Left to right: Sam Roberts, John Sharon, Michael Donnelly and Christina Fadden Fitch
(Click audio for more insights from SU political scientist Grant Reeher)
Voters will have four candidates to choose from in the 119th state Assembly District in November.
Democratic candidate Sam Roberts will compete against Republican John Sharon for the seat. They also will face Christina Fadden Fitch for the Conservative Party and Michael Donnelly as the Green Party candidate.
That’s the ballot line-up after the Sept. 14 primary. For the Democratic nomination, Roberts, a former county legislator, had 2,093 votes compared to 1,322 for city auditor Philip LaTessa and 1,154 votes for Oswego school administrator Jane Fahey-Suddaby. LaTessa had been the party’s choice, designated as its nominee in May.
The general election is Nov. 2.
This is the first time in 20 years the seat is open. Assemblywoman Joan Christensen, D-Syracuse, who was first elected in 1990, is retiring at the end of her term in November.
The 119th state Assembly District includes the towns of Onondaga, Salina, DeWitt, parts of Syracuse and the Onondaga Nation reservation.
Here’s a quick look at the candidates:
Sam Roberts (Democrat)
Roberts is a native of the east side of Syracuse. He retired after 30 years as a journeyman tool-and-die maker with General Motors. He has been a member of the United Auto Workers union for 35 years. Roberts also was an Onondaga County legislator for five terms, representing the 19th County Legislature district between 1990 and 2000.
Roberts received associate’s degrees from Onondaga Community College and earned certificates in labor studies from Cornell University.
For the 119th Assembly District seat, he has framed his campaign around the economy, with unemployment in Syracuse at 7.6 percent compared to 9.6 percent nationally. “My major concern is the economy and jobs. They are so bad in America and so bad in Syracuse. I want to try and stabilize the economy and keep businesses and the jobs we have while bringing new jobs to the area. I’m talking about new jobs,” said Roberts in an interview.
In the 119th Assembly District, voter enrollment heavily favors Roberts. The Democrats have 35,659 registered voters compared to 21,171 for the GOP; 1,043 for the Conservative Party; 3,256 for The Independence Party; 263 for the Green Party; 442 for the Working Families Party and 19,360 who are unaffiliated with a party.
Political science professor Grant Reeher of Syracuse University says this will give Roberts a leg up in the November elections. “The party enrollment figures show almost a two-to-one advantage for Democrats over Republicans,” said Reeher.
Roberts also received an endorsement from the Working Families party.
John Sharon (Republican)
Sharon is one of two DeWitt attorneys campaigning in the 119th Assembly District. He is a graduate of Syracuse University’s College of Law. Since 1978, Sharon has worked in the Onondaga County Attorney’s office and is a senior deputy county attorney. Sharon also has been president of the DeWitt Community Library Board of Trustees.
In addition to his Republican endorsement, Sharon is backed by The Independence Party.
On his campaign Web site, Sharon writes, “I believe in a government that is barely visible and yet responsive to the needs of the taxpayers.”
He expresses special concern about Medicaid, the joint federal-state health insurance program for the poor. New York also pushes down some the state’s cost from the tax-supported program to the county level so that the program also affects local taxes.
In an interview, Sharon said he hopes to alleviate, “the crushing Medicaid burdens at the state and local level.”
In New York, more than 4 million people beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicaid. As of Sept. 21 the number of people in Onondaga County getting financial assistance was 80,316.
Unlike many of the Democratic candidates with long family histories in politics, Sharon is relatively unknown. And that, says Reheer, the SU political scientist, is a big disadvantage. “The Republican nominee does not have a lot of name recognition,” he said, “so that person has an uphill battle.”
Christina Fadden Fitch (Conservative)
In 2008, Christina Fadden Fitch ran as the Republican candidate and lost against incumbent Democrat Joan Christensen. After the Republicans chose Sharon as their candidate in June, Fitch has declared she will stay in the race on the Conservative Party line.
Her number one goal as Assemblywoman will be to “put breaks on the tax-and-spending culture in Albany,” said Fadden Fitch. “The economy is one of the major problems New Yorkers face today,” she said in an interview. She added, “Albany has spent in good times and overspent in bad times.”
Fadden Fitch grew up in Liverpool and graduated from Liverpool High School. She received her bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Rochester and completed doctoral coursework at Indiana University in social psychology.
Most recently, Fadden Fitch worked as assistant executive director for the New York State Right to Life Committee.
Her candidacy is hampered, said political scientist Reeher, without an endorsement from one of the major parties. “That’s going to make it tough coming from a minor party designation to take a seat,” said Reeher.
Michael Donnelly (Green Party)
Michael Donnelly is the second DeWitt attorney in the 119th Assembly District race. He is the Green Party candidate this November.
He graduated from Christian Brothers Academy and earned his bachelor’s degree in philosophy and English from Le Moyne College. Donnelly received his law degree from Indiana University’s School of Law.
Donnelly comes from a family of political activists. Both parents are professors at local universities, according to his campaign Web site, who have been fighting for social justice. His father, Samuel Donnelly, teaches at Syracuse University’s College of Law and his mother, Mary Ann Donnelly, teaches at Le Moyne College’s business school. They both have worked with with Jail Ministry, The Catholic Worker and the peace movement, according to his Web site.
Donnelly works as a court-appointed lawyer representing those who can’t afford lawyers.
Political scientist Reeher says Donnelly’s chances of winning the election are slim but that his candidacy widens the political debate on issues. “Often times these candidates are not in the race to win. They know that they are not actually going to come in first. What they are in there for is to put certain items on the agenda,” said Reeher.
In a video clip posted to the Green Party of New York Web site, Donnelly pins his hopes on voter unhappiness with political veterans. “There is a big anti-incumbent sentiment in Syracuse right now,” he says in the video. A highlighted phrase on the Web site declares: “We can win, we intend to win, and we will win.”
(Billy Holbert is a graduate student in broadcast and digital journalism.)
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