Town Supervisor: Mark Witmer   (served 4 terms)

Mark is a biologist and teacher and has lived and worked in Caroline since 2003. He likes to hike, golf, bird-watch, and fish when he is not at the town hall. Mark is married to Ann Herzig and they have two daughters, Ruth and Freida.  Ruth is a biologist and is studying to be a horse vet. Freida is an artist, with a passion for fiber arts and fashion. Their family is completed by Sparky, a happy mutt, Uno, a half-blind cat, and some chickens.
Mark wants to continue the great progress we’ve made in Caroline towards building a low-cost, comfortable, energy efficient community. Both town halls are now heated and cooled by ground-source heat pumps.  We’ve installed an electric-vehicle charging station at the town hall. Our town energy advisory committee brought Solarize to Caroline, which then was grown to county and then state-wide Solarize and HeatSmart programs to promote affordable residential solar, home energy improvements, and heat pumps for our residents.
Our current work to develop a town zoning law is the outgrowth of dedicated planning work by community volunteers in identifying community visions and goals and then actively making goals a reality. Over the past three years with colleagues and key personnel of the Tompkins County Council of Governments and the Tompkins County Department of Emergency Response, we’ve laid the groundwork to support and enhance rural emergency medical response. I look forward to continuing that important work. I’m excited that we are now focusing our efforts and resources toward development of a municipal broadband utility that will enhance reliability, competition, and affordability of broadband for our residents. Two ambitious town capital projects underway are the building of new highway facilities and renovation of the Historic Town Hall. And we are still working with NYSEG to make the extension of the South Hill Recreation Way Trail through Caroline a reality in the near future. We’ve got a lot going on. I look forward to continuing our work together to keeping Caroline such a great place to live.
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Contact:  mwitmer48@gmail.com

Town Board: Kate Kelley-Mackenzie   ​(served 1.5 years)

 Kate moved to the historic Cantine home in Brooktondale in 1993 with her husband. They are the proud parents of two sons. She has been an active resident and volunteer for over thirty years. Her community service includes volunteer work with Boy Scouts Troop 55 and Pack 4, and La Leche League.  She has also been active at St. Catherine of Sienna Church and the Ithaca Waldorf School. For the Town of Caroline, she has been a long-term member of our Natural Areas and Trails Committee and served terms on Ithaca Tompkins County Transportation Council and the Environmental Management Council for Tompkins County.  She also volunteered on the BCC board.  She is particularly proud that she organized Brooktondale Pedestrian Community creating a no passing zone on Valley/Brooktondale Rd, and advocated for the sidewalk on the Lounsbery Bridge.
 Kate states, “I am running for Town Board to continue my work in obtaining affordable Broadband for every residence in the town, supporting responsible land use regulation including zoning, making roads safer for everyone, creating pedestrian ways where possible, and making the South Hill Recreation Trail connection a reality.”
 
Through her work as a volunteer and professional work as a teacher and researcher (Cornell, NIH, and Los Alamos National Lab to name a few), Kate has proven communication and management skills and the ability to work collaboratively with team efforts.  She has direct knowledge of the ongoing Dryden Broadband Initiative and recently obtained over $200,000 in grant money for Caroline. Her numerous hobbies include hiking, camping, horseback riding, taking care of an old house, adventures with the Scouts, parish activities and cooking.  

​Contact: kelleymackenzie@mac.com

Town Board: Tim Murray      (served 2 terms and 1 year)

A Caroline resident for 41 years, Tim is proud to serve as Deputy Supervisor on the Caroline Town Council. He supports the promotion of local housing, business, and agriculture. And he endorses community efforts to protect the environment and our homes and local businesses from incompatible land use through enactment of responsible zoning. He will continue to advocate for expanded emergency health services and broadband, energy independence, support of public safety, and extension of the South Hill Recreation Way, cost effective renewal of town and highway infrastructures and fleets. He is committed to fiscal responsibility and to seeking out county, state, and federal grants to support new and ongoing initiatives. In addition to continued funding of youth programs, the Food Pantry, and the Reading Room, Tim would like to see expanded support of the underprivileged, enhanced public transportation, and greater programming for local seniors and the history club.
Murray says that “having spent four years as Board Liaison to the Zoning Commission and the revised Comprehensive Plan, I am inspired to seek reelection by the contributions of our tireless committee volunteers who lend their expertise and passion to shared and transparent town governance. Let’s keep working together to fulfill our Town’s commitment to diversity, ecology, and responsible planning.”
 
A widely published author from his home business in Caroline, Tim is a Cornell professor of film and contemporary art with decades of experience in national board service, administration, and robust private, state, and federal fundraising.  His passions are hockey, boating, art, and caring for his Caroline historic home. Tim is married to artist Renate Ferro. Both have been active in the Caroline community for decades and have served on the Caroline and Tompkins County Democratic Committees. Their grown children, Ashley and Erin Ferro-Murray are also artists who attended Caroline School.
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Contact:  timm750@gmail.com

Town Board: Michelle Brown   (served vacated term 2023)

I am running to complete the remaining two years of a term vacated in the spring. I grew up in neighboring Endicott, NY where I graduated from Union-Endicott High School.
After living in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, our family moved to the Ithaca area in 1995 and to Caroline in 1996. I was employed at Cornell University Library as a book conservator from 1995 until retirement in 2021. During that time, my husband and I also maintained a private book restoration business which I continue.

For the past 3 years, I have served the Town of Caroline on the Economic and Land Use Development Task Force, the Planning Board, and the Zoning Commission. My first community organization experience was while living in New Hampshire, when neighbors and I formed a lake association to monitor the water quality and control boating traffic on the small lake where we lived.
My priorities as Councilmember on the Caroline Town Board are to evaluate the proposed zoning law, explore renewable energy projects and enhance broadband access. In addition, I am dedicated in conservation projects for the town, such as renovating the town hall and developing an emergency response plan to protect town records and books.
 
Contact:  Mebrown72@gmail.com
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