We sit down with Scott Comegys, who is running for New York State Senate in District 54. The district includes Ontario, Wayne, and Livingston counties, as well as parts of Monroe County.
We talk with Comegys about his platform and priorities for office.
Our guest:
- Scott Comegys, candidate for New York State Senate, District 54
Key issues raised by candidate during "Connections" appearance:
- Comegys said he's running to ensure that the counties in the district "are recognized in the state and are getting the resources back from the state that help us to grow and to thrive."
- He said he was prompted to run for elected office when his eldest child turned 18 and wanted to get a job and an apartment and start living an adult life. He said his child found out "that it was damn near impossible" because of housing, transportation, food, and other costs that an entry-level job can't support.
- Comegys said the government isn't "going to do everything for us, but it can at least put that initial support system so that we can support people just living on their own without the need for a college degree or anything like that." He mentioned job training and anti-poverty measures as examples.
- Referring to rural communities, he said the primary economic driver is agriculture, but he believes they can support manufacturing, ecotourism and other tourism opportunities, and other types of smaller farms that grow food or plants to support "pharmaceutical causes."
- Regarding public safety, Comegys said he supports law enforcement and wants to ensure that it's funded. He said elected officials in Albany need to look at public safety differently: "Everybody has been looking at it as, OK, how do we either support the law enforcement or not support law enforcement?" Instead, he said, we should look at the "root causes of what is making us unsafe and address that," citing poverty, education, and health care equity as examples.
*Notes: Comegys' opponent, Pamela Helming, declined to appear on this program.
You can read more about this race and others you'll see on your ballot in the WXXI Local Elections Guide.