Despite long odds, local activist and Ithaca College graduate Anthony Gallucci is running for Mayor of Ithaca under the newly-founded independent People’s Emancipation Party.

The PEP’s platform will be released to the local community in the next month, Gallucci said, adding that the party aims to be the voice of disenfranchised Americans.

“We want the immediate abolishment of the economic exploitation of our communities by wealthy Capitalists (i.e. Golden Sax Bailout scheme & College town Consolidation),” Gallucci states on his website. “WE deserve a bailout. Not just a cash bail out … we want, need and deserve our nation to use what is left of the ‘bail out’ money to destroy our exploitive labor structure and empower our people to participate in owning our lives in equity.”

Gallucci stressed that he hopes to diversify local government in Ithaca.

“If you come to a council meeting, you will see that there is an underrepresentation … The voice of those could bring the change Ithaca and America needs,” Gallucci said.

The independent candidate stressed that he wants to abolish homelessness in Ithaca.

As mayor, Galluci said he would work with the 10-step plan mapped out by the Human Services Coalition of Tompkins County, as well as successful implementations from other cities, to combat homelessness in Ithaca.

Elan Shapiro, who worked with Gallucci on the Northside/Southside Mini-Grant council, praised the new candidate. 

“He is very dedicated … He communicates well and works deeply with inequity but is practical,” Shapiro said.

Shapiro highlighted Gallucci’s involvement in local initiatives, such as increasing access to food and participating in Garden for Humanity, an organization that brings public gardens to impoverished areas nationwide. 

On his campaign website, Gallucci highlights the challenges he has faced. 

“I am the son of a teen mom who lost me to the foster care system … For the past five years, I have been living in poverty while parenting my daughters, working full time and completing two college degree programs, while overcoming the structures of racism and classism that cloud our educational institutions,” Gallucci states on the website.

“He is a person who knows hardships,” Shapiro said.

As a primary parent for two children, Gallucci deeply values the importance of support and community networks, Shapiro said.

“He has a big heart,” Shapiro said. “I think it is a brave and bold move that he took to run for mayor.”

“Almost all the elected officials in Ithaca proper and even county level are Democratic ... so what I’ve found is that it doesn’t really tell you anything when somebody’s a democrat,” Alderperson Jennifer Dotson (G-1st District) said.

Despite being predominantly Democratic, the city council still has a wide spectrum of views on issues ranging from Obama’s tenure to local hydrofracking, according to Dotson.

“It’s just not really descriptive or helpful if Ithaca is a one party town, so that’s one of the reason that I’m not a Democrat and why I think it’s important for other political parties to be active and put decisions out for the public,” she said.

Discussing third parties, Dotson said that in addition to the newly-established People’s Emancipation Party, the Working Families Party often chooses to endorse liberal-leaning democratic candidates in Ithaca.

Dotson noted that third party members like herself are able to win races in Ithaca, but their success varies in individual races.

“Do I think that Anthony Gallucci will win? Probably not, but I don’t think it’s because he’s not a Democrat,” Dotson said. “One of the big things independent parties can do is change the discourse towards thing we need to talk about.”