Seven candidates seek Stefanik’s congressional seat

Aug. 31--A bevy of candidates have lined up for a shot at New York's 21st Congressional District. All but incumbent Elise Stefanik showed up to a candidate forum Thursday night.

Still months away from next year's primary, a deluge of Democrats have stepped up to take on U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro.

With one Republican and six Democrats at the forum hosted at SUNY Adirondack, the candidates emphasized a shared liberal agenda: expand access to health care, provide debt relief to students, combat climate change.

President Donald Trump was rarely mentioned, but Stefanik was repeatedly attacked for what the potential challengers argued was her refusal to address her constituents.

Here's a look at the candidates and what they had to say:

Donald Boyajian:

An environmental and town lawyer, Boyajian emphasized his experience working at all levels of government as a town lawyer, in the state Attorney General's Office and as a congressional aid in the early days of the Barack Obama presidency.

He said he has watched as his friends and young people have left the North Country for jobs and opportunities elsewhere. He said the region needed to keep those people here and focus on revitalizing communities, pointing to Denver, Colorado, as an example to replicate.

"We are being deprived of one of our greatest resources: the next generation of business owners and community leaders," he said.

He said he understood how the legislative process works and emphasized infrastructure and student loan relief. But above all else, he said the region needed to elect a leader "with a vision."

"For my whole life I felt our region got the short end of the stick in so many ways," he said. "I don't know what our vision is for the future, where are we going?"

Tedra Cobb:

Cobb served eight years on the St. Lawrence County Legislature and has worked for and started healthcare nonprofits in the region.

She said the district's power rested in its ability to work together and said Stefanik was failing on that score. She said she would convene groups of economic developers, health care providers and educators from across the region to share ideas and build connections.

"This is a huge geographic region, and we need to be united because if we aren't united we don't have power," she said.

She harkened back to her experiences working for a nonprofit that helped fund preventative care for uninsured people, telling a story about patients who died of curable diseases because they didn't have access to regular care.

"Everyone deserves portable and affordable healthcare, no one deserves to die of diabetes ... or other preventable diseases that we know with treatment can be cured," she said.

Russell Finley:

The only Republican at the forum, Finley is a farmer and real estate broker in Lisbon who spent seven years on the national bobsled team.

Finley said that people need to stop putting their politicians "on a pedestal" and instead voice their beliefs directly to a representative who listens. He said as a conservative he doesn't agree with many progressive ideas, but he is willing to let people make their case. He also emphasized areas of potential agreement, like non-GMO farming and transparent labeling.

"As a representative, I will listen and I'm gonna be here, because I've been a part of the district," he said.

He also expressed a general distaste for politicians and highlighted the threat of government regulation and taxes.

"I used to walk out my front door and say my God look at what I own," he said. "Now I say what are they going to legislate, regulate or tax away from me today."

Ronald Kim:

A former Saratoga Springs commissioner of public safety, Kim joined the race this week.

He introduced himself by telling the story of his dad, a Korean immigrant who worked as a surgeon in Corinth and Glens Falls. His dad is now suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

"When the health-care issue came up and Elise Stefanik voted for a bill her own boss said was mean, that was betrayal to my parents, to my father," Kim said.

He listed a series of principles he said would guide his decisions as a representative: "the freedom to live" -- access to healthcare -- "the freedom to work for a living wage," "the freedom to learn and the freedom dream."

He said Stefanik "disqualified" herself as a representative because she didn't participate in more forums for constituents, especially during the healthcare debate.

Emily Martz:

Martz moved to Saranac Lake seven years ago and has worked as teacher at Clarkson University and Paul Smiths College and helped develop community programs.

She said she wanted to create "family-sustaining" and to guarantee access to health care for everyone. She also said the widening income gap was one of the greatest threats to the district and to the country.

She said that people "are being left behind" by the economy and as result "are making voting choices that are contrary to their values."

She argued that renewable energy sources were creating jobs faster than fossil fuels and are better for the environment.

She listed steps that Congress could take short of implementing a single-payer healthcare system. She proposed allowing people to buy into Medicaid and Medicare and let those programs negotiate better prices.

Patrick Nelson:

Nelson, of Stillwater, highlighted health care, the economy and the environment as his top issues and promised "to stand up to a rigged political system."

He promised to not take money from lobbyists.

"You can't beat Elise Stefanik and make real change if you are beholden to the same corporate donors," he said.

He ticked off a long list of policy priorities, from establishing more Veterans Affairs medical resources in the district to forgiving student loan debt. He also forcefully called for a "massive transfer" from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, calling climate change "no less an existential threat than the Second World War was."

He said that when people in Stillwater are in need, the community often steps in to raise money for medical care or offer a ride to a faraway appointment. But that is just "compensating for an inefficient system."

Katie Wilson:

Born and raised in Keane, Wilson runs an antique and consignment store and lives there as a single mother of two.

Throughout the night she emphasized "what I call kitchen-counter issues" and warned against Democrats focusing on cultural issues at the expense of a clear economic message.

"I understand the challenges we face as small business owners, and I believe small businesses are the backbone of the economy," she said.

She said she supports a Medicare-for-all system, but called for moving in that direction "gradually" by lowering the Medicare participation age over time.

"People don't like big change all at once; we can create a system with actual bipartisan support," she said.

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