The Republican challenger in New York’s 113th state Assembly district is positioning himself as an alternative to the incumbent, who has been in office for a decade.
Democrat Carrie Woerner was first elected in 2014 and won 2022’s election by nearly 13 points.
Messina, a 28-year-old Washington County native and former restaurant owner, has previously served on both the Greenwich and Washington County Republican Committees. He says he is ready to bolster the regional economy through support for local businesses.
“New York is having a huge problem with businesses leaving our state. Since my opponent, Carrie’s, taken office, we've lost a record number of businesses. And I understand the struggles that people are going through. I mean, you look at the inflation in the economy, people trying to make ends meet, it's just very difficult. And then add that on top of now being a business owner, being responsible for all of that and following all the endless rules and regulations in New York. So, you know, I put my focus on trying to remove some of that bureaucratic stuff and the red tape to help businesses get established in New York and get them up and running, because we need that we can't afford to keep losing, you know, businesses we can't afford. And when the businesses leave, you know what happens next, the people leave. And we just can't afford that, especially with how high the taxes are in our state. We have the highest tax burden state in the country. You know, it's not a good combination,” said Messina.
Messina, who lives on a farm in Greenwich, says he wants to support agriculture in the district that includes Saratoga, Washington, and Warren counties.
“I think we need to provide some incentive for farmers. It's obvious. I mean, under Carrie, we've lost over 4,000 farms since she's taken office. And obviously that's not all Carrie Woerner's fault. It's the state that's an issue. You know, people just can't afford to farm here anymore. I mean, I live on a farm. We can't milk anymore. They were losing money milking. So, now we have to rely on housing cows from like Kings Dairy, you know, still doing corn and hay, but it's very hard for farmers, and there's no way that a new farmer could just start up a farm and provide resources to a community. It's very difficult. You have to have a lot of outside money doing that. And it's unfortunate because, you know, a lot of these bigger farms are now buying up all the land or renting out all the land, and it's making it, you know, even harder for other farmers to get started. Milking just isn't worth it to farmers and it's unfortunate because now these bigger farms have to keep on buying more land and buying more space to have more cows to pay for their debt. It's not a good situation. So, I think we need to put a focus on getting farms and farmers back in our community,” said Messina.
Legislators at various levels throughout New York have turned their sights on regulating the short-term rental market. Messina says a change is long overdue.
“I think that private equity firms, you know, probably worth over a billion dollars, shouldn't be able to come in and just buy up land and jack up prices. I think that should at least be the first thing that we look into, because it's obvious they're not doing it for good reasons. They're doing it to buy up and price out all competition, and this is really going to hurt like local business owners and landlords. And I think it's a big concern for a lot of people. I think, you know, with the private equity, equity firms moving into places and buying up properties at high prices, raising the assessment value for everybody around them is a real problem, and we got to, regardless of who wins this election, actually has to do something about it, and not just talk about it two months before the election,” said Messina.
The Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Washington County will shutter in November, leaving hundreds of local jobs in limbo as employees are offered the chance to transfer. Messina says the legislature’s Democratic majority is to blame for the closure, announced by the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in July after the state budget approved up to five prison closures.
“I think you know, sounding the alarm is going to be important. I mean, when you look at Carrie being in the majority member in the Assembly, you know, she should have been way more vocal on this issue way before the prison announced a closure. I mean, it's really tough. It's hard to—I'd like to know what Carrie has to say about like, you know, the 600 employees who no longer have a job. The facility, to me, is more than just a prison and to people in Washington and Warren County, it's a cornerstone of our economy, providing hundreds of good jobs to people. I think that point should have been made long, long before it got to the closure status. So, you know, what good is having somebody in the assembly, in the super majority? If you know things just keep on failing and nothing is being done about it,” said Messina.
In an interview with WAMC, Woerner criticized the closure and says she wants to require DOCCs to provide more detailed analysis for future closures.
Messina says he would be willing to work across the political aisle if elected.
“I'm a Republican, and people ask me, you know, are you? Are you pro—life or are you pro-choice? So, I just like to say to people that New York State has been a pro-choice state long before Roe v. Wade, it's been enshrined in our Constitution, and the Supreme Court has kicked this decision back to the States. Neither Carrie or I could do anything to change that. That's a tough conversation to have with people, especially going door to door. But you know, I have two daughters, they've completely changed my life. I love them more than anything in the world. And saying that I’m pro-choice might make some people a little bit uncomfortable, but they have to understand that I understand where the district is at and where the state is at. It's not going to change no matter who the candidate is. So that's just one of the examples of understanding where we're at in New York, in our district, and being able to say, ‘hey, you know, my personal belief here has no place, you know, in this conversation.’ So, we need to focus on, you know, the things that are really impacting New Yorkers,” said Messina.
November’s ballot also includes Prop 1, the Equal Rights Amendment, and Republicans are campaigning statewide to defeat the measure. Messina says he thinks it is common sense to oppose it.
“Again, as a father of two daughters, I believe this proposition would totally undermine the fairness and diminish scholarship opportunities for girls in athletics. You know, I'm totally committed to protecting Title Nine and the athletic scholarship opportunities that provide women, you know, these opportunities in college. I just can't be on board with supporting prop one, you know, I think I don't like the way the left seems to also be disguising what, you know, it is, like they're trying to call it the Equal Rights Act, you know, all this stuff, trying to say that abortion is going to be taken away through it. I just don't, I don't agree with that, and I think it's scare tactics,” said Messina.
Messina says after speaking with residents of the district, he understands how important it is that rural communities be able to choose their own energy sources as New York moves toward an all-electric grid.
“Obviously New York City, you can't have like, wood stoves and wood boiler systems. There's just not enough trees and stuff to do that, the buildings are way too close together. But for where we are in upstate New York, and specifically my district people, having that right to choose their energy is really important to them and really important for their decision on their homes and where they're going to live, how they're going to live their life. You know, it is so much more beneficial to be able to choose your own energy source, rather than completely exhausting one grid, like making it so everybody has to be on an all-electric grid. It doesn't really make sense to me. I think that everybody choosing their own energy would not completely exhaust a specific resource or infrastructure. And we've seen New York, and especially the Democrats, make a very hard push to go all electric, and team up with their own special interest groups like National Grid, you know, who's raised our rates by 20%. We can't rely on these people to give us energy if they're just going to keep on boosting up the prices,” said Messina.
Election Day is November 5th.
