a bellwether for how emerging progressive and radical political movements perform in local elections — particularly in university towns.
