Cazenovia Voices Coalition - Resistance Lessons

Hello Cazenovia Voices Coalition,
Yesterday's Cazenovia Republican article confirmed important issues that are still central to our project:

• Transparency & Trust are still weak with our leaders
• Community Engagement & Planning are essential, and undervalued
• Plan B is Possible because you have been sharing resources and actions
• Civil Resistance has been powerful with your letters, petition signatures, conversations among neighbors, and more!

“Reisman Hall Discussion Continues at Village Board Meeting” (Oct. 20, 2025)
The article offers a revealing look at the Oct. 14 Village Board meeting, where residents once again pressed for transparency and accountability regarding the Madison County purchase of Reisman and Sigety Halls.

Key points:

• Reisman Foundation Offer: The Foundation verbally offered to purchase and donate Reisman Hall to the Village. Mayor Wheeler acknowledged he declined the offer after an “informal conversation,” without first alerting the full board or public.
• Plan B Dismissed: The Mayor continues to claim that no “Plan B” exists, even though a viable alternative was presented and could have preserved the building for public use.
• Transparency Concerns: Trustee Jennifer Lutter raised valid concerns that the Mayor acted unilaterally and called for the board to prepare for the possibility of accepting a donation if the 9Fresh deal falters. Lutter’s motion to hire a professional planning firm for a six-month public visioning process failed when no other trustee seconded it.
• Public Reaction: Over 40 residents attended; many spoke passionately about transparency, the importance of local control, and the long-term impact of County operations in the Village center.
• Court Ruling: Three days later, the NYS Supreme Court at Madison County approved the campus sale to Matta Fresca LLC (9Fresh), advancing the transaction without pause. The justice acknowledged that there were questions from community members in attendance, but that this ruling did not include Madison County. Thanks to folks for attending!

This coverage underscores a pattern we’ve seen repeatedly...information withheld, public options dismissed, and urgency weaponized to prevent discussion. The Mayor’s insistence that only 9Fresh can “save the campus” presents a false choice between progress and public process. Our work is precisely about breaking that false binary. We can pursue redevelopment and transparency. We can protect our community’s future and hold leaders accountable.

Why this matters to Cazenovia
Our campaign around the Madison County purchase already embodies key principles from Chenoweth’s work: 

• Broad participation (nearly 500 petition signers and counting)
• Targeted noncooperation (calling for a pause rather than accepting inevitability)
• Narrative control (insisting on “Pause. Plan. Protect.” instead of “Too late, it’s done”)
• Constructive action (proposing real alternatives, like the Reisman Foundation offer and community-led planning)

By reading and reflecting together, we strengthen our shared understanding of how change happens...and why persistence, planning, and solidarity matter.

What’s Next:

• Continue outreach: Invite neighbors, local businesses, and community partners to sign the petition (it is still a good barometer for education and demonstration of concern) and attend November’s Town Meeting Monday, Nov. 3, 7:30pm & Village Board meeting Tuesday, Nov. 4, 7pm).
• Hold leadership accountable: Ask trustees to explain their votes, or silence, on the professional planning proposal.
• Prepare for escalation: As Chenoweth reminds us, nonviolent pressure must be organized and sustained. Our focus now is strengthening our structure which includes teams for legal review, media strategy, and public events.
• Stay hopeful and united: Every conversation, every letter, and every signature shifts the balance of participation toward a more transparent, inclusive Cazenovia.
• Join Us! Cazenovia Call to Action is reading Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know  by Erica Chenowith (Oxford University Press).
  Wednesday, 11/5, 6:15 at Stone Quarry, Hilltop House (if it snows, the Artist Lodge at the base of the hill). As our community navigates this critical moment, it may be meaningful to join Cazenovia Call to Action's  book group to help us strategize from a place of knowledge and power. Chenoweth’s research shows that nonviolent resistance succeeds twice as often as violent uprisings, and that when just 3.5% of the population participates, governments and institutions are forced to change course. This isn’t a theoretical exercise, it’s a roadmap for how ordinary people make democratic systems work again.

Closing Thought
As Deb Alden said at the meeting, “If you lose a treasure, you don’t get it back.”
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Reisman Hall is more than a building, it’s a test of how we govern, trust, and imagine our shared future. Let’s meet that test together...with knowledge, creativity, and peaceful determination.