To support student journalism and the content you love, become a member of The Daily Orange today.

Rachel May, the Democratic incumbent for New York state’s 48th Senate District, is “proud” of the work she’s done so far in her role, and hopes to continue on the work she’s done if re-elected. May is facing challenger Julie Abbott, who has broken with certain right-wing policies to build a more moderate platform compared to other Republicans.

“I don’t like thinking about my children and grandchildren and their children growing up with such divisiveness,” Abbot said.

Abbott, who currently represents Onondaga County’s 6th district in the county legislature, and May both hold similar views on environmental protection and reproductive rights despite being from opposite sides of the aisle. But the two differ on the economy and bail reform in particular.

Before becoming a state senator, May worked at Syracuse University as a director of sustainability education. She said she brought her background in environmental sustainability to the New York state senate, and is proud to be “standing up” for racial and social justice in the city of Syracuse.

Abbott, who attended SU and worked as a broadcast journalist at ABC WSYR NewsChannel 9 for several years, also served on the Skaneateles School Board. She originally sought to run as a conservative but lost the party’s primary to Justin Coretti, an attorney from Cayuga County.

Abbott holds more moderate views than other Conservative Party candidates on topics like reproductive rights and gun control.

“I don’t think a party line should stop progress,” Abbott said.

May and Abbott both acknowledged the prevalence of crime and economic issues in voters’ minds heading into the 2022 midterms.

In her time in office, May has worked on reducing the presence of illegal guns — especially military-grade weapons — and ending gun trafficking.

Abbott also said she is hoping to address illegal guns, mental health and substance abuse in her policy on crime. She said her time on the Skaneateles School Board informed her opinions on school safety and security in particular.

“We need to be … working as a community to see kids who are struggling, whether it’s suicide or school violence,” Abbott said. “Our schools touch our kids everyday, they’re there most of the day, and it’s our responsibility as a community to lift up and take care of all children.”

May said she focuses on the roots of crime, like poverty and drug addiction, in addition to the action itself. She currently serves on a substance abuse task force within the state senate.

“We are trying to make sure that things like Narcan are widely available, that there’s training for using (them), that doctors are being trained in how to keep their patients informed if they do prescribe opioids, and making sure that doctors are giving them the information they need to prevent addiction,” May said.

While May and Abbott shared similarities in their opinions on substance abuse, the two clash over bail reform. May has worked to change “punitive” bail laws the state had when she took office to keep people from being jailed “unnecessarily.”

When people can’t pay bail and end up behind bars, they are in a “weaker position” economically after getting out, May said.

“It’s not a solution just to jail people,” May said.

Abbott said the current bail reform plans in New York state are a “disaster,” although “well-intentioned.” She also said that when criminals are released and reoffend, they put citizens “in harm’s way,” which she wants to address in bail reform.

May also said the financial struggles of New York families was another key concern going into the election, and singled out price gouging as the culprit behind rising gas prices.

Steven White, an assistant political science professor at SU, said rising prices, along with other widespread issues, are leading a trend of nationalization in midterms that could favor Republicans.

“All the issues regarding inflation, abortion, crime and other things people are talking about, they have a local audience for them that’s reflecting a national conversation,” White said.

May said she’s looking ahead to the economic benefits the new Micron plant construction, and wants to work to ensure those benefits are distributed equally.

“We want to make sure that we are positioned so that everybody has access to those jobs and to the benefits that we’re going to see as the economy expands here,” May said.

May will continue to work on the Micron plant and Interstate-81 projects if re-elected, she said. May is also working on plans for rapid bus transportation from downtown Syracuse to the Micron location in Clay, she said.

Another issue that Abbott has broken from her party with is reproductive rights. Abbott said that as a woman and mother of five, she understands there are circumstances in the “early phases” of pregnancy where women should be able to access abortion and that access should be protected.

“I don’t find anything more conservative than not wanting the government to tell me what I can and can’t do with my body,” she said.

White said Senate District 48’s landscape is unusual. Typically, he said, midterm primaries result in more right-wing, pro-Trump Republican candidates. But Abbott, who lost her Conservative Party primary, bucks that trend.

“The challenge for modern Republicans is convincing center, left-leaning independents that they’re not the far-right Republicans,” White said. “That’s probably easier for local stuff.”

Published on November 8, 2022 at 12:15 am

Contact Stephanie: spwright@syr.edu