There’s a three-way race in New York’s 107th state Assembly district as Republican Jake Ashby seeks a second term.
Ashby is facing opposition from two different directions: Democrat Brittany Vogel and Libertarian Charles Senrick. Now that the state has several months of the coronavirus pandemic under its belt, Ashby says his primary focus is getting the Assembly back to work.
“Governor Cuomo needs to cede his emergency powers," says Ashby. "Right now we don’t have a fully-functioning state government, and we’re seeing the results of that.”
Ashby says his district, which includes parts of Rensselaer, Columbia, and Washington Counties, has managed itself well during the pandemic, and he’d like to see local officials and business owners have more of a say in reopening policies going forward.
Senrick, a former state worker who has lived in the district for decades, agrees – he says he's running because the government has invaded too far into people’s lives.
"People have to make the choice: 'Am I going to do what's right for me and my family?'" Senrick clarifies. "I mean, me personally, I believe if I'm in an enclosed place with strangers I try to keep distance and wear a mask. But my beef, basically, is with the mandates."
Ashby says he is focused on rewarding businesses for health and safety protocols (he recently sponsored a billthat would provide a $5,000 tax credit to small businesses based on their COVID-19 modifications), rather than shutting them down.
As Assistant Manager of a Hannaford grocery store in Kinderhook, Vogel says she has been on the frontlines of the pandemic from the get-go – and her focus is on the workers.
"Every single day I have to have conversations with customers who want to refuse to wear their mask because they think the pandemic is a hoax or that we're infringing on their rights. It's the working people that are taking the brunt of it, and we're putting our safety at risk," she notes. "We need to continue to develop the rapid testing, and we need to make sure we can pinpoint, isolate, and contain the virus as it tries to spread, because it's not going anywhere."
Largely because of the pandemic, the state’s largest obstacle is a ballooning budget deficit, which currently stands at $60 billion through 2022, according to Cuomo. All three candidates agree that federal relief is vital to digging the state out, but Ashby says aid alone isn’t enough — even before the pandemic, New York was looking at a $6 billion deficit. He’d like the Legislature to take aim at Hollywood tax credits and other areas of what he calls “wasteful” spending.
“We need to utilize the comptroller [Tom DiNapoli] for this. His office came out with an audit a couple weeks ago citing $700 million in waste and fraud in Medicaid," Ashby explains. "You know, I’m not an expert on those areas and what they are, but I know that his office is, and we need to consult with him and take a look at that. Medicaid is just one area, and I’m sure that there's plenty of others.”
Senrick also cited cuts to Medicaid in his response to the deficit. Vogel doesn’t want to see any cuts to programs, arguing they’re most destructive to the already needy. Recalling the 2008 recession, in which many of her coworkers lost their jobs, Vogel says she wants the government to focus on lifting the working class this time around.
“I think we need to look at the millionaires and billionaires who have gained so much money just over the span of the pandemic," says Vogel. "I think they use loopholes and they get subsidies and they take advantage of our tax system to their benefit. I don’t want to see any more pressure on the working people.”
Like Gov. Cuomo, Ashby and Senrick dismiss the idea of a millionaire’s tax, worrying such a measure could worsen the situation by pushing wealthy residents out of the state. Ashby adds any tax collected would likely land in the state’s general fund — so the answer lies in smarter spending.
“What we’ve seen historically with that is it hasn’t been spent very well," he notes. "I mean, if we could allocate specifically where this money would go — if it would go towards education, if it would go towards healthcare — you know, I might be interested in taking a look at that. But if it’s just gonna go into the general fund, I think that’s a mistake.”
Both Vogel and Senrick say legalizing and taxing recreational marijuana could bring additional revenue to the state. Ashby’s not against the idea, but he takes issue with the current legislation, which he says leaves the industry vulnerable to corporatization.
Vogel is quick to make the same assertion about Ashby himself. She accuses Ashby of taking corporate money, and says she’s running to represent working people.
“Jake takes care of those in power...It reflects in his votes," Vogel adds. "He also isn’t consistent in his ideology. He says he supports clean water but votes against bills, like not closing hazardous waste loopholes for oil and gas, and he voted against banning weedkiller on state properties, which is known to contaminate the water.”
Ashby says he does take “donations from local businesses,” a list of which he says can be found online. Senrick, meanwhile, hopes to offer a third option for voters fatigued by partisan politics.
"Picked a great time to run for the first time," Senrick laughs. "I think the more local you get, the less there is of that animus."
Early voting starts Saturday ahead of Election Day on November 3.
