The election of new and returning Coordinating Committee members will be held at the next full CNY Solidarity Coalition meeting on June 9 at 3:00 pm (Bishop Harrison Diocesan Center, 1342 Lancaster Ave, Syracuse, New York 13210).
Since the number of candidates is fewer than the agreed on number of 8-10, a proposal will be made at the meeting to vote in the slate rather than voting on individual candidates.
Candidate statements are below.
Thank you!
June 2019 Coordinating Committee Election Candidate Statements
Michelle Butcher
My name is Michelle Butcher and I am the Philanthropy and Public Policy Fellow for the NY Funders Alliance. I moved to Syracuse almost 2 years ago to complete my Masters in Public Administration at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. Although I am not a Syracuse native, I have grown to love this city and decided to stay after I graduated in June 2018. I’ve been involved in various community organizing in some capacity all my life. I started as a child in Girl Scouts and never looked back. I have a deep commitment to tackling both large and small scale problems through community empowerment. I want to serve on the Coordinating Committee for a few reasons. First, I first learned about this organization while in graduate school and I have been wanting to get more involved ever since. Now that I am getting more settled into post-graduation life, I’d like to figure out my role both as a community member and within the coalition. Secondly, I have extensive experience organizing a variety of events and initiatives, and I would love the opportunity to aid the coalition in coordinating their own. To make a long story short, I have a lot of passion and energy and I would love the chance to share that on the next Coordinating Committee.
Mark Briggs
In 1942, I was born a Democrat into a Republican family. From the beginning, I hated human suffering so I became a human services worker. I’m a semi-retired clinical social worker, specializing in hypnotism. In my early 20s I became a lifelong member of the ACLU and SPC. I participated in civil rights down south and the antiwar movement up here, and have supported various progressive and spiritual organizations. Early on, I ran unsuccessfully in two elections. I loved Solidarity from the beginning and served on its legal committee. I’ve accepted this nomination because I’m horrified at what’s happening to our country, and I want to see Solidarity thrive.
Ted Endreny
Ted Endreny is a professor at SUNY ESF, teaching in the area of engineering hydrology and collaboratively developing i-Tree software tools for restoration of river basins. Ted is committed to working with others to address environmental, social, and economic needs. He values the work performed by CNY Solidarity Coalition to inform, gather, and mobilize our community.
Christine Flynn
I have been a member of CNY Solidarity Coalition since January 2017. I was looking for a group with whom I could positively direct my ire toward the new federal administration. However, I have grown to see more clearly that all levels of government could use some improvement. Retiring from Onondaga County government employment four years ago after 30 years of service, I didn’t think I could have foreseen this level of disgust. But, so be it. Since joining CNY Solidarity, I have been involved with the Federal Legislative/Indivisible NY 24 committee and am one of the team of people sending out the weekly alerts on Monday.
I think everyone in CNY Solidarity has something to offer and that we can continue the work of our group if we share our gifts, even if we think that those gifts aren’t particularly worthy of value. But we can all do something – that’s why I’m throwing my hat in the ring. Also, I have noticed that some of the current Coordinating Committee members – no names – are beginning to look tired. So I’m in this to give someone a break. I have a confession: I wasn’t raised an activist and didn’t see a need to become one until Trump; I even wondered if I would just quit Solidarity once a democrat was elected in four years. But since then, I have become committed to the wider mission of Solidarity and woke to more extremely important issues that need community attention. So I am running for coordinating committee to give what I can to the mission, to offer a respite for some very hard working coordinating committee members, and perhaps, to even develop a passion.
Dick Kornbluth
I am a Syracuse resident and a retired Home Performance contractor (Home Performance contracting treats the house as a system providing energy efficiency upgrades that address issues of comfort, health, safety and building durability). I have been active in CNY Solidarity since January, 2017. I currently serve on the Pledge and Legal committees and have been working actively with Peter McCarthy to organize and integrate the CNY Solidarity databases and create procedures to ensure that all people who have signed up either online or at events are put on the Solidarity information distribution lists. My main interest is to work to make CNY Solidarity a sustainable organization that will be a force for justice for the long haul.
Peter McCarthy
I have been involved in CNY Solidarity since January 2017 and have served on the Coordinating Committee since last July. I have also been involved in the following efforts:
- Development of policies: Purview, Financial Procedures, Coordinating Committee Selection, Legal Structure, ByLaws, Nonviolence Action Principles.
- Working on cleanup of mailing lists and development of procedures for data entry and maintenance.
- Initiated and assisted with Campaign Workshop.
- Developed reference documents: Coalition Decisions, Communications Lists, etc.
- Communications Committee member.
I look forward to continuing this work as a Coordinating Committee member for another term.
Christina Whiteside
Like many, 2016 was a year that many would like to forget. However, it was also a time for people to band together and fight for democracy. Christina always had a pulse on the politics landscape, but 2016 sparked a new urgency for advocacy work and helping others whose voices go unheard.
Christina started coming to CNY Solidarity meetings because of their message, work within the community and stance on issues that are near and dear to her heart. She believes she can be an asset to the group by providing expertise in administrative and communication functions as well as organizing events.