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Connections

Marcus C. Williams, candidate for NYS Assembly District 137

Two men sit in front of microphones in a radio talk studio: the man on the left has dark hair and is wearing a black blazer, black shirt and yellow tie; the man on the right has short dark hair and is wearing a light blue pullover, jeans and sneakers.
George Yeadon
/
WXXI News
Marcus C. Williams on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Wednesday, October 9, 2024

We’re joined by another candidate running for state office.

We talk with Marcus C. Williams, candidate for Assembly District 137. He answers our questions and yours about his platforms and priorities for office.

Our guest:

Key issues raised by candidate during "Connections" appearance:

  • Williams expressed concerns about public safety and criminal justice reforms, saying his first legislative priority would be to work on amending bail reform and Raise the Age, which changed the age that a child can be prosecuted as an adult from 16 to 18 in criminal cases. On the latter, he said: "Now this is a very serious concern, because we continue to see repeat offenders that are under the age of 18 over and over and over again." 
  • On bail reform, when asked if he wanted more judicial discretion put in place, he said he does think they should be able to consider more things, but noted: "(Judges) can only do up to the letter of the law, which means that if the law says that you release the people, you release the people. If the law says that you hold the people, then you hold the people. ... I don't think judicial discretion is the whole issue." 
  • Williams said poverty hasn't decreased enough in Rochester, and he said the underlying issue is the educational system. "The actual underlying issues involving poverty are not being addressed, which are the decrepit school system we have that doesn't prioritize education, which doesn't prioritize job placement and job training," he said. "We're sitting here in a community that is deprived. ... The school system is rigged against the community." 
  • In a continued discussion about the Rochester City School District, he criticized the amount of money being spent in the district and said it needs to be better monitored. "This is the money. This is what the money is going to, and we are going to make sure that you are spending the money, and you're not missing tens of millions of dollars," he said.  
  • Williams said charter schools operate "on a fraction of the budget" and many have waiting lists. "It's very clear that they must be doing something right, and if they're able to do more with less, maybe we should look at them as a model," he said. 
  • He said he would push to abolish the state income tax, saying there are "more than enough taxes to spend on other things." 
  • Williams also is interested in expanding homeowner opportunities by deferring taxes for five years for first-time home buyers and instituting more programs to give people who need housing "focused access to capital." 

*Notes: To hear our interview with Williams' opponent, Demond Meeks, click here.
You can read more about this race and others you'll see on your ballot in the WXXI Local Elections Guide.

Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.
Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson" and is also the office administrator for radio, news and technology and operations. She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.