>> From WXXI news.

This is Connections.

I'm Julie Philipp filling in for Evan Dawson.

Our connection this hour is made in the 54th New York State Senate District.

Its boundaries are relatively new, the result of redistricting that took effect in 2023.

It covers all of Wayne, Ontario and Livingston counties and reaches across Monroe County to include the towns of chili, Mendon, Riga, Rush and Wheatland.

The incumbent Republican, Pam Helming, is seeking her sixth two year term on the Democratic side, two candidates, Scott Comegys and Michael Mills, are running in a primary race with only a little more than two weeks to go before the primary election.

They are both taking a break from campaigning to have a conversation with us.

A few housekeeping notes.

This is not a debate.

We won't be following a debate format, and there will be no opening statements.

However, to keep things fair, we did a coin flip to determine who will answer the first question first, and we will alternate between them for each question thereafter.

And we won't be timing your responses, but we ask that you each provide your opponent with the opportunity to answer uninterrupted, and I'll work to keep things moving along so you each have more or less the same opportunities to answer each question.

We do invite listeners to call in or email.

Topics you'd like the candidates to address, and you can do that by calling 263, 9994 or emailing us at Connections at wxxi.org.

So let's begin.

And you're going to have to remind me you're going first, right, Scott?

You won.

You won the coin toss here.

So I'm going to start out with a more general question.

And I don't mean this to sound, um, pessimistic or anything, but because I think it's really incredibly important for people to run for office.

But in this day and age, with all of the partisanship, vitriol, stalemates, threats, even that are far too common in politics these days, tell us why you want to serve in the New York State Senate.

>> Actually, that is one of the best reasons to for me to run.

Because when we have so much vitriol, when we have so much, um, just fighting going on and we've been led to fight by so many different political leaders, we need somebody who is coming up from, honestly, from the ranks of the people to say, stop, we want a government that actually functions.

We want a government that actually works for the people and not for Partizan fighting.

And this is the kind of thing that I've done with, um, businesses that I've managed.

I've worked with University of Rochester in the parking facilities.

I used to run that I have worked for the town of Palmyra in the assessor's office and, and worked with people there.

And again, it's not about party.

It's about serving the people and what you really want at this point is just somebody who is going to get up, stand up, serve and say, look, I am not for necessarily one party or the other.

I'm here for the entire community.

I may be running on the Democratic line.

I may be the chair for the Wayne County Democrats because those values are actually values that I identify with most.

But that doesn't mean that I will not work with Republicans or independents or anybody else, so long as we are going to work for the benefit of the community.

That's the kind of attitude that we need, especially in this district and in this district.

We really need to focus here.

We've been told all this time that this is a very Republican district, that nothing but a Republican will win.

When you actually look at the numbers, we have a lot of Democrats.

>> And we'll get into that.

Okay.

So, Michael, um, same question for you.

What makes you want to run for this position?

>> Yeah, I think there are two things.

And Scott touched on the state of our country.

Um, people are scared.

They're frustrated, they're angry.

Um, they're gases, you know, 460 a gallon.

The groceries are more expensive.

They're feeling like they're not listened to.

And that's what led to having part of the current administration that we do.

People were frustrated.

Uh, and so I firmly believe that we need people of character with experience to stand up and say, you're heard, you're seen, but there's a different way to do it.

We don't have to scream at each other.

We don't have to put a red jersey on and a blue jersey on.

We are part of the same red, white and blue jersey as Americans.

So there's the the part that speaks to my heart, uh, and to wanting to be a voice of times of, of fraught peril, uh, a voice of calm.

The second is practical.

I've been on Canandaigua City Council, and we are a region that is neglected and forgotten.

I can speak to Canandaigua two things.

One, um, South Main Street, uh, needs a $60 million repair and we can't get it done.

Uh, the state looks at it and says, you know, it's this real representation that we do not have.

And so we're putting lipstick on a pig by, you know, some money here, some money there.

The second piece of that is we have a senator who's choosing not to do things for local people.

She has refused to carry home rule legislation that would allow our municipality and our county to expand and increase our hotel motel tax.

And she, I guess, doesn't get it.

She's against tax increases of all kinds.

Well, this isn't a tax increase on our residents.

It's a tax increase on visitors who can afford to stay at the hotel they're staying at.

And that's money that goes in our pocket.

So anyway, there's the emotional side and the process.

>> The issues as we go along here.

And we can dig deeper into that.

Now the district is has been had, as you've mentioned, has been held by a Republican for a long time.

But as we stated in the beginning of the program, the lines are are slightly different now.

And in recent elections, there has been just a very slight shift.

Some communities that that were long Republican communities have seen some Democratic wins in recent years.

But in both 2016, 2016 and 2024, this district went for Trump.

What makes you think a Democrat can win here in 2026?

And will you need to convince Republicans to vote for you?

And if so, how will you do that?

And we're going to start with you, Michael.

>> Thank you.

So the short answer is it is a winnable district.

It has been a winnable district.

If you get into the the math of it, it's a plus six Republican district, which means it's six leans 6% towards Republicans.

So that's winnable.

In a normal year, even more winnable when we are going to see not just a blue wave, but a people wave.

This year, you're going to see independents and Republicans who Republicans stay home because they're not getting what they were promised, whether that was the Epstein files or avoiding forever wars.

So they're going to stay home.

And independents are angry for those very same reasons.

And so there's a real opportunity there.

And the way we're going to get them is doing running the campaign that we've run, which is focused on issues of affordability and growing our economy to drive affordability, protecting our lakes and our environment, and standing up and fighting for our farmers.

And I'm the only person winning people over to do that.

I'm standing up to Democrats.

I in an op ed in the Finger Lakes Times, called the governor out for driving the approval of a crypto mine on Seneca Lake.

Independence fish, Republicans, fish.

They care about their environment.

And I stood up and said that that's not acceptable.

And so I think having that message, having the experience that I have is going to speak and is speaking to independents and Republicans.

>> Maybe we need to send a lot of fishermen to Albany right now.

All right, Scott, your your turn.

Would you like me to repeat the question or are you?

>> No.

We're good, we're good.

You know, when it comes to this district and, you know, we're going to appeal to some Republicans who are very frustrated, just like all of us are frustrated.

Um, I will say that I know you're not the only one who's been building support.

I've been building support over the past several years, building up the community members who are all coming out in droves and supporting not only this campaign, but other campaigns and showing that it's not about Democrat or Republican.

Again, it's about service to the community.

That's what's really going to bring people out to vote.

I don't necessarily think Republicans are going to stay home, but I think that Republicans are going to actually consider different options at this point, because that's what we've now been led to.

They are disappointed in what's going on at the national level.

They have to be disappointed by what's going on at the state level.

We have a bystander for a senator at this point.

You know, she does not get anything passed.

She's even admitted that she can't get anything passed.

And as Michael said, she's not trying to get things done for our communities when it comes to home rule, to helping out with infrastructure or even helping out with protection for the lakes, very little done that at this point.

I think people are looking, again to people who are coming up from the community, who have been at with them at every step of the way, who are experiencing the same obstacles, the same barriers to life that they're getting.

And that's what I've been able to communicate to people.

And these are the shared, lived experience that's going to get us more work done in the in the New York State Senate.

>> Okay.

Thank you.

We are talking to Scott Comegys and Michael Mills, who are both vying for the Democratic nod in the 54th New York State Senate district.

We're going to start talking issues now.

I have a few to go through, and we'll also give you some opportunity to talk about issues that you think are high priority and what you're hearing.

Um, I want to start with WXXI.

Brian Sharp has reported on electricity issues in your district capacity issues, aging infrastructure, things that constrain development issues, utilities say will require significant rate increases to remedy.

Governor Hochul has been pushing back saying that's too much.

They're asking for too much, and people can't afford it.

What do you see as a path forward, Scott, your first.

>> Well, first off, I think we need to exercise the authority over the utilities that we have at our government.

The rate hikes that they're asking for are too much.

And the innovation, the the improvements that they're supposed to have been putting in this entire time, what our rates are supposed to have been paying for, they haven't been doing.

So we do have a capacity issue because we have a utility company that is not meeting the demands of our society, of our of our communities.

>> We have to exercise the oversight on that.

Say, okay, if you're going to raise the rates, then you have to prove to us what the actual benefit is, what is the work you're doing?

Instead of allowing millions and millions of dollars to go overseas, rather than being invested in New York State, it's possible that we also need to look at different options for providing for utilities.

We can look at public utilities.

Other states have done that.

We've got municipalities in New York state that have done public utilities.

And so that's an option to explore.

But we also need to make sure that we are investing in ways to generate the power that we do need, and improving the infrastructure to transmit that power.

New York State can do a direct investment in that.

>> Okay.

Thank you.

Your turn.

>> Yeah, I think these are all sort of piecemeal pieces.

This is a complicated situation.

It's in great ingrained in our residences.

Electricity is part of the business of climate.

It is so fundamental.

And oh, by the way, it's an important component of our environment.

Um, you know, the decisions we make, which is why the state government put forward bold environmental legislation to try and move us towards a climate that we can all survive and thrive in.

And so, yeah, some of what Scott said is right.

You know, we need to hold feet to the fire, to the utilities who have been sitting on piles of money for years thinking New York isn't growing.

You know, Ontario County, where I live, is one of two growing counties in the state.

So they've sat on any improvements or major improvements.

So, yes, we need to do that.

But one of the things that we really need to do is look at the Empower Plus program.

We need to be investing in weatherization for low income homes and farms and businesses.

One of the best ways to have more capacity is to decrease the use.

And right now, Empower plus, since 2023 has only empowered 71,000 homes.

That's less than 1% of the homes across the state.

That's less than 1% of homes in New York State.

We need.

And there was an increase this legislative session.

But we need to do much more.

And I have championed that, and I will continue to champion that.

Right now, those programs save homeowners $600 on average a year, and that's real money back in people's pockets.

So, yes, we need to hold our feet to the fire.

We need to grow our capacity for renewables.

We need to increase battery storage for renewables.

That would increase capacity significantly.

The last thing I'll say is, as it pertains to our region is we need to stop being the waste dump and power plug for the rest of the state.

We have two of the largest power waste dumps in in the region, and we are also the place where we can see solar arrays, but we can't tap into them.

And that needs to stop.

>> Okay, Scott, you had something to add.

>> Well, here, here we're gonna have a disagreement.

Not not on the waste dump.

We definitely need to stop being the waste dump for New York State and for other areas.

But as to being the power plug for the state, why not bring in things that allow our farmers to stay as farmers?

We've got solar power that farmers are saying, okay, part of our land is devoted to, to those solar power that helps them to get another income stream, to keep that power up.

If we are going to be the power, the power plug for the state, and we can be, let's do it in a way that benefits our community, that still actually respects our environment.

There's a balance to be struck here, and there's ways that we can move forward with that.

I think it's unrealistic to look at our at our area and say, we need to stop being the power plug.

We need to do it in a smarter way.

>> Okay.

And to be clear, that's not what I'm saying at all.

Policy is nuance.

Policy isn't black and white or bumper stickers.

Of course, farmers and others property owners can make that decision.

There are local ordinances and state law that allow for or prevent that.

And so that should continue.

But when we can't tap into that power and we are not getting anything in return, that's a real problem.

And as I've talked to voters across the district, they are concerned about that.

It ends up being the Greenidge power plant doing crypto mining on Seneca Lake.

And that's what we need to stop, of course, empower the free market and people to make those decisions.

But it's a little more complicated than that.

>> Okay, so let's talk about farming because that is a big part of the economy in your district.

It's a challenging industry.

Farmers are struggling to deal with climate change, extreme weather events that destroy crops, federal activities related to immigration are affecting the labor force tariffs, increasing fuel and fertilizer costs with the related to Iran are making it much more expensive.

So I'm sure I've left a lot of things off that list.

And it's hard.

So my question to you is how hard is it, and what kinds of things would you do to help farmers in New York?

And now we went back and forth.

So I'm glad you guys remember.

Yeah.

>> So look, it's critically important.

Farms are the fabric of Senate 54.

They provide jobs.

They provide much of the culture.

And when we lose farms, which we are in rapid pace or consolidation, that's felt deeply in the soul of our region, but also in the economy.

And so we need to get into practical and specific things.

So, uh, you know, there are there's tariff relief that the state approved this year.

We can argue whether that's enough.

It's an important step in the right direction.

But there are other things we can propose.

One of the big challenges is transferring farms, um, farmers as they're aging right now, we're not seeing a lot of people in their families want to take on that farming.

And so it's expensive then to consider the option.

So I would like to see a tax rebate that would allow for the planning of transition.

So the fees you're paying for accountants and other folks to come in and help you figure out how you can and lawyers, how you can do that.

So we start opening up and maintaining those farms locally.

So they're not just consolidated and taken away.

Um, you know, that's the type of thing we ought to be doing.

Um, and the second piece, I think there are so many, I guess another one I would give is continuing to look at tax in tax breaks for things like expanding them for solar, for how we're using that land to make sure that it continues to be vibrant.

One of the other things where I was going with that, and Scott sort of last comment reminded me of that, but one of the things I'd like to see is it is a heavily regulated industry, and things happen with unintended consequences.

I'll say charitably, when legislation is passed in Albany.

And so I want to testing that any time we have new regulations, new permitting, we are looking at the impact on state, small and medium farms as a beginning point to alleviate some of those additional hurdles, additional fees that are coming their way, which stack up.

>> Okay, Scott, your opportunity.

>> Yeah, absolutely.

And all of those things are very good.

And I would agree with, you know, I would support all of those initiatives.

But what we really need to do in New York State is go back to the basics.

What do farms really need?

You know, farmers have when I'm when I've talked to farmers, being a farmer myself, we need access to capital so we can expand our farms and provide the service and the goods that we are.

But more than anything else, we need access to markets.

And so we need to have legislation that allows farmers to get more access to markets within our state and without our state, um, we also need to make sure that farmers have a good labor supply.

And right now we have a labor shortage in farms solely because of actions at the federal level.

So we need to do is protect those people who are working on our farms and making sure that we have a good relationship between those laborers and the farmers and make sure that we are, you know, they can be afforded, um, those are the those are the basics.

And then we, you know, when you get into the specifics of the tax rebates or we're getting into, and to tax policy in general, you know, we need to do is also support our smaller and mid-sized farms, making sure that they are not getting hit with a lot of the tax burden because they can't afford it.

And running a farm, you may have $1 million go through your farm, you may retain 10,000 of it because you have so much expense in there.

We can help to get programs started to to encourage more sustainable agriculture, less reliance on the fertilizers, making, making use of green cover crops better composting practices, things like that.

Those are things that the state can also encourage in partnership with the farms.

Again, always in partnership with the farmers themselves.

>> Okay.

I want to have a little follow up to that.

Something that Scott brought up, but we're going to start with you, Michael.

He talked about protecting labor for farmers and other industries in in your district.

Lie somewhat on immigration.

And it's it's difficult.

How difficult.

What are you hearing out there?

And what could we you in Albany specifically do to protect them?

>> Yeah.

So I think there are a couple pieces.

There are two important considerations here.

There's the labor component, but there's the human component.

And right now we are demonizing people who want to come to this country for a better life.

And too often we get talk about we talk about people that are moving here as labor, and we lose the humanity of it.

And that should be the starting place, is that these are people who are coming for a better life.

They're looking for opportunity.

That's what America used to provide.

And we need to get back to that which is sorely missing in this affordability crisis.

So we need to start there.

The state has taken some steps, you know, from enforcement and that front.

But again, I would go to what Scott said.

We need to listen to farmers.

We're hearing a lot of it comes from visas and the challenges and constraints in Washington.

So we need to be advocates in Washington, um, to continue that advocacy that we need to expand visas.

We need a pathway to citizenship that's more inclusive, and we need to look at that process differently.

It is punitive right now.

And, you know, we just had this three year approval of funding for Ice, which makes it bulletproof.

It's unprecedented that you have a three year approval for an agency like that.

And it's because it's weaponized.

And they know that.

And they know when Democrats take over, they're going to modify how that's run.

And so that's part of this too.

So I start with, we need to identify our labor as humans and not talk about them.

As I just said, as labor, but also look at some of the things we can do with farmers to bring access safer, reliable, consistent access to labor.

And that's the piece I hear.

It's not consistent.

You're having to, you know, worry every day.

What's next?

>> Okay.

And what are you hearing?

And what would you do to help protect?

Well.

>> Well, first off, and, and the comment you had was that we are somewhat dependent on we're not somewhat we're dependent on immigrant labor.

We are.

And this is an integral part part of our culture in the 54th district specifically.

And we have lots of families who have contributed, as Michael said, not just to labor, but to our culture, to our schools.

We are we have got kids who are growing up here who are going to be sorry, who are leaders, you know, especially if you look out in Sodus, we've got kids who are leading the charge right now saying we need to protect our black and brown people, our immigrant people.

We need to protect all people who are at risk of being abducted by Ice.

So in addition to what we would do, what we've already done, the state, we want to make sure we're not using state facilities at all to help our ice at all.

We want we don't want to make sure.

We want to make sure that we're not increasing any.

We don't want detention centers in our area.

You know, there are certain federal, federal buildings that they can use because it's part of the federal government.

We want to make sure we're not using state resources, resources, or local resources.

We want to make sure that our our law enforcement is not working in cooperation with Ice unless there's an actual public safety threat.

When you know you've got somebody who's an actual dangerous criminal.

And there are ways that we can do that.

That's what we used to do with immigration enforcement.

This, as you said, this is weaponized against people.

They're being used as a scapegoat.

And these are the people who are actually contributing to our community far more than anybody in the in the Maga regime in, in Washington is doing right now.

So everything that we can do to protect our community members who are working with us, who are adding to us, who are their family members, their friends, their schoolmates, everything we can possibly do.

>> Okay.

Thank you.

We are going to take a short break, and when we come back, we will continue our conversation with Scott Comegys and Michael Mills, who are facing off in the Democratic primary race in the 54th Senate district, will be right back.

>> I'm Evan Dawson coming up in our second hour, a conversation about housing in Rochester and A Tale of Two Rochester's.

We sat down recently with Mark Sedgwick, who is a broker who sells some of the most expensive homes in the city.

And he says, if you're looking for homes over a million bucks, that's one thing.

But for starter homes and for new buyers, it's really tough.

He'll explain the tale of two Rochester's.

>> Support for your public radio station comes from our members and from Bob Johnson Auto Group.

Believing an informed public makes for a stronger community.

Proud supporter of Connections with Evan Dawson focused on the news, issues and trends that shape the lives of listeners in the Rochester and Finger Lakes regions.

Bobjohnsonautogroup.com.

>> This is Connections I'm Julie Philipp sitting in for Evan Dawson, and we've been talking to Michael Mills and Scott Comegys, two Democrats seeking the party line in the 54th Senate district race.

Thank you for being here.

We've been talking a little bit about affordability.

That's supposedly the big word, the big buzzword this election year.

I want to talk about affordable housing in your district and the state for that matter.

But in Ontario County, in particular, an ad hoc committee determined last year that the county is having to draw a number of voters or not voters, workers from other counties to provide labor for key industries like health care, social services, because there just aren't enough affordable homes near the jobs.

What do you what ideas do you have to tackle this shortage in the relatively near future, especially.

>> Certainly one of the things that we can do is make sure that we are providing incentives for developers who, you know, naturally, developers want to make the highest profit when they do create new homes.

And we have a housing shortage right now.

We need we need more units.

But what we need more units of are starter homes and retirement homes, smaller homes.

People think things that people can relatively, relatively easily afford.

You know, a lot of the homes that have come up right now when they're constructed, you see the neighborhoods and they say, these are great affordable homes that start at $300,000.

That's not affordable for somebody who's making only $55,000 a year, which is the average that we're making in this entire district.

What we need is to look at different ways of construction.

There are modular homes that can go up that are not, you know, people think modular homes, and then they think of trailer park homes and stuff like that.

There are actually very good modular homes, one that just went up in Palmyra thanks to habitat for humanity that I had the pleasure.

>> Of the ones we see half of them driving down the thruway in a truck, and the other half behind.

Okay.

>> But when they're put together, um, they actually make a very nice home.

It's a good home to start a family or a good home to retire into.

And they are energy efficient and they are affordable.

And that's, that's the way to go.

And that's in the short term.

The other things that we need to do is also make sure that we're not we're not having zombie properties in all of our areas.

And there's lots of different disused properties, you know, whether it's in rural areas, lots of in rural areas, disused homes, people, things that have been abandoned.

You know, we can we have a land bank now we can take on take on those and then contract with somebody to redevelop that home somewhere, either tear it down or put up a new one.

But there's things that we can do to incentivize that.

And I think that's one of the first things we should do.

Again, it's a complex issue.

Um, so there's a lot of things that are going to, and it's going to take years to really get, get there.

But that's the first step.

>> Okay.

>> I would be curious what those incentives look like and sound like, but, um, one of the things that we need to correct is that it's not just building affordable homes or senior homes, any new homes coming into the marketplace add volume, they add space.

So somebody might be holding on to a senior, might be holding on to a large home that they really can't live in, but they don't see an opportunity to move into something local that keeps them, the community that they can afford.

So that's where maybe growing that senior housing is important, but adding another house means that if they move into a different house, somebody might be trying to grow their family and move into that.

So all supply is good supply.

Yes.

Where we can build.

And the challenge is affordable.

House is a misnomer now.

It's now called attainable housing.

And it's because starter starting prices, no matter what you're building, even a modular or 275 plus.

So we need capacity.

The real solution is, is we did in Ontario County is coming together across party lines, across municipalities and saying, what do we need?

We need to understand.

And this is one of the areas that, you know, Senator Helming can say that Democrats don't let her pass legislation, but no one's stopping her from convening people to solve these problems.

One of the first things we need to do is find out where do we want to be in this once in a generation economy that's happening from Syracuse to Rochester with the micron plant, do we want to be the place that people live and spend their money on weekends?

Do we want to be workforce housing?

Do we want to be manufacturers that fit into that supply chain?

So we need to have that conversation.

And she's derelict in her duty of leading them.

But in Ontario County, we came together as municipalities.

And I'll give this one quick example.

A developer came forward and said, I'm going to build 164 affordable housing houses.

As Scott said, in the 300 price point.

And Randy said, great, we can provide power, and that's $15 million.

Well, those homes weren't being built as a result of that or it was going to be now $500,000 homes, because each incremental cost is added to that process.

So we came together, we lobbied the state and got some money to support that infrastructure to lower that bill.

Um, we also need to look at zoning to make more zoning options, higher density.

So it's in all of the above conversation, but those are some things that we can do.

And our senators derelict in her leading those conversations.

>> Okay.

Yeah.

Clearly a lot of these issues are interrelated.

It is not simple.

Um, and that of course brings us to health care, health insurance, access to health care.

You know, people living in rural areas.

This disproportionately affects them all over the country.

Um, but communities in the 54th district obviously are affected.

There have been changes to the ACA and Medicaid funding, workforce shortages, including doctors that have affected those communities.

We just saw Newark Wayne Community Hospital start phasing out labor and delivery.

So people have to drive quite far just to have a baby.

Um, the challenges are really hitting home.

So what would you do to make health care less of a burden for your constituents and also support the health providers that are out there?

And I believe you're first, Michael.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

>> I think so, yeah.

So we'll just go with that way.

That's fine.

So look, you know, passing the New York Health Act is critical.

Um, one of the things I think President Obama missed with the launch of the ACA was he could have started the conversation this way.

Do we believe in America that health care is a right?

And I think the majority of Americans would have said, yeah, that's fair.

It is a right.

And if we go back to the framers of our Constitution, you can't have a life of liberty and happiness and pursue those things if you're not healthy.

And so the New York Health Act is critical that we pass that, and I support it.

There will obviously be modifications, as there are with all big bills like that.

It's what happens when you get into the marketplace.

Uh, two, we need to understand that the challenges that the hospitals in Wayne County or other places that are cutting out maternity wards, which, by the way, isn't the end when you talk to staff on the ground, they know that it's unless we change things, that's just the beginning of what's going to leave.

So we need to look at growing our economy.

We need to because hospitals and health care providers go where there are people.

That's just the economics of the situation.

And we can get into what we can do to hold them accountable more than we are.

But we've got to grow our economy.

We've got to pass the New York Health Act, and we've got to make this a place that doctors want to work, that people, young people, don't want to leave, that they want to stay.

So it is an integrated, um, conversation.

We talked about it at a debate recently.

Um, the Trump administration in this big, beautiful bill.

They are a driver of what we're feeling immediately.

And it is only going to get worse in their, uh, genius, evil genius.

We're not going to see the real impacts of the big beautiful bill until next year after the election.

And it's going to get scary when it comes to our health care.

So long term, grow the economy, short term passed the New York Health Act and recruit people who want to provide services here and work with the medical facilities to find ways to ensure that they're vibrant and viable.

>> Scott.

>> So I have been an advocate for New York Health Act for a long time now.

Um, and this has been a key, a key piece of legislation that I've talked about ever since I got into get involved in politics.

And ever since I've been running, not only because it would, you know, give us health care coverage for everybody without the need for high premiums or high deductibles or copays.

This is a piece of legislation that actually also helps to create jobs, not just in health care industry, but helps to create jobs and build our economy.

Um, it enables people to not have to be stuck in a job because they're in that job solely so they can have health care coverage because the health care coverage is now going to follow you because it covers everybody in the state, no matter what.

Um, but as we're doing this, you know, the New York Health Act stimulates education because we need more doctors, more nurses, more techs.

If we do this in the right way, then we can recruit people to serve in places like Newark Wayne, where their main reasoning that they have told us, which, you know, I can't necessarily believe, but the main reason that they told us that they're getting rid of the labor and delivery unit is because they don't have providers, they can't recruit providers because they won't go out there.

They don't pay enough because, you know, doctors have a high a high education bill.

You know, those student loans aren't cheap.

And if you can't pay a doctor in order enough to justify that they're not coming out to you, we can set up a program through our Suny system wherein we are actually enabling people to go to school, pay them to go to college and contract with them to work in all of these underserved areas so that we can grow that economy.

And while it is true, yes, the doctors, the hospitals, the health care facilities will follow where the economy is going.

We can also use that to grow the economy to begin with, because businesses, families go to areas where they know they've got support.

You know, when we're talking about health care facilities, we've got support there.

That is a reason to go out there because they know that they're going to be served rather than have to, God forbid, drive an hour and a half in the winter to deliver your baby and risk risk, you know, delivering on those on the side of the road.

But we're also looking at growing our economy by making sure we've got other essential services, grocery stores, the post office, health care facilities, good public education systems.

Those are the ways that we can actually encourage people to come out and grow our economy.

>> Sort of chicken or egg, get them to attract people out, or they come as a result of people coming out.

>> I actually prefer to think of it as a both end because we've got a lot of people, you know, especially younger people who are leaving the area because there aren't jobs.

I mean, especially in Wayne County, there aren't jobs that pay enough, you know?

So you've got people living with their parents, my own kids, my my eldest lives with me.

Can't find a job to actually justify paying for an apartment, let alone a house.

If you don't have a good paying job and you want to stay in the area, it's become impossible.

So we need to do something that actually creates those jobs, encourage people to stay in the area that they grew up in if they want to stay.

And a lot of people really do.

And there are a lot of people who are coming out to rural areas because it feels nicer.

It's good to live in a rural area.

We get that fresh air feeling.

You know, there's the community is very warm and regardless of your political affiliation, you know, I've got good friends who are polar opposites as far as politics go.

But we have good relationship anyway.

And that happens in a rural area because we come together with compassion.

We are we are good community that we'd like to collaborate.

You know, this is how we build.

>> Okay, so we've covered quite a few issues.

You are both going door to door.

You're doing a lot of door knocking.

Uh, what sorts of things are you hearing while you're out there?

What's top of mind for the people that you would represent?

And we're going to start with you, Scott.

>> Sure.

Um, honestly, a lot of the things that we've already talked about, and this is the reason that we talk about these, right?

Because these are the things that are top of mind.

I've had a lot of people right at the door say, okay, what do you feel about immigration?

Do you support Ice?

And we have that conversation.

Um, no, I don't support Ice and we we go from there and they're like, okay, good.

Then I'll then I'll vote for you because that's what, that's the way I'm going to, I want to support people in our community.

We talk about gas prices, what can be done about gas prices?

What can be done about utility rates, what can be done about grocery store, you know, grocery prices, things like that.

And while we can talk about a lot of different supports that the state can put in, it really boils down to people want to make sure that we are making sure that we have got good jobs available, that we've got opportunities to grow, that we are controlling our costs as much as we possibly can, so that families can thrive in our in our area.

>> So I'll talk about one specific issue, and then I want to get back to sort of a broader theme.

The one specific issue is data centers.

And we had a very clear difference of opinion, I think, recently.

But look, uh, New York State passed a one year moratorium, and I don't think that goes far enough.

Data centers are bad for our environment.

I know they provide construction jobs and that's important, but they do not provide good paying, long term jobs in quantity.

And the the return on investment is poor.

And so if we're going to have them, I don't think they're only going to come if we let them.

Um and so I would like to see us not have them in New York State other than there are, you know, these are the hyperscale data centers, right?

University of Rochester.

Other people need data centers and our local businesses.

So we need that.

But these hyperscale yeah, the Amazon center, the things they're building in Tennessee.

Uh, and so if they're going to be here, they ought to be required to run on renewable energy.

And the developers of those facilities should pay for them.

If that's not the case, they shouldn't be here.

The broader issues, one of the things that I hear all the time is, and it's hard not to be stuck with this, the the stuff that's happening in Washington, the cutting back of access to vaccines and guidance on vaccines, holding billions of dollars away from New York because we're a blue state and the Senate has never been more important than it is right now.

And when I talk to people about that, there are actually things we can do in the Senate and and in New York government.

The first is, and you may think about the vaccine guidance.

New York got together with Massachusetts and Vermont and New Hampshire and said, we believe in science.

So there's the statement of fact.

But also here's the guidance.

And they sent it out to health care practitioners.

Two, we can sue the federal government and our great Attorney General, Tish James, is doing that every single day and doing it quite well.

And the third thing is that Senate can become a backstop financially.

And we saw that this year, plugging in $11 billion deficit with health care cuts.

And so Senate has never mattered more than it has.

This district has been left behind.

And we can and will win if people come together.

And so I'm hearing that national a lot.

But there's this sense of helplessness.

But we get into the fact that we actually can do something.

And we are in New York State.

>> Okay.

So, um, a lot of issues, a lot of things going on.

How would you begin if you are sent to Albany?

How would you begin to prioritize?

What would you put first?

How would you rank these issues?

>> Yeah, affordability is first.

Um, affordability.

And the way I look at that is growing our economy, uh, to drive affordability.

Our again, growing region, but in some ways not growing with the resources that it needs.

Ontario County is growing, but we need to bring the rest of the district along.

So that has to be the first priority.

So that looks at jobs, that looks at education.

Um, what are we doing to incentivize business growth, empowering entrepreneurs, working with our farmers?

Um, that's critically important.

I will also, as I have been in almost alone in this region, standing up and fighting for our lakes, that is $4 billion in agri tourism that comes through the Finger Lakes region and Lake Ontario every year.

And we face harmful algae blooms that we don't fully understand.

So we need to drive research funding for that.

We need to partner with great institutions like the Finger Lakes Institute.

So those are top of mind.

And then our farmers, we need to continue to support the agriculture community that supports our state.

>> Okay, Scott.

>> So similar.

Um, but I would put health care at the front.

You know, again, it all has to do with affordability because if we, we can't afford to pay the bills, we're not going to grow the community.

It's just not going to happen that way.

So we have to address all of our affordability issues.

And top of mind for me is health care.

So passing the New York Health Act, addressing our utility needs, because that affects literally everybody from individual residents to businesses to farmers, everybody.

We have to address these topics that are actually have all of these interconnecting points, managing our, you know, protection of our lakes.

That's actually working with our farmers doing that, you know, in a way that allows them to operate more affordably.

More affordably.

Because a lot of the algal blooms that come through it has to do with eutrophication because of all the nutrients that we're putting in the ground.

We know that we've known that for years.

So we can work with our farmers to come up with better solutions for that.

Really critically, though, the first thing that we really need to do is manage a better relationship for our district and the rest of the state.

Because again, thanks to a a senator who is, you know, either willfully or, or unable to engage with the rest of the Senate to get work done.

We have to manage a better relationship and say, look, this area matters.

This is why we contribute so much.

As Michael said, we're talking about millions of dollars to our economy.

Great, great contributions to our culture.

We are developing different beverages.

We have got world class wines in the area.

We have got world class dairy, apple growth.

We have got actually world class technological growth within our district.

These are things that we are contributing.

We need to have that recognized by the rest of the state and our partners in the state.

And basically manage those relationships so that we can be in the room, have those conversations, get the resources that we need to grow our economy to make sure that things are being more affordable, so that we are delivering for our people.

>> Just one real brief follow up.

So I don't want to do a disservice to the need for research funding.

We know that nutrient load is an ingredient of harmful algal blooms.

It's not the answer, Scott.

And it is.

We don't understand why they're happening in cooler temperatures now.

We don't understand why they're happening in one part, but not the other.

There is a it is a complicated process that we are still trying to understand.

And if we say, ah, it's just nutrient load, then we won't get the funding we need for this research.

And they are underfunding it right now.

So to protect our lakes, we have to understand our lakes.

And yes, nutrient loads is an important ingredient, but it's much more complicated than that.

>> Okay, thank you.

Scott sort of led into my next question.

Um, Pam Helming, um, the incumbent, she's been there quite a while.

She's been in Albany quite a while.

Um, and she is not here to defend herself.

So try not to get too personal.

I know neither of you will do that.

Um, but if you go to, if you are selected in the primary election and you become her opponent, how are you going to shape your campaign against not first it'll be you, Scott.

So it won't be against Michael here, but it'll be against Pam Helming.

How are you going to shape your campaign against her?

>> The campaign is not against Pam Helming.

The campaign is for the district, and that's how it's always been.

And yes, I'll point out the facts.

You know, Pam Helming has not delivered for our district in the entire time that she has been there.

She has done very little for our district, and she has quite often.

And again, these are facts.

I'm not this is not a personal opinion, but when dealing with her constituents has told too many people, oh, I can't take care of that for you.

It's not my responsibility when dealing with things of water issues, you know, providing public water, getting municipalities to work about infrastructure.

Um, she has talked about not being able to be getting involved with the ice, uh, threat that we've been going under because it's not her job.

She, this is, these are things that people have told me that she has told them.

This is not about Pam Helming.

This is about our area getting the resources it needs, our area being allowed to move forward instead of being left behind.

>> Michael Mills how would you shape your campaign if you're selected in the primaries?

>> Well, you can't run against someone and not make it at least a little bit about them.

That's how politics works.

So yes, of course, it needs to be about the seat at the table that we don't have and the resources that we're not getting.

And I elucidated a number of those firsthand as a member of Canandaigua City Council, and seeing that and working as the head of the Geneva Business Improvement District and the Ontario County Chamber of Commerce, I've worked on issues where we have been left behind, and I've helped solve those.

But we have to talk about the person we're running against.

And again, she is a perfectly nice individual, and she, I think, cares about this region, but she doesn't have a seat at the table.

And it's not enough just to elect a Democrat to get us a seat at the table, because that won't be it.

We need someone who understands how to build coalitions in Albany that get us a voice, where we're up against the resources of the request from New York City and downstate, which, you know, I'm not bashing that.

If we didn't have the vibrancy of that part of our state, we wouldn't be here in the way that we are.

The Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant that happens every year, happens because of our state collectively and what they bring to the table.

But it is clear that in Albany, our needs take a back seat.

And as importantly as we sit at WXXI in Rochester, we take a back seat to Rochester as well.

When I grew up here on the west side of Rochester, the Finger Lakes might as well have been the other side of the country.

It was it wasn't connected.

And I moved away, went to grad school in Atlanta, lived there a little bit, and came back to raise a family.

And now we are part of the same economic development district.

And up until very recently, with the advocacy of myself and others, you can look at the the state's Finger Lakes Regional Regional Development, Economic Council, and it's the Finger Lakes, and there would only be 3 or 4 seats of the 30 plus that you and I would call the Finger Lakes.

And so we need someone who understands how to build coalitions in Albany to make sure that we don't just have a seat at the table, but that we have a voice.

And so, yeah, we have to take that message to independents and Republicans and Democrats of why this election matters so much.

And that is a direct, uh, critique of the Senator.

>> Scott, you had something more to add.

>> Yeah.

While we while there's definitely a direct critique of the senator, it can't be about her.

You know, it can be about the disservice that we've gotten.

It can be about the misrepresentation we've gotten for, for a part of the component.

But again, we need to build that community up again and say, this is for our communities.

And if we're going to work forward together, we cannot demonize each other.

>> Yeah.

Just to be clear, I'm not demonizing anyone.

We're talking, records and experience and talking about community.

I was there as the executive director of the Geneva bid during Covid.

I got the job in two weeks later, Covid hit and everything shut down, and I was part of the community working to get local small businesses open again, partnering with the city of Geneva, Ontario County, the state of New York to make those things happen.

So of course, it's about the community.

Of course, it's about who we want to be and can be.

But it also you're not going to win just talking about that.

>> Okay.

But if I can.

>> Yes, of course.

>> Being in the community is more than being on business councils.

You know, and we've been in the community all around this district, talking to people, listening to people, helping people to organize, providing food for people.

Michael's done a lot of the same things.

Don't don't make me wrong.

No disrespect here, but being part of the community is more than that.

>> Not not some of those things.

>> We're going to move on.

Now.

There's two more people I want to talk about who are not here.

Your district voted for President Trump.

The majority of voters in your district voted for President Trump.

When you're going door to door, does he come up?

And when it does come up, what do you talk about?

And I think it's you.

>> Yeah, of course he comes up.

He's he's the elephant in the room.

If we're going to put him to a party.

Um, and we can't have a conversation without it, whether it's the 3000 plus, you know, stock deals he made last month from the Oval Office.

Whether it's what how he's weaponizing Ice to detain people and kill American citizens, of course, it comes up are the 460 and gas.

What I talk about is again what I said earlier, what the state can actually do about it, because everything else is a bumper sticker.

Everything else is just a conversation without direction.

So we talk about what the state can do.

Um, I was just in an event in North Rose in Wayne County, where there were Republicans and independents there.

Farmers, veterans, and every one of them left with one of my yard signs.

And it's because we're talking about issues that matter to people.

As Scott said earlier, it's not about demonizing.

It's here are the real challenges.

Here's what we can do to solve them.

Um, and people are responding to that as we go door to door, as we have forums.

That's what people are responding to is the opportunity that we can do something about it.

>> Scott, what has been your experience?

>> Very much the same.

You know, Donald Trump comes up and, you know, you'll you'll have people talk about corruption.

You'll talk about, you know, all the atrocities that he's done as far as dismantling our democracy and things like that.

But when it comes down to it, we always steer that conversation again to what we can do at the state level to honestly resist what's going on, all the corruption that's going on there, and make sure that we are delivering for our people so that we can be that example for the rest of the country, as well as we as a functioning democracy.

This is how we move forward.

>> So you're getting negative comments.

I know you mentioned Republicans and independents were in sight, but are there still supporters that you've.

>> Of course, he's got he's.

Got a he's got a floor of 35% that think he's doing a bang up job and we're not going to change that.

>> Okay.

In a minute and a half or so that we have left, some Democrats have been a little disappointed with Governor Kathy Hochul feeling she's not as progressive as they would like her to be on some issues like clean energy, um, opposing a super wealth tax.

Um, I believe we start with you, Scott.

What is your opinion of the governor, if you could keep your answer to about 30s or 45 is good.

Go ahead.

>> I am certainly disappointed in what's happened this year with Kathy Hochul.

Overall, I've been very happy with the governor.

She's been able to lead our state in very difficult times.

But this year she has definitely gone backwards.

We are, you know, by cutting out key parts of the Clcpa, which helps us to protect our lakes and protect our environment and answer to climate change and move us forward.

She's trying to take us backwards.

I'm not quite sure the motivation on that.

Whether she thinks she's going to appeal to people that are more, um, in aligned with Donald Trump.

I will say that in this election, given the choice, however, I will always choose Kathy Hochul over the over her opponent.

>> Okay.

And Michael Mills.

>> I'll start there.

Kathy Hochul gives us the best chance to move New York forward in this gubernatorial race.

That's clear.

Um, but yeah, I've had public disagreements with the governor and I've been willing to use, uh, public media and the bully pulpit to share what our region needs.

And so again, And I look forward to having those conversations directly.

As the next senator for district 54.

But yeah, she's the best chance that moves us forward as a state.

And I have some disagreements with her, for sure.

>> Okay.

Well, I appreciate you both being here.

Scott Comegys and Michael Mills.

And I appreciate having a. Um, it can be done in politics.

You can have a conversation.

Um, but we are out of time, and I wish you both the best of luck.

June 13th, Saturday.

Early voting starts in the primary elections, and primary election day is on June 23rd.

Check with your local Board of Elections for information on where to vote.

Again, thank you to Michael Mills and Scott Comegys, both running for the Democratic spot in the 54th Senate District.

And also thanks to our great production team, it's been wonderful working with you this week and also to you, our listeners.

I hope you have a wonderful afternoon.

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