Two veterans want to unseat Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus) in a swing district that’s drawn national attention in recent years. Francis Conole, a veteran who lost in the Democratic primary last year, said he wants another chance at Katko, a moderate Republican who's been representing Syracuse and parts of central New York for six years. Also wanting to take down Katko, a newcomer to politics, Democrat Steven Holden.
Holden, a retired Army officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is working to get more than 100 Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the war, out of the country. That includes interpreters, businesspeople, members of the Afghan military and their families.
“Because the Taliban wants to kill the younger generation,” Holden said. “It’s all of that generation, almost like the millennial generation, who helped us, who stuck their necks out, who did what they needed to do, that are being targeted.”
Holden, a Syracuse University graduate, is part Cherokee and Cheyenne. An Oklahoma native, he now lives in Camillus. He wanted to run for office when Donald Trump became president.
“The things why I wear the uniform and I took the oath, it was just very hard to stay on active duty doing that, knowing who was the commander in chief,” Holden said. “And I felt where I was needed was here to stand up for democracy.”
Holden teaches finance and contracts in the federal government and has a side business helping veterans get federal contracts. He agrees with President Biden’s decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, something Katko was against. But Holden said sanctions should be placed on Pakistan, who he called a bad actor in the region. Holden is pro-immigration and differs from Katko, who supports resuming construction of the southern border wall. Holden wants more surveillance.
“We also don’t need a fourth-century solution to a 21st-century problem,” Holden said. “A wall, as he is touting, is not the answer.”
When it comes to economic development, Holden wants to ensure residents of Syracuse’s south side get access to the jobs and contracts for the I-81 project. He’s a supporter of the community grid to replace the elevated viaduct downtown.
