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138th State Assembly Democratic Candidates Square Off

Randy Gorbman
/
WXXI News

The candidates in next week's Democratic Primary in the 138th Assembly District squared off last night on WXXI.

The debate between incumbent Harry Bronson and challenger and former TV reporter Rachel Barnhart was sponsored by the Voice of the Voter initiative, which also includes the Democrat&Chronicle, 13-WHAM TV and WDKX Radio.

Barnhart was asked to talk about her concerns that some campaign literature put out by her opponent's supporters was sexist.

“I want to talk about issues, they want to talk about the fact I am a former TV news anchor who has a lot of social media followers. Every woman knows what it feels like to have her work devalued. That’s why women get paid less than men. Their work is seen as trivial, and it is dismissed.”

Bronson defends his record on any issue involving equal rights or discrimination.

“Not every criticism is necessarily sexism, so what I’m going to do is continue to call out those clear examples of sexism; I will not at all participate in any of that, my supporters know who I am and they support me because I am a strong advocate of equality for all.”

One of the issues that came up during the debate had to do with New York State's tax structure. Barnhart pointed a finger at what she feels is wasteful spending.

“I’m very concerned with the state’s economic development policy which is to spend millions of our dollars and not really get any result or create any jobs. That’s one place we can start and we can start to try to level the playing field so everyone can take advantage of programs that could reduce their spending or reduce their taxes.”

Bronson says there has been progress made in bringing down income and property taxes in New York State.

 “We have a property tax cap right now, that’s creating some hurdles for localities; I strongly support the state taking over the Medicaid expenses in totality; right now the state is taking over any increases in Medicaid per year.”

There also is a Republican primary for the same seat next Tuesday between candidates Bob Zinck and Peter Vazquez.  The 138th district includes parts of the city of Rochester and the towns of Henrietta and Chili.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.