Ulysses Dems Nominate Klingon for Town Council
- On Monday, August 26 the Ulysses Democratic caucus nominated and voted on their candidates for the fall election in a packed meeting at the Trumansburg village hall.
Incumbent town supervisor Elizabeth Graeper Thomas will be running for a full four-year term. Carissa Parlato will seek the office of town clerk. The Democrats cross-endorsed current highway superintendent James Meeker, the Republican candidate. Two town council seats carry four-year terms, and the assembled Democrats nominated incumbent Nancy Zahler and newcomer Rich Goldman. Both accepted their nominations.
The high profile candidate of the evening was actor John Hertzler, who will be running for a two-year term on the Ulysses council.
Hertzler moved to Ulysses several years ago when he was appointed as an adjunct professor in the Cornell department of film and theater. Before beginning his career in film, theater, television, the Bucknell graduate worked for the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. during the Nixon administration, while regularly engaging in political activism on the Mall. He has been an active campaigner for many years, working for both Democrat George McGovern and independent John Anderson. He became involved with the local Democrats soon after moving to the area.
As he is best known for his portrayal of General Martok in various Star Trek episodes, his nominator Jim Dennis described him as “the only Klingon general living in Ulysses.”
In his acceptance speech Hertzler said that he was humbled by the nomination and he promised to continue to oppose hydro-fracking in the region via his Facebook page (he has 4,000 friends).
