Republican Caleb Slater is running for a state political office for the first time, but he said he thinks he has other experience that makes him a good candidate for the job of state Senator.
"I've worked on campaigns on the federal, state, and local level,” Slater said. “I've been on the floor of Albany, but beyond my understanding of both policy making process and the issues that are impacting central New Yorkers, I'm the only candidate in this race that has the lived experience in each area of this district. I live in Syracuse. I went to college in Auburn, and I grew up in a rural farm town.”
He’s challenging Democratic state senator Rachel May, who is running for her fourth term representing the 48th district. May said she wants to head back to Albany because she has more work to do.
"I've been working really hard for this district,” May said. “I'm proud of a lot of the work that I've done, but this is the kind of job where you develop relationships. Sometimes it can take years to get certain legislation through or priorities into the budget, so I feel like there's still a lot to do, and I'm eager to keep working on some of the issues that I've been working on."
One of May’s major priorities is housing. She said in Albany, she has been tackling barriers one at a time and has pending legislation that will make building homes easier.
"We have a lot of regulation,” May said. “We have a lot of systems that invite lawsuits and just drag the process out which makes the financing more expensive. We have codes that require that the buildings be configured in a certain way that wastes a lot of space."
Slater said he would also like to see less regulation, and he wants to see more tax incentives for developers. His plan would allow developments with at least 66 percent of units meeting 80 percent of the AMI to have a property tax exemption for ten years.
"We want to incentivize developers to do the right thing, and the right thing right now is developing affordable housing, and we can do that by being a strategic partner," he said.
The 48th district includes the city of Syracuse, parts of Onondaga County, and Cayuga County. The candidates say they have environmental priorities that span the district.
May said constituents in the western part of the district are highly concerned about water quality and harmful algae blooms.
“(I’ve been) working on watershed governance and water quality,” she said. “I have a number of bills. I have done a lot of advocacy that I’ve shown up and been there and have really been working on these very thorny and difficult issues.”
Slater said he has also been researching this issue.
“I look at barley straw, which releases compounds that inhibit algae growth when it decomposes and is beneficial to bacteria that consume the algae blooms,” he said. “But I also look at the nanobubble technology, which can reduce the algae blooms in lakes, ponds, and storm water systems.”
One area where the two candidates disagree is criminal justice reform at the state level.
Slater said he believes bail reform has gone too far.
"We have people that are committing very dangerous crimes being let back on the street over and over and over again, so on the cashless bail front, I support local judicial discretion on who is held with or without bail,” said Slater.
Slater said he would also like to see more police officers walking the beat.
May said she’s focused on safety, accountability, and justice. She said the law enforcement community has tools that are not being used when it comes to dealing with repeat offenders, so lawmakers are working to make sure judges are more aware of options.
"We always have to come back to justice, and I do believe that locking people up without trial just because they can't pay their way out with bail is really a violation of a lot of our basic principles of our legal system,” she said.
Both candidates said they plan to spend the days until the election meeting with voters and talking about the issues.
Slater said he hopes voters keep in mind he focused on running a positive campaign.
“We’re only talking about the issues, meeting with voters, solutions to the problems. I hope voters understand that, and voters appreciate that we’re in this to fight for them,” Slater said.
May said she hopes voters will consider her record as they head to the polls.
“I keep an open mind. I show up. I care. I am a real problem solver,” she said. “I do feel like being a problem solver is a big thing that I bring to this job, and that I’m honest and forthright about what I believe.”