Tompkins County Legislator Mike Sigler announced his campaign for state Senate Wednesday. Sigler gathered with fellow Republicans in Endicott to kick off his campaign for the 52nd Senate District seat. The district includes the cities of Binghamton, Ithaca and Cortland. He will face Democratic incumbent state Sen. Lea Webb.
During his campaign announcement, Sigler referenced the high cost of living, homelessness and population loss in New York.
“I have four daughters, I would like them to be able to stay here in New York state,” Sigler said. “And it's not just about jobs. It's about careers, right? You start with a job and you hopefully can build that into a career. And I want them to be able to build it here. I want them to have financial security and to build that financial security here.”
Sigler also took aim at his opponent, calling Webb absent and arguing she has not listened to constituents on issues like bail reform and public safety.
In the last race for the 52nd District, Webb won over 70% of votes in Tompkins County, Sigler’s home base. Sigler said he has a good track record as a legislator in the county.
“It helps to have been living there for 25 years. It helps to have been serving on the legislature for 14,” Sigler said. “I'm not known as some kind of firebrand out there. I want things to work. I want good government.”
During the announcement, a group gathered outside to protest against Sigler. They took issue with his signing on to a lawsuit that alleges mail-in voting violates the state constitution. The protestors argued the lawsuit was an attempt to disenfranchise voters.
“They claim that voting by mail will put them at a disadvantage because more people will have the opportunity to express their constitutional, democratic right to vote,” Lori Wahila, one of the protestors and co-lead of Indivisible Binghamton said.
In response to the protestor’s allegations, Sigler said he wasn’t against mail-in voting in general, but argued its implementation in New York went against the state constitution.
“Let's say that lots of illegal voting isn't happening. Okay, but what percentage is acceptable?” Sigler asked. “Every time you get an illegal vote, it disenfranchises somebody, and that seems to always get lost in the mix. So be sure if you want to do mail-in voting. I'm just asking for it to be done the right way.”