Democrat Shawna Black was elected as chair of the Tompkins County Legislature Tuesday night.
Black was elected to the legislature in 2017 and was voted in as chair in 2022 and 2023.
Black won the seat with 13 out of 16 votes in her favor. Republican Legislator Mike Sigler was also nominated.
Legislator Deborah Dawson was elected as Vice Chair.
The chair is the face of the legislature and runs the body’s regular meetings.
“The chair, essentially, is the director of an orchestra,” Black said.
This year marks a big change for that orchestra. Redistricting added two new seats to the county legislature, with 16 elected officials currently serving. Eight of them are new to the legislature.
Black also warned that the legislature will be tasked with handling the fallout of federal changes.
“We're trying to plan for the unexpected, which is really difficult,” Black said. “But our job is to continue to take care of our constituents and our neighbors, and I think as long as we keep our eye on that mission, we're going to be all right.”