The 127th Assembly district includes the towns of Cazenovia, Manlius, Cicero, and Clay, an area expected to be heavily affected by the arrival of chip manufacturer Micron.
Democratic incumbent Al Stirpe said lawmakers at all levels of government have been working to upgrade water access and improve roads. But he said state lawmakers put programs in last year’s budget to encourage developers to build more affordable housing in central New York.
"One program stated if you put 25 percent of the units in your project as affordable, and they give a definition of what affordable is, you have a 25-year PILOT on the project,” Stirpe said. “The other one is if 100 percent of your units were affordable, the PILOT was ongoing."
Stirpe’s challenger, Republican Tim Kelly, said he’s also focused on improving infrastructure for the arrival of Micron, and he said potential traffic problems in the 127th district need to be addressed.
"That's going to take a wide breadth of people working together to come up with the funds for that, to have the right resources in place from all three levels, so we can work together and make it so people can get to home and the grocery store,” said Kelly.
Kelly, who previously served as chairman of the Town of Manlius Zoning Board, said he’s been knocking on doors speaking to voters, and some of their major concerns revolve around rising prices. He said he’d like the state to reconsider some of its environmental mandates.
"For me, a big one is electric school busses,” Kelly said. “While I'm all for electric cars and the environment of course, that's going to put between $8 and 15 billion in costs on the backs of taxpayers in New York state."
Stirpe said during his time in the assembly, lawmakers have been working on a number of programs to help ease costs, like addressing rising property taxes through the STAR program, or helping with prescription drug costs.
"In the state, we've continued to make things like, for seniors, the EPIC program, which is the premiere prescription drug program in the country and helps keep the costs of drugs low for seniors," Stirpe said.
Another one of Kelly’s priorities is public safety, and he said he’s concerned about crime and the effects of bail reform.
"We need to ensure that our police have the resources, and the DAs and attorneys have the ability, and our judges of course, to make those decisions, and ensure that if somebody's a repeat offender, that they're not getting out there tomorrow morning committing the same crime,” he said.
Stirpe said the state has made adjustments to bail reform, and he said studies show an increase in crime in 2020 and 2021 had more to do with the pandemic than legislation.
"If you look at all the reports that have come out since 2023, if you compare it to other places that didn't have the same bail reform laws or anything, bail reform didn't really have much of anything to do with the increase in crime," he said.
Kelly said he thinks it’s time for a change in Albany, and when voters head to the polls, he’d like them to keep his ideas in mind.
"Over the last 16 years, has my opponent done what you've wanted him to do, or is it time for a change?” Kelly said. “If you feel it's time for a change, I'd ask for your vote."
Stirpe said he hopes voters consider his record of helping constituents, including getting more than 700 people unemployment insurance during the pandemic and helping areas affected by flooding.
"I think one of the most positive things you can say about my time in the assembly has been my consistency on showing up and helping constituents," Stirpe said.
Early voting is underway in Onondaga County. Election day is Nov. 5.
