Twenty-year-old Hannah Shvets, a sophomore at Cornell University and a member of the Communist Party USA, has been elected to the Ithaca Common Council for the Fifth Ward, which includes the western part of the Cornell campus.
Running as a Democrat, Shvets defeated independent G.P. Zurenda and became the youngest candidate ever endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) to win public office. She campaigned on a platform of boosting labor rights, including raising the minimum wage to $25 an hour, implementing just-cause employment protections, and introducing strong rent-stabilization policies to protect tenants.
Her campaign received support from local progressive organizations including the Ithaca DSA and the Ithaca Tenants Union. Prior to the election, Shvets was active in student organizing and labor advocacy, including support for workplace rights and campus protests.
The outcome highlights a growing trend in upstate New York toward youth-led politics and left-wing representation in local government. Four of the ten seats on Ithaca’s Common Council are now held by Cornell students, signaling a shift in municipal engagement and political representation.