BUFFALO, N.Y. — With early voting now underway in New York State a key seat in the State Senate is up for grabs right here in Western New York. And it involves some familiar names.
2 On Your Side got a sampling of each candidate's position on the issues at Wednesday's student-run debate between the candidates in the 61st Senate District at St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute in Buffalo.
The debate was with two well known political faces in this redistricted district, which now takes in parts of Buffalo, Amherst, Tonwanda, and Grand Island. Republican and Conservative lines candidate and current State Senator Ed Rath III is running against Democrat and Working Families Party and incumbent candidate State Senator Sean Ryan, who formerly was in the old 60th District.
So first, their responses on a question about the economy and minimum wage.
"What are we talking about?" Rath said. "Raising the minimum wage to make ends meet. Guess what? The cost at the supermarket, the cost at the gas station, and the energy bills to heat our houses, through the roof. So this is one aspect or one angle if you will on the affordability crisis that needs to be addressed. Albany has been tone deaf on this issue and has not provided solutions for people to make ends meet. So this issue, I will study it like every issue, read the merits of the issue, pay attention to it, and make a decision based on what I think is right."
Ryan responded: "Albany has been far from tone deaf on this issue. When the United States government failed to act or raise the minimum wage, we acted as a state to raise the minimum wage. We looked at the economy and discovered too many people working full time jobs but couldn't afford to put a roof on their house, couldn't afford to take their kids to the dentist. We raised the minimum wage, and we should raise it again, and we should keep it indexed."
Then on the divisive subject of abortion, Ryan said: "We passed protections making it so doctors in New York State could not be jailed for providing reproductive services for a woman out of state. I voted yes on that legislation, Senator Rath voted no on that legislation. I believe it's a woman's right to choose. It's a woman, her family, and her doctor."
Rath then said: "Of course I support women's reproductive rights. There are aspects where I think that some of the legislation is extreme. We should not be allowing for late-term convenience abortions, and we should not be making New York State a destination for out of staters, and out-of-state doctors when it comes to reproductive services."
Finally, they were asked a question on the contentious issue of crime concerns and bail reform in New York State.
Ryan said: "The mistake we really made in New York is we made nearly 50 years without making any changes to bail reform. We made the changes, we listened to data, we listened to people in the criminal justice system, and we changed it again. This year under Governor Hochul, we came back and made more changes."
Rath pointed out that "people are dramatically less safe than they were less than three years ago when cashless bail passed in New York State. I will work to repeal this disastrous law because our communities are dramatically less safe. People on the streets are concerned. Businesses are concerned."
A reminder again that this is one of only two state senate races in New York pitting incumbent office holders against each other, which is very unusual. The other such race is in 41st Senate District, with two women incumbent senators facing off in the Hudson Valley area.