The Ithaca Common Council unanimously agreed to add two member-filed resolutions to the Jan. 7 agenda and then voted to adopt both.

A resolution introduced by Alderson Matos formally opposed any unauthorized U.S. use of military force against Venezuela, urged Congress to exercise its authority under the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution to end hostilities and require withdrawal of U.S. forces, and called for congressional oversight and prohibitions on federal funding for unauthorized occupations. The resolution directs the mayor to transmit the council’s statement to congressional leadership and the city’s federal delegation. The motion carried 9–1 after Ald. Shapiro declined to participate in the vote; under council rules his non-vote was recorded as a no.

A second resolution introduced by Alderson Kiel affirmed the council’s support for workers’ rights to unionize, urged Cayuga Medical Center to remain neutral in the lead-up to an upcoming union election, and called for respectful negotiations recognizing nurses’ role in delivering health care to city residents. Ald. Shapiro recused himself from the vote due to his employment at Cayuga Medical Center; the resolution passed 9–0 with that recusal recorded.

Council members debated use of council time for matters outside strict municipal jurisdiction; one member said the meeting was a suitable exception because the agenda was short that evening. Both resolutions will be transmitted to the named recipients per their language.

What’s next: the mayor is directed to send copies to congressional leadership for the Venezuela resolution and to Cayuga United CWA and Cayuga Medical Center leadership for the labor-resolution, as the resolutions direct.