Democratic voters in the 61st State Senate District will have three women to choose from in Tuesday's primary to determine the party's choice to try to succeed Michael Ranzenhofer.
Ranzenhofer, a Republican, announced in December he would not run for another term.
The Democratic contenders are Joan Elizabeth Seamans of Williamsville, who lost to Ranzenhofer in 2018; Amherst Councilwoman and Deputy Supervisor Jacqualine A. Berger, who won this year's party endorsement; and Kim Smith of Rochester.
The GOP chose Erie County Legislator Edward A. Rath III as its candidate to succeed Ranzenhofer.
The 61st District includes the towns of Amherst, Clarence and Newstead, including the villages of Williamsville and Akron; all of Genesee County; and the towns of Riga and Chili and a slice of Rochester in Monroe County.
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The district's nearly 202,000 registered voters include 77,000 Democrats and almost 67,000 Republicans. In 2018, Ranzenhofer defeated Seamans 54% to 46%, or by about 9,300 votes out of more than 112,000 cast. It was the closest race of his Senate career.
Seamans, 65, owner of Short Street Photography in Williamsville, said the voters she encountered during her 2018 race encouraged her to try again.
"I’ve been traveling this district for three years. I have spoken to thousands and thousands of people. I know what’s important to them," Seamans said.
She thinks Western New York is being shortchanged in Albany because only one Democrat, Tim Kennedy of Buffalo, serves among the region's Senate delegation. Democrats hold a majority in the Senate.
"Nothing has changed, and the priorities that we’re hoping to see in this district have not come to fruition," she said. "Western New York has been left out, and until we have a strong Democrat in that seat, the Republicans, if they stay there, are at a disadvantage," Seamans said.
Her other major issues are jobs, education, reducing health care costs, assisting senior citizens, supporting small business and “a more affordable New York State.”
“Campaign finance reform is huge," Seamans said. “If we stopped giving unwarranted tax breaks to corporations and developers, we’d have a lot more money to work with.”
Berger, 64, is a longtime union activist in New York State United Teachers who for 20 years has taught human services, disabilities and education at SUNY Empire State. NYSUT and several other unions have endorsed her.
"When Ranzenhofer decided not to run, it became an opportunity where I could benefit the district, including the town (of Amherst), by bringing services and resources and serving the public," Berger said.
"I am a strong supporter of public schools," Berger said. "They have been underfunded, need resources, and we have models that we know work for education, for struggling schools. I also am concerned that the SUNY universities, colleges, community colleges and hospitals need increased funding. It’s been an issue for a long time.
“To me it’s really important that we create and keep jobs that pay a living wage and provide benefits and increase access to job training programs," Berger added.
“Something people often don’t even think about in Erie County is, we have a lot of agribusiness, farms. We need to protect agribusiness and level the playing field for family farms.”
Smith, 51, worked 25 years in the Monroe County Health Department before becoming an organizer for Vocal-NY, a progressive citizen group.
Smith, who has a master's degree in public administration, worked in various capacities at the Health Department, including writing local policies. That experience made her decide to run for the State Senate.
“I could not see a need (to run) until I created this coalition to improve access to care. We couldn’t go as far as we wanted to even in policy because of statewide regulations," Smith said.
"Through writing local policy and fighting for statewide policy, I have found that the only way we are going to make an impact is to be in the room. That is why I am running for the Senate," Smith said.
She said she is Vocal-NY's first statewide organizer, working in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse.
“We build leadership around the marginalized communities and we fight to end homelessness, HIV, mass incarceration and the opioid crisis," Smith said. "We build community chapters in each city and we teach about policy and we visit elected officials, get them to co-sponsor our bills and then we go up to Albany and fight for those bills to be passed.
“This is a diverse district, but when we look at the needs of the people, although the specifics may vary, the general ideas, they’re all the same. Everyone wants local accountability. Everyone wants more resources to their infrastructure.”
Also Tuesday, Independence Party voters will have a primary matching Rath against Andrew Gruszka of Williamsville, who lost that party's primary to Ranzenhofer 10 years ago.
