Democratic candidate Lea Webb faces Republican Richard David in state Senate District 52.
The district represents all of Cortland and Tompkins counties, and the western half of Broome County.
Webb served eight years as a Binghamton city council member; David served eight years as its mayor.
“I worked in public service for a long time from when I was 15 into adulthood, working on racial and social justice and healthcare,” Webb said, noting she is a Broome County native.
David moved to Binghamton in 1998, and was its mayor from 2014 to 2021.
“I worked eight years in public affairs at Broome College,” he said. “My first job in Binghamton was as a reporter at News Channel 12. I'm also a small business owner, and my family co-owns Cortland Beer Co.”
Jobs and economic development
David cites New York's tax rates and government regulations as reasons for a lack of employment opportunities in the state.
The unemployment rate in August was 3.9% in Cortland County, 4.1% in Broome, 3.2% in Tioga County and 3% in Tompkins – at or near what economists consider full employment.
“New York is one of the highest taxed states in the union,” David said Thursday. “New York also has a high level of regulation, we need to cut through the red tape and we need streamlining. Many families have to work more than one job to make ends meet. What we need to do is provide tax relief for small businesses and families.”
Webb focused on unions and preparing people for employment.
“I'm the vice president of a local NAACP,” Webb said. “We have been focusing on preparing youth for employment and careers, and connecting them to respective employers and I hope to do that in more communities.”
“We have growing industries in the Southern Tier, and with the funds recently allocated to work force development, I will work with labor unions, nonprofits and small businesses to help expand the work force,” she said.
Child care
“Childcare is a major economic issue, even from my own experience and working with residents in the district who gain employment, but then have to pay significant costs for childcare,” Webb said. “With the most recent budget that allocated $3 billion to childcare, I want to make sure these resources are distributed to residents in the district and expand access to child care.”
“We talk about the barriers of doing business and childcare is another one of the things we have to fix to get people back in the workplace,” David said. “If mom and dad are going to be in the workplace, we need childcare options and across the state we have a real problem with a lack of those options. Significant regulatory hurdles and high operational costs need to be fixed to enhance access.”
Broadband
“Access to education, broadband, and lack thereof, is one of the barriers preventing people living in rural areas from getting into the work force,” David said. “When I was mayor, we worked with some of our federal stimulus funds to work with providers to help address some of the rural broadband needs in Broome County. I think that's a good approach that could be replicated in Cortland.”
“One of the things I often share is that this pandemic serves as a massive mirror showing disparities that exist in our communities,” Webb said. “Internet access is a major one and our dependence on it has grown significantly.”
“During my time in the (Binghamton) City Council we established city wi-fi and broadband access,” she said. “It's an issue that impacts rural and urban communities alike, and I would not only provide infrastructure, but also support ongoing funding for that.”
Opioids and addiction
“The state was awarded $208 million to put toward rehabilitation,” David said. “We need to make sure the state distributes the funds equally, especially to communities here in the Southern Tier.”
“I know there's a task force in Albany supposed to allocate $45 million toward opioid relief,” he said. “We need to make sure they’re putting their money where it needs to go.”
“Not only in District 52 but across the country this is a pervasive issue,” Webb said. “Recently I was at a community vigil held in Cortland to remember family members and friends who lost their lives to substance abuse and addiction.”
“The amount of folks who were there and the amount of folks lost was devastating, and it's far too many,” she said. “I think a resource that would help address that is extending funding to local providers and health practitioners who work with folks who are struggling with addiction and mental health issues.”
