The midterms: it’s up to the voters now

Top issues: energy costs, data centers

By Addie Robbins | Manor Ink

By Addie Robbins | Manor Ink

Town of Rockland, NY – The Town of Rockland faces a quiet Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3, with only a few contested federal and state races and some unopposed local ones determining its representation.

The headline races on the town’s District 101 ballot this year are for governor, congressional representatives, state senator, assembly and comptroller.

Running uncontested for office locally on these tickets are Robert Eggleton for Town Supervisor, Robert Decker for Superintendent of Highways and both Amy E. Joyce and Jennifer G. Sober for Supreme Court Justice.

NY District 51 candidates

Michele Frazier and Chris Tague are facing off for State Senator in District 51. The seat opened following the departure of Peter Oberacker, who is running for Congress.

Frazier, a resident of Delhi, is a former Oneonta City Councilmember. This is her second attempt at gaining the same Senate seat, after losing to Oberacker in 2024. She is a supporter of better housing, childcare and mental health services.

Her opponent, Chris Tague, is on the Republican Conservative ticket and is the current New York Assemblyman for District 102, since first taking office in 2018. He was the former Schoharie town supervisor.

He focuses on public safety, agriculture and first responders.

This is the first full election cycle under New York’s new two-year term structure. Some town elections moved to even-numbered years, with some of the candidates coming back on the ballot again this year before they resume regular two-year terms.

19th Congressional District candidates

Running to represent Rockland in Congress are Democrat Josh Riley and Republican Peter Oberacker.

Riley was born and raised in Endicott, NY, which he says gives him a unique perspective on the issues affecting the state’s working class. As the incumbent congressman in the 19th District, Riley is the favorite to be re-elected.

His challenger, Peter Oberacker, who is originally from Merrick, NY, worked in his family’s business in Otsego County from a young age.

Manor Ink invited town voters to suggest questions for the candidates on matters that mean the most to the community. These are the questions Manor Ink posed to the candidates’ campaigns:

• What do you think about federal cuts under the Trump administration to NY State for public school funding?

• What is your stance on keeping waste-to-energy power-generating facilities out of the county?

• Would you support plans for data centers in the district should regulations and safeguards be passed by the state?

• How can federal policy ensure big tech companies are later held responsible for physical e-waste and decommissioned hardware left behind in the state?

• While legislation successfully addresses energy costs, what steps are taken at the federal level to minimize the strain on municipal waste management facilities?

• Would you support AI data centers as a way to broaden the Sullivan County’s tax base?

• What is your position on continuing to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE?

Congressman Riley’s views

Though his office did not respond to Manor Ink’s request for comment before press time, Riley’s positions can be surmised from his campaign’s website.

Riley wants to expand public education and has been firmly against the cuts to school funding by prohibiting defunding schools with the money given to the Department of Education.

He is against less stringent restrictions on pollution and is attempting to make corporate polluters liable for environmental cleanup.

He also campaigns on protecting natural resources such as the Hudson and Delaware Rivers, and wants an overall update to environmental policies and infrastructure.

These concepts also affect his beliefs regarding power-hungry data centers. He has authored legislation to prevent power upgrade costs caused by data center usage from increasing rates charged to local businesses and families. “Upstate New Yorkers shouldn’t be forced to foot the bill for massive data centers that none of us asked for,” said Riley in a posting on his website. He also plans on lowering monthly energy bills by making state-mandated utility fees tax deductible.

While Riley remains more centrist on ICE, he has voted against the agency and opposed expansions without proper guardrails. He says that masked officers tearing families apart doesn’t make our country safer.

He plans on lowering monthly energy bills by making state-mandated utility fees tax deductible.

Assemblyman Oberacker’s answers

Manor Ink posed these same questions to Peter Oberacker’s campaign office via email and their responses provided insight into his positions.

The senator’s campaign said he was dedicated to ensuring that federal money allocated to schools is actually going to its intended purpose, specifically the funding of special education and school meals.

Oberacker feels it is up to local communities to decide whether to accept data centers, and that companies must pay for grid upgrades and must include post-decommissioning bonds when communities agree to host them. He says that new data centers must also supply their own energy.

To combat the rising cost of home heating fuels, Oberacker supports an all-of-the-above approach to energy generation, one that includes nuclear and natural gas.

Finally, the assemblyman supports fully funding ICE and wants to continue securing the border lawfully. But he also favors a legal immigrant workforce across NY to work on the state’s many dairy farms.

Your vote counts

Tuesday, Nov. 3, Election Day, is a date many readers are likely tired of hearing about in the last months. Overly familiar campaign messages have been a constant presence online, on cable TV and radio, and in mailboxes around the county. All that, however, will thankfully end on Tuesday.

All that remains is for Sullivan County citizens to head to their assigned polling places and cast their votes. Elections are a defining feature of democracy, and our participation in them is a civic duty, one we are lucky to have.

To that end, Town of Rockland voters have two locations in which to cast their ballots. In Livingston Manor, the polling place for registered voters in Rockland 1, 2, 5 and 6 is the Manor Firehouse, 93 Main St.; in Roscoe, Rockland 3 and 4, it’s in the Roscoe Community Center, 1968 Old Rte. 17.

For voters outside the Town of Rockland, voting locations can be found at sullivanny.gov/Departments/Elections/VotingTimes. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Vote!