ALBANY COUNTY — Once again, a Democrat is seeking to unseat Republican Chris Tague as representative of the 102nd Assembly District, a largely rural and largely Republican region that has elected Tague four times since he first took office in 2018 after a special election.

Janet Tweed, a physical therapist from Delhi who is currently on the village board there and was formerly on the town board, told The Enterprise that she hopes to bring her local political know-how to Albany where she can bring about greater change — particularly around healthcare, community ties, and the environment.

Tague, meanwhile, hopes to keep building on his record as an advocate for the state’s farmers and rural residents, and a foil for the city-minded legislators who make up the bulk of the state’s representatives. Before becoming an assemblyman, Tague was a dairy farmer, quarry manager, and supervisor of the town of Schoharie, among other things. 

The election, on Nov. 5, is for a two-year term.

Tweed has so far taken in $17,207.66 across 303 donations over the course of her campaign, which included a June primary where she beat out grassroots activist Mary Finneran. Contributions received after the primary total $9,342.66. 

Her largest donation was $1,500 from the Schoharie County Democratic Committee, and the average donation was $56.79.

Tague has taken in $49,929.03 across 269 donations since January 1, for an average donation of $185.61. His largest donation was $4,400 from Brian J. Hemlock, of Kingston. 

The 102nd Assembly District had 35,127 enrolled Republicans as of February of this year, 26,920 Democrats, and 24,779 unenrolled voters.

The Enterprise spoke with both candidates this week about their goals in office, as well as their views on rural broadband, drug addiction, and the environment.

Tweed

As a physical therapist, Janet Tweed has seen firsthand the difference that quality healthcare can make in a patient's outcome, she told The Enterprise before the primary, which is why making sure that effective care is affordable is one of her top issues. 

“It really hurts that I even have to say no one should go bankrupt because of sickness or injury,” she said at the time. 

This week, she said that talking with residents around the 102nd Assembly District reinforced that healthcare is a high priority, along with community-building, the environment, infrastructure, and — really — anything that would improve the quality of life. 

“When someone finds a home and their place to be, they want to improve it,” Tweed told The Enterprise this week. “You want to do more, and that’s where that concern of how can I continue to enjoy and live where I do has come up, whether it’s healthcare, or our community needs to be built, or our school needs help, or our roads need help. That’s what I’ve heard as I’ve gone across the district and met lots of people.” 

On rural broadband, Tweed said that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how “essential” an internet connection is for basic modern living. 

Despite this, many residents in the Hilltowns and other rural communities have complained about their lack of access, whether it’s because the infrastructure doesn’t exist or it’s too expensive. 

Local governments have been working to address the issue, but progress is difficult with limited resources, and even when significant outside funding can be obtained, as was the case in Westerlo, things move slowly. 

Tweed said that state representatives need to support programs that help residents get connected, while also working to get the attention of the federal government.

“That’s because it’s not just something that is important in rural New York, but important to rural communities all throughout our nation,” she said. 

She added that while pressure can be added at the state level during its budget cycle for connectivity funding, the amount of money that’s often required to build out broadband networks will mean federal involvement. 

Tweed said that momentum for these kinds of projects was already building before the pandemic, and that pushing forward with it “works really well towards my goals, which are helping to build communities.”

“When people can work from home or have a modified approach to their job and their business so they aren’t tethered to one spot, you can have better sustainable growth for the business and the community,” she said. “That can also help with access to healthcare. Remote or telehealth visits are becoming more common but … access to internet is a big deal, and is something that many rural New Yorkers do need.” 

On drug addiction, Tweed again talked about the need for funding so that programs focused on people dealing with addiction can continue their work, and highlighted the importance of proper training for first responders.

Training them to “both identify and help appropriately treat someone who is high or who is detoxing is important,” she said, as is ensuring that there are enough beds available. 

“Having access to beds, both for inpatient rehab as well as outpatient, so people can move from their immediate or emergent needs to that longer-term need is a big focus,” Tweed said, adding that “sometimes people are waiting days or longer to get into where they need to be.”

Several media outlets, including The Enterprise, have reported on the long wait times that patients face at hospitals in the Albany region, particularly Albany Medical Center. 

In rural communities, Tweed said that there also needs to be additional resources that can fill in the “gaps to getting the care you need.” 

“It does require multiple different supports for an individual so they can manage their addiction and not be in danger of dying from drug abuse,” she said.

On the environment, Tweed said she supports the state’s intentions of getting 70 percent of its electricity from clean sources by 2030, but called it a “very lofty goal” that should have been started earlier so that the approach would be less threatening to rural residents, whose land is most likely to be impacted by green-energy projects.

“It’s something that, if we as a state and we as a country had started working toward 10, 15, 20 years ago, when the experts really started to push, versus so recently, I think it would be more easily achieved,” she said, before emphasizing that she thinks the state should nevertheless continue to pursue it.

Tweed said incentives should be more concentrated around usable spaces other than farms and other rural land, such as flat roofs and above parking lots. 

“These are places where more green energy could be produced and it would be closer to where it needs to be used,” she said. “So rather than only having farms for solar or wind, and then having to transmit it all the way down the state or all the way to another city, having more places that are generating more electricity closer to where it’s being consumed would be another way to support that.”

Tweed also said that the electrical grid is in need of an update so that it can better handle the electrical loads that come through it. 

In summary, Tweed said her goal in office would be to “serve this district and serve the state of New York.” 

Tague

Christopher Tague told The Enterprise this week that he hopes to continue his work for the district and that he thinks his “record stands for itself.”

“This will be the fifth time that I’ve run for re-election in this district,” he said. “I have a proven track record of securing vital funds for schools, libraries, and infrastructure, and I’ve been wholeheartedly committed to enhancing the quality of life in our communities, and pretty much doing that through common-sense leadership.” 

Tague said he’s particularly committed to agriculture, calling it the “biggest economic driver” in the district. 

A ranking member of the agricultural committee, he said he has “forged a bipartisan relationship with the chairwoman in the assembly, Donna Lupardo, and my counterparts in the senate, Senator [Michelle] Hinchey and Senator [George] Borello,” working with them to get “record funding the last three or four budget seasons.” 

Tague said he’s also been able to use his agricultural background to get bills that would potentially be detrimental to the industry amended before getting signed by the governor. 

On broadband, Tague said he’s the co-sponsor of the “Regional Broadband Expansion and Access Program” bill introduced last year that, according to the bill text, “would decentralize the current ‘New NY Broadband’ process and permit localities to collaborate on and design regionally-tailored  plans to ensure internet access to every citizen in their designated areas.”

After explaining how broadband (along with cell service) has improved during the last six-and-a-half years, Tague said he hopes that counties in the district can follow the lead of Schoharie County, which is trying to put $30 million of state funding toward a $33 million broadband network that would provide 100 percent coverage in the county. 

“I’m hoping that some of the other counties around, especially Delaware County and Otsego County, will be able to take advantage of this, and of course I’ll be advocating in their favor,” he said. 

Tague said internet access is a priority because lack of coverage can present safety and security issues, since people can lose the ability to communicate quickly. 

“We have to continue to do whatever we can to get all these underserved areas and rural upstate New York taken care of,” he said. 

On drug addiction, Tague said it became a “huge issue” for him when he was on the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors after he found out that, even though the Schoharie County Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse always sent a representative to their meetings, “nobody ever shows up [to their meetings] from county government, except for the sheriff’s office.” 

“I started going and got myself very involved and educated on what goes on there,” he said, adding that it “really changed my whole outlook on how to fight this … disease.”

“We can’t arrest our way out of this problem,” Tague said. “We need much more counseling … We need to put pressure on insurance companies. They can’t just cover people with these alcohol and drug diseases for nine-, 12-month periods of time. There has to be coverage for 24 months at least.” 

Like Tweed, he emphasized the need for beds in treatment centers, and said that he and other lawmakers have tried to use the former Summit Shock Incarceration facility in Schoharie County for drug and alcohol treatment but “COVID really put a damper on our plans.”

“We haven’t completely abandoned the idea … but we have to work harder,” he said. 

Tague said that education is an important component, since it can help people recognize if a friend or family member is struggling.

“I’ve had it within my own family,” he said. “I have two cousins — one actually died from an overdose, and the other, thank God, has been sober for 14 or 15 years. But the cousin that survived was because he was able to go get the treatment he needed. He was in treatment for two years, and that’s really what it takes.” 

Ultimately, he said, people struggling with addiction are often “good people, and they’re working hard. The problem is they need more resources and more support from the state of New York.” 

On the environment, Tague said he recognizes the danger and urgency of climate change, but does not support the state’s 2030 clean-energy goal. 

“I think that is a very, very lofty goal and that was exactly the way it was put to us when we voted on [the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act],” he said. “It was said that it was not a law, that it was a goal, but then it turned into a law.” 

At a time when more than 40 percent of New Yorkers are experiencing economic distress, according to the state’s housing commissioner, RuthAnne Visnauskas, Tague said certain climate bills stand to get in the way of building more affordable housing, namely one that would require new buildings to have parking spaces that meet various electric-vehicle standards. 

Family homes with off-street parking, for instance, would need to have “at least one electric vehicle ready parking space for each dwelling unit, up to the total number of spaces,” according to the bill. 

Multi-family homes would need to have 100 percent of parking spaces be “at least EV ready,” the bill says, and 20 percent would need to be equipped with a level-2 charging station. 

“Building owners may apply for a waiver if they can demonstrate that the provisions present an undue hardship due to limitations of the local utility provider, or that the geographic location of the site is such that compliance would result in a significant burden on the owner,” it says.

The bill passed the senate and assembly and has yet to be delivered to the governor. 

“We’re talking about a housing issue in New York State where we’re going to add to these costs,” Tague said. “It was a mandate, not a we-would-like-you-to-do-it.” 

Although he said that, as a dairy farmer, he “made my living by protecting the environment and I care very much about the environment,” he has not been able to get a straight answer on how the “trillions of dollars, both federally and at the state level” paid toward climate solutions have paid off. 

“On this EV stuff, we don’t even know how long these cars are going to last,” Tague said. “We don’t know what to do with the components when we’re done with them. We need to get the answers before we mandate anything.”

He said the mandates are contributing to New York’s population decline, losing residents to other states with lesser or no regulations, where they’ll continue to live as they have been. 

“Do you think emissions stop at the border of the state? Absolutely not,” Tague said.