Before a large crowd on Thursday night, Lea Webb, Binghamton University ‘04, who represents Tompkins, Cortland and parts of Broome County in the New York State Senate, announced her campaign for reelection, emphasizing her community support and legislative achievements.

Webb — speaking in Binghamton at Atomic Tom’s, an art gallery and event space — was introduced by several supporters and friends, including Binghamton City Democratic Committee Chairwoman Teri Rennia, Broome County Legislator Mary Kaminsky, Binghamton City Councilwoman Kinya Middleton and Town of Union Democratic Committee Chairwoman Lori Wahila.

A former Binghamton City Councilwoman, Webb was also the diversity education coordinator at BU’s UDiversity Educational Institute and now serves as chair of the Women’s Issues Committee in the State Senate. Narrowly winning her first election in 2022 against Rich David MPA ‘02, a former Binghamton Mayor, she was the first Democrat in over 100 years to hold the position.

“This journey, I framed it as a people-powered movement for change, and it still remains that way,” Webb said. “You know, one of the things for me when you say a people-powered movement, some people can think that that’s relegated to a campaign or a legislative session, but it’s bigger than that.”

Middleton, who was elected in November to represent Binghamton’s Second Ward, called Webb “inspirational,” crediting her for the support and guidance she provided, both to her and other local Democrats.

“She’s showing a great example to young girls,” Middleton said after describing Webb’s bond with her daughters and nieces.

Webb’s first reelection campaign comes after local Democrats notched key election victories. In November, Binghamton Democrats flipped control of the City Council and won a contested judgeship on City Court. A slate of good government candidates swept elections for Vestal Town Board in nearby Vestal.

Webb touted her work in Albany, including voting to advance a constitutional amendment codifying reproductive freedom, increasing access to voting, working to expand free lunches in public schools, strengthening the rights and protections for domestic violence survivors and addressing an epidemic of missing Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) girls.

“Movement [is] a marathon — you have to keep going,” Webb said. “You have bumps, peaks, valleys, mountains, all these things, but it’s important that if you remain focused on the ‘why,’ and that is centering the needs of our communities, the people, we will continue to see progress.”

Webb’s campaign staff encouraged attendees to volunteer on the campaign and contribute small-dollar donations. The state’s Public Campaign Finance Program, which began immediately following the 2022 general election, offers political candidates the chance to receive public funds based on donations between $5 and $250, given strict adherence to eligibility, threshold and disclosure laws. For state legislative candidates, each qualifying dollar can earn up to $12 in public financing.

Local Democratic leaders were present to support Webb’s campaign, including Broome County Executive Jason Garnar, Josh Riley, a Democratic candidate for Congress and Broome County Democratic Chair Karen Beebe. Representatives from organized labor were also in attendance.

Though she faced a contested primary in 2022, Webb is currently uncontested for the Democratic nomination. Mike Sigler, a Republican Tompkins County legislator, has declared his intent to run and will officially announce his campaign on Jan. 24.