First-term incumbent Democrat Demond Meeks has been reelected to represent the 137th Assembly District, which covers Gates and part of Rochester.
According to unofficial results from the Monroe County Board of Elections, Meeks finished with about 65 percent of the vote to Marcus Williams’ 31 percent.
Meeks, a Rochester resident and former labor union organizer, has called for the state to increase education funding and supports policies strengthening workers' rights and encouraging fair wages. He has called for the state to recognize health care as a fundamental right and to make it affordable and has also supported increasing the availability of affordable housing.
Meeks sponsored legislation that would direct the state to study and make recommendations around police brutality in Rochester.
Meeks said he would make equity a priority in his next term.
"We're just really getting started," Meeks said. "When we look at the challenges that's before us as a community, there's a lot of work we have to do."
Williams, who lives in Rochester, had been especially vocal about crime in the city. He advocated for the rollback of state bail and parole reforms and wants changes to the state law specifying that alleged offenders aged 16 or 17 are not to be automatically tried as adults. He wants the state to help people leaving jail or prison by providing more reintegration programs.
Williams also called for more nuclear energy, the construction of more gas pipelines to help get the state off oil and coal, stronger jobs and trades programs, and better pay and pensions for teachers to aid in hiring.
