Nearly two years after serving on Ithaca’s Common Council, Cornell alumnus Jorge DeFendini ‘22 (D) is running for a third time to represent Ithaca’s First Ward. He will be opposed by Zach Winn (R), a longtime Ithaca resident and journalist.
Even before his freshman year at Cornell in 2018, DeFendini was no stranger to politics. After interning with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s and assisting with her primary congressional campaign, DeFendini’s interest in politics blossomed.
“It was very transformative, to say the least, to see a newcomer who was, quote-unquote, radical,” DeFendini said. “To see someone win who, way back in 2018, was talking about abolishing ICE and establishing the Green New Deal.”
At Cornell, DeFendini immersed himself in political student associations.
“I got really involved with political organizing,” DeFendini said. “I started Cornell for Bernie with some of my other classmates, which then went on to become Cornell progressives after the primary campaign.”
During his senior year, DeFendini served on the Fourth Ward of Ithaca’s Common Council from 2021 to 2023. Fourth Ward encompasses Collegetown and some parts of Cornell’s campus.
“It was tough to balance the city council and school at the same time — it’s essentially a job,” DeFendini said. “We wanted to fight for housing as a human right. We wanted to fight for the workers’ rights. We tackled issues like reparations.”
While on the Common Council, DeFendini helped secure funding for the South Side Community Center and helped change the narrative on homelessness, to diminish criminalization and encourage ethical relocation of the unhoused.
“It was thanks to working with the tenants’ union, Human Services Coalition, and other members of council to really make that a reality,” DeFendini said.
DeFendini ran for Ithaca’s Common Council once more back in 2023. While it seemed like he was running unopposed, another Cornell student, Patrick Kuehl, held a write-in campaign, garnering support out of the public eye and securing the win in a shocking twist.
Despite his loss, DeFendini has remained active in the political scene. DeFendini worked closely with Kayla Matos and Phoebe Brown, the latter currently representing the First Ward.
“I worked with [Matos and Brown] on different policy issues, trying to support them on things like Good Cause Eviction, which we got passed,” DeFendini said. “We're one of the first cities in New York State to get it passed after it got passed at the state level. We're currently working on, now, trying to look into how the city could deal with the question of, ‘How do we provide reparations to black immigrants,’ which has been really great to see take shape.”
Brown will not be running for reelection. However, she said that Ward 1 would be in good hands with DeFendini.
“I was no longer a college student and didn't have to represent college town anymore, so I moved to the First Ward, which was the only Ward I could afford,” DeFendini said. “Shortly after, I had a conversation with [Brown] because she announced very early on that she was not going to run for re-election to spend time with her grandkids. She said I was one of the few people she could trust to continue the type of work that she’s been doing.”
If elected, DeFendini plans to continue organizing alongside groups like the Ithaca Democratic Socialists of America and the Ithaca Tenants Union to advance a popular, pro-worker agenda for the city. DeFendini emphasizes coalition-building, not only with allies on the left but also with council members across the political spectrum.
“I'm an organizer, and we organize on the council,” DeFendini said. “I would use persuasion, and sometimes we needed pressure, you know, from public comment and from people speaking up to their representatives to advance that agenda, not just to make my case on the floor or appeal to staff or what have you, it's organizing that gets the job done.”
DeFendini’s plans to pick up where he left off in 2023, with a particular focus on housing and overall quality of life.
“I plan to help end outward employment or stabilize rents for people who can't afford them, making sure that our building codes are being enforced or that we're building enough housing for the city's needs,” DeFendini said. “If you go to places like Europe and Latin America, this is very common sense; why can’t the same apply here?”
