Roberts holds a sixth degree black belt in Ameican Shotokan karate. He was ranked number one in New York and New Jersey before retiring in 1983 (Billy Holbert)
To Sam Roberts, politics is a lesson from childhood.
His mother was a poll inspector for the Democratic Party. Roberts remembers his mother working the machines on Election Day and how his parents taught him the importance of voting.
“I just started paying attention,” said Roberts. “And here I am.”
Roberts, a former Onondaga County legislator, is the Democratic candidate in the 119th state Assembly District race. He faces Republican candidate John Sharon of DeWitt, a newcomer to politics; the Conservative party’s Christina Fadden Fitch of Liverpool, who lost as a Republican in the same race two years ago; and DeWitt attorney Michael Donnelly as the Green Party candidate. Along with the Democratic endorsement, Roberts is backed by the Working Families Party.
For the first time since 1990, the 119th Assembly District seat will be open. Assemblywoman Joan Christensen, D-Syracuse, who held the seat for 20 years, is retiring. The 119th state Assembly District includes the towns of DeWitt, Onondaga, Salina, portions of Syracuse and the Onondaga Nation Reservation. The election is Nov. 2.
Roberts has the advantage in a district that heavily favors the Democratic Party. Democrats have 35,659 registered voters in comparison to the GOP with 21,171 voters; 1,043 for the Conservative Party; 442 for the Working Families Party and 263 for the Green Party. There are 19,360 voters in the 119th Assembly District who are unaffiliated.
In his bid for the seat, Roberts is banking on his political experience in the county legislature, his ties to the Democratic Party and its labor allies, and his competitive spirit that won him a sixth-degree black belt in karate. He calls for tax breaks for small business to create jobs, more government funding for programs to retrain workers who’ve lost their jobs and a moratorium on the controversial drilling process called hydrofracking.
Roberts, 54, is a native of Syracuse. His parents were both blue-collar workers. His father was a sheet-metal worker and his mother was an electrical worker for General Electric. Following in their footsteps, Sam Roberts worked for 30 years at General Motors as a journeyman tool-and-die maker and was a member of the United Auto Workers union for 35 years. He has certificates in labor studies from Cornell University and associate’s degrees in labor studies and apprentice training from Onondaga Community College. Roberts and his wife have four children.
In his earlier political career, Roberts represented the 19th county Legislature District between 1990 and 2000. He retired from the Legislature, he said, partly because he supports a 10-year term limit for elected offices and partly because of a job transfer to Massena. Since 2007, Roberts has been the superintendent at the Hughes State Office Building. He took a leave of absence in July of 2010, to focus on his campaign.
As a 35-year member of the United Auto Workers union, Roberts strongly supports unions. “Unions are there to protect a worker’s rights. Without a union-negotiated contract, you don’t have any rights,” said Roberts.
Roberts’ union background would be an asset for him as an assemblyman, says county legislator Mark Stanczyk, D-Syracuse, who worked with Roberts in the legislature. “In our society, we have become more ‘me’ oriented rather than ‘we’ oriented. And one of great lessons of a union is that if we stand together, things can be better for everyone,” said Stanczyk. “That’s one of the best lessons he has learned.”
Roberts also wins praise from another county legislature colleague for helping to strengthen anti-discrimination measures on behalf of those with HIV/Aids. As freshmen lawmakers in 1990, Roberts and legislator Sam Laguzza, D-Syracuse, sponsored a resolution to reaffirm the county’s Human Rights Division’s authority to investigate discrimination complaints by those with HIV/Aids.
“That was a huge success,” said Laguzza in an interview. “We came in as freshmen and took on a huge controversial issue. Sam was not one to shy away from a good floor debate.”
Outside of politics, Roberts’ resume includes recognition and honors from the NAACP, the Concerned Citizens Action Program and the Syracuse chapter of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists.
And then there is his sixth- degree black belt in American Shotokan Karate. He grew up watching his older brother practice his karate moves in the mirror, recalled Roberts, and was captivated by the martial-arts skills of the heroes in TV shows like “The Green Hornet” and “Batman.”
In training, Roberts would average four hours each day for “thousands” of jumping-jacks, push-ups and sit-ups. By the time he retired from competition in 1983, Roberts — nicknamed “The Bam” for his expertise in a back-fisted blow — was ranked number 1 in New York and New Jersey and had won several world championships in karate.
Greg Tearney, a karate Grand Master and owner of Tearney’s Martial Arts, knew Roberts in his days as a competitor. Roberts brings a martial-arts quality to his politics, said Tearney. “Politics is like fighting. When you go into the ring, you go in to win. But you fight fair, you have character and you are truthful,” said Tearney.
In his campaign for the 119th Assembly District seat, Roberts says his main focus is on jobs and the economy. “We have to give businesses, especially small businesses, a break when it comes to taxes in someway,” said Roberts.
He would continue, he said, the state program called “Power for Jobs” in which local businesses get subsidies to pay part of their energy costs if they promise to keep and create new jobs for the area. The program is set to expire on May 15, 2010.
On environmental issues, Roberts supports a moratorium on hydrofracking in Central New York. Hydrofracking is a process of extracting natural gas by pumping a high-pressure mixture of water and chemicals into the ground. It’s been criticized as a source of some ground-water contamination.
“Unless I’m guaranteed that it is 100-percent safe, I cannot support it. One slip-up is all it takes,” said Roberts. “Our water supply is one of our greatest resources that we have.”
In trying to win the 119th Assembly District seat, he said, his main challenge is energizing voters to turnout on Election Day. “Whoever gets the vote out wins,” said Roberts. “It is as simple as that.”
(Billy Holbert is a graduate student in broadcast and digital journalism.)
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