Our Elected Officials

Ruth Groff

My husband and I moved to Lansing in 2011, as our retirement choice over every other small town in America. In 2017, I retired after a life-long career as an Accountant/CPA. Becoming a member of the Ithaca Dragon Boat team, and then volunteering at the History Center in Tompkins County, opened up my world to new adventures and ideas, and expanded my circle of friends. But my interest in maintaining the character of Lansing was the impetus that challenged me to run for local office. I served as a Member of the Town Board from 2022 to 2023, and then won the race for Town Supervisor, with my four-year term starting in 2024.

Town Supervisor

Judy Drake

Judy Drake is a seventh-generation Lansing resident and Lansing High graduate with nearly 30 years of municipal experience. She has served as Human Resource Manager for the Town of Ithaca, developing deep knowledge of town administration and municipal finance. Judy also served eight years on the Lansing Zoning Board of Appeals, including three as Chair, and was liaison during updates to key agricultural zoning districts. She brings regional leadership experience from over a decade on the Municipal Health Insurance Consortium Board. Judy is committed to community service, responsible growth, updated zoning, and preserving Lansing’s rural character.

Town Board Member

Town Board Member

Laurie Hemmings

Town Board Member

Christine Montague

We moved to Lansing in 2006 with our three young girls and found ourselves cheering and volunteering with the impressive teens and their families of Lansing. We were introduced to the farming community here through Matt’s childhood rock-picking and chicken-pulling, and our own (mis)adventures with beef cattle. We will be forever grateful to the farmers who helped us dig out of literal and figurative ruts.

I started out as an engineer, working at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. After grad school and various research jobs, I landed at a Cornell lab studying tuberculosis. I enjoy working with students and the dynamic nature of research.

On the town board, I focus on growing our locally-owned businesses and finding state resources for walkable small town development and housing upgrades.

Town Board Member

Joseph Wetmore

In the early 1990's, Joseph moved to Ithaca and opened a small used bookstore, Autumn Leaves Used Books, on the Ithaca Commons and ran it until he retired in 2023. He served on Lansing's Comprehensive Plan Committee for several years, and in 2017 was elected to the Town Board, and then reelected in 2021. One of the major recommendations of the comprehensive Plan was that the Town should do a major rewrite of our zoning laws.  In 2024, he led the town in applying for a grant from New York state to help the town rewrite our zoning laws. His main goal in his next term will be to help facilitate the revision of the Town's zoning laws.