The position:
There are 150 representatives in New York's state Assembly. They draft and approve changes to the state's laws and pass legislation.
District area: New York State Assembly District 123 includes the City of Binghamton, the Villages of Johnson City and Endwell and the Towns of Union and Vestal.
Term & salary: Two-year term; no term limits, $142,000
Further reading: Democratic voters have choices in race to replace Lupardo in state Assembly
Reporter's notebook: the race for New York's 123rd State Assembly seat
State Assembly candidate Dan Livingston ends his campaign
Each candidate was asked to limit answers to 100 to 150 words. WSKG cut answers at the 150 mark. If you would like more details about a candidate’s answer to a question, their contact information and/or website is provided in this Voter Guide.
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Candidate: Heather Micha
Party affiliation: Coalition Party
WSKG Q&A:
In general voter turnout for midterm and local elections is low. New Yorkers are facing an affordability crisis. President Trump has said that he will pay $5,000 to every person who votes in the midterm elections, depending on the outcome. Do you agree with this proposal? Why or why not.
N/A
Governor Hochul has enacted a moratorium on data center development. Do you support that decision? Why or why not?
I support Governor Hochul's decision to enact a moratorium on the development of data centers. New Yorkers should not have to pay for expensive transmission and infrastructure upgrades associated with these large facilities that they did not request. The governor has pointed out that such data centers can increase utility bills. The pause provides the opportunity for the state to establish regulations ensuring that companies either pay a fairer rate for their energy or supply their own.
Should the state regulate the use of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs)? If so, what should that look like?
Unchecked access, retention, and sharing of data collected by ALPRs raise significant Fourth Amendment concerns, particularly the potential creation of a searchable history of individuals' movements. I believe states should implement ALPR regulations to protect privacy, prevent misuse, ensure compliance with the law, and preserve the legitimate benefits of this technology. Without proper oversight, ALPRs could become instruments of unchecked surveillance, undermining civil liberties and public trust.
State regulations should include five of the following measures:
1. Limit use to legitimate law enforcement purposes: ALPRs should only be used for cases involving major crimes, missing persons, or outstanding warrants. Officers must provide the specific law being violated, a case number, and an explanation of the suspicion related to the particular vehicle or plate.
2. Require access logs and oversight: There should be mandatory access logs, supervisory approval for use, and regular audits to detect any misuse. An independent cybersecurity team...[WSKG Note: Candidate answer exceeded the 150 word limit]
The new Local Cops, Local Crime Act includes a ban on formal partnerships between local law enforcement agencies and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Do you agree with this? Why or why not?
Undecided
The everyday expenses of New Yorkers, including gas, housing, utilities and groceries, continue to increase. What, if anything, should the state legislature do to relieve the burden on people?
I propose a combination of immediate aid and long-term solutions. My plan focuses on protecting small farms, boosting economic development, implementing key energy solutions, offering housing support, and advocating necessary tax reforms at the federal level. By addressing current issues and planning for a sustainable future, we can help New Yorkers cope with rising costs and foster a stronger economy. To create more jobs, we need to reduce unnecessary regulations and streamline the business approval process. Additionally, we will promote programs such as the New York State High-Risk Start-Up Angel Investor Tax Credit Program to encourage growth and innovation among small businesses. Implementing the Property Tax Cap for longstanding small farmers is essential; it will help level the playing field, keep our farmland productive, and support local food systems. We must also protect low-income households from winter utility shutoffs and provide emergency rent assistance during economic downturns.
A 2025 report from the New York State Comptroller’s Office found a significant shortage of health care professionals in some rural New York counties. What would you do to support access to health care in rural areas?
As a small business owner serving clients in the healthcare sector, I’ve learned that many healthcare providers are leaving the area due to the rise in drug addiction and diseases of despair, leading to increased deaths. Additionally, a worker shortage leads to long hours, leaving healthcare providers little time to care for their own health. This situation highlights that our society is not healthy and needs a new public health policy, which I propose as the Spiritual Health and Wellbeing Act. Currently, 1 in 6 adults face depression, and 1 in 20 deal with substance abuse or suicidal tendencies. Rates of "diseases of despair," including anxiety, depression, addiction, and suicide, have increased by over 68%. To support healthcare providers effectively, we must first address these societal issues. Despite having the most expensive healthcare system globally, the U.S. does not achieve proportionate health outcomes, indicating a missing element in the system.
New York counties are set to absorb a total of $168 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) administrative costs a year due to federal funding changes to the program. Should the state play a greater role in supporting this program at the county level?
Enhanced state support is essential for maintaining the efficiency of SNAP processing, ensuring compliance with established standards, and facilitating access to vital benefits during this federal transition period. Counties, which typically have fewer revenue sources compared to the state, may find it challenging to absorb the increased costs without adversely affecting other critical services. Such circumstances could necessitate property tax increases, reductions in other services, or the utilization of reserve funds. To mitigate the financial burden on smaller counties, it would be prudent to structure state aid in relation to the SNAP enrollment figures within those counties. Furthermore, the state should consider assuming responsibility for a portion of the $168 million in costs.
Should the state legislature do more to address the housing and homelessness crisis in New York? What are some immediate actions you believe the state should take to address housing needs?
U.S. churches have long provided food, shelter, and advocacy for those in need, continuing today with shelters, food banks, and support for affordable housing. The state legislature's top priority to address the housing crisis should be the implementation of the Faith-Based Affordable Housing Act (S3397/A3647), a proposed bill for the 2025–2026 session in New York. This bill aims to promote faith-based affordable housing to tackle housing shortages and homelessness.
The bill seeks to make use of underutilized religious properties, such as large parking lots and older church buildings. Additionally, it plans to provide training and grant support to congregations to help them enhance community housing development. This approach makes sense for the state legislature as it addresses the housing and homelessness crisis in New York, given that church buildings are tax-exempt, more likely to attract volunteers, and often provide valuable amenities.
Much of New York is considered a childcare desert. What would you do on a federal level to address access to care in our region?
A strong federal plan to address access to care in our region should include ongoing grants, workforce support, regulation of assistance, and increased subsidies, coordinated with states to fill childcare access gaps. The childcare shortage results from insufficient qualified staff and inadequate facilities. I believe to solve these problems; we need a strong federal plan that builds on the work started by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
This plan should maintain and increase grants to improve services, allowing facilities to hire qualified staff and invest in their training. Upgrading facilities is essential to meet the demand for quality care. Making childcare more affordable is crucial. Lowering costs can expand access for families. By addressing childcare deserts in New York, we can support businesses, strengthen families, and boost the state's economy.
The share of homeless New Yorkers who are children is more than double that of the rest of the nation. In June, a fire at the Knight’s Inn in Endwell, where some families experiencing homelessness had been placed by the Broome County Department of Social Services, killed six people, including three children. What would you do to reduce the rate of child homelessness in the state and create safe conditions for children experiencing homelessness?
To reduce child homelessness, we need a focused plan that combines core values, personal responsibility, and proven policies. This plan must target the root causes of homelessness while ensuring families are safe and stable. Encouraging families to take responsibility is vital for achieving stability through employment, education, and secure housing, supported by safety nets like childcare services.
Research indicates that early intervention and stable housing are essential for reducing homelessness and improving children's outcomes. We should expand safe housing options, enhance HUD’s Continuum of Care, and improve emergency shelters for families with children. Access to crucial health services, including prenatal, mental health, spiritual health and well-being is also necessary.
To promote long-term stability, we need to provide job training, apprenticeships, and affordable housing. Additionally, parenting classes and after-school care can strengthen families. Finally, creating partnerships with faith-based organizations, schools, and service agencies will help prioritize the well-being of children.
Candidate: Dan Norton
Party affiliation: Democratic
WSKG Q&A:
In general, voter turnout for midterm and local elections is low. New Yorkers are facing an affordability crisis. President Trump has said that he will pay $5,000 to every person who votes in the midterm elections, depending on the outcome. Do you agree with this proposal? Why or why not.
I do not agree with President Trump’s proposal to pay $5,000.00 to every person who votes in the midterm elections, depending on the outcome. This is a blatant, inexcusable, and irresponsible attempt to use taxpayer money to buy an election.
Governor Hochul has enacted a moratorium on data center development. Do you support that decision? Why or why not?
I support the moratorium on data center development. If all of the data centers under consideration for construction in New York went online today, they would consume an extraordinary amount of water and more electricity than the country of Ireland. During the moratorium, New York can pass targeted regulations to ensure that New Yorkers are not footing the bill for data centers to go online.
At minimum, we must ensure that data centers offset their energy consumption with new generating capacity equal to or greater than their consumption, that data centers do not drain public water supplies, that data centers do not pollute our waterways, and that data centers pay fair energy rates that fund grid expansion and ease the burden they impose on individuals and families struggling to make ends meet in New York.
Should the state regulate the use of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs)? If so, what should that look like?
New York should regulate the use of automatic license plate readers. New Yorkers, across the political spectrum, are rightfully concerned about how ALPRs impact their privacy and their constitutional rights. New York can and must strike the right balance between public safety, on the one hand, and New Yorkers’ right to privacy, on the other. We can do so by limiting who can access data collected by ALPRs, limiting how that data can be used, and creating accountability structures for individuals and entities that have access to and control over the data.
The new Local Cops, Local Crime Act includes a ban on formal partnerships between local law enforcement agencies and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Do you agree with this? Why or why not?
I agree with the ban on formal partnerships between local law enforcement agencies and ICE. Local law enforcement agencies are not, and should not be, responsible for federal immigration enforcement except when their help is needed to respond to a genuine criminal matter. The Local Cops, Local Crime Act promotes local trust in law enforcement while, at the same time, ensuring that local police and sheriffs are using their resources to investigate local crimes and to respond to local emergencies.
The everyday expenses of New Yorkers, including gas, housing, utilities and groceries, continue to increase. What, if anything, should the state legislature do to relieve the burden on people?
Across the country, the cost of living is high and getting higher because of decisions made at the federal level, including the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the decision to go to war with Iran. New York must do what it can to mitigate the harms inflicted upon it by these decisions. New York should expand access to programs like HEAP, so that New Yorkers can find help paying their energy bills. New York should also make it easier for New Yorkers to navigate the many energy assistance programs that exist in New York.
New York should also continue to fund Homes and Community Renewal programs that promote housing construction. To help with the cost of groceries, New York should protect SNAP benefits from being cut while, at the same time, investing in local food production by local farmers.
A 2025 report from the New York State Comptroller’s Office found a significant shortage of health care professionals in some rural New York counties. What would you do to support access to health care in rural areas?
We must create incentives for healthcare professionals to work and live in rural communities. One way we can do so is by enacting the Nurse Practitioner Modernization Act. This bill allows experienced Nurse Practitioners to practice without a formal written practice agreement with a physician. New York can also create programs that funnel students into health care careers and that then encourage them to work in underserved areas. Lastly, New York can expand access to telehealth and e-consults.
New York counties are set to absorb a total of $168 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) administrative costs a year due to federal funding changes to the program. Should the state play a greater role in supporting this program at the county level?
The federal government chose to cut funding to the Supplemental NutritionAssistance Program in order to give tax breaks to billionaires. Counties are now facing significant budget deficits because of these funding cuts. New York must find a way to help counties fund the increasing costs of SNAP benefits. It would be wrong to allow New Yorkers to go hungry for the sole purpose of providing tax breaks to the wealthiest among us.
Should the state legislature do more to address the housing and homelessness crisis in New York? What are some immediate actions you believe the state should take to address housing needs?
The state legislature should do more to address the housing and homelessness crisis in New York. This is one of the most critical issues we are facing in our community right now. New York should expand funding for the Housing Access Voucher Program, which is designed to help individuals and families who are homeless or who are at risk of losing housing. New York can also provide first-time home buyer assistance to help New Yorkers save for and pay for their first home. New York can also incentivize housing construction by providing tax incentives for the development of underutilized properties and vacant land for residential housing.
Much of New York is considered a childcare desert. What would you do on a federal level to address access to care in our region?
I am running for New York State Assembly, which is not a federal office. Here in New York, we must prioritize paying our childcare workforce what they deserve. One of the best ways to bring more professionals back into childcare is to pay a living wage that values the hard work childcare providers do. We must also lower barriers to entry, including cutting regulations that, while well intentioned, make it harder to keep childcare centers staffed and open. I will work with our federal representatives and partners in Albany to prioritize making the fixes the childcare industry is calling for.
The share of homeless New Yorkers who are children is more than double that of the rest of the nation. In June, a fire at the Knight’s Inn in Endwell, where some families experiencing homelessness had been placed by the Broome County Department of Social Services, killed six people, including three children. What would you do to reduce the rate of child homelessness in the state and create safe conditions for children experiencing homelessness?
All New Yorkers, and most especially children, deserve to have a safe, decent and affordable place to call home. Here at the local level, we must review and revise policies that require families in emergency housing to move every thirty days. This would ensure that children in emergency housing have a stable place to call home. At the state level, we must fund the Housing Access Voucher Program, which is designed to help individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of losing housing. We must also continue to incentivize the construction of new housing, including low income housing, so that families can find affordable housing in the communities where they want to live.
Candidate: Lynn Parker
Party affiliation: Republican
WSKG Q&A:
Lynn Parker did not respond to WSKG's Voter Guide questionnaire.
