Sarah Klee Hood, John Mannion differ on what they see as the biggest issue facing NY-22

The Democratic candidates in New York’s 22nd Congressional District differ on what they see as the biggest issue facing the district and Central New York. 

Sarah Klee Hood, the DeWitt town councilor on her second run for the district, sees it as women’s rights. John Mannion, a New York State Senator, sees it as the economy and jobs. 

The winner in the race will be decided June 25 and will face Rep. Brandon Williams, a Republican defending his incumbency for the first time. 

NY-22 is likely to play a prominent role in whether Democrats regain control of Congress after November’s general election. The district representing the Syracuse area has been a solid Republican bastion since former Rep. John Katko first won the district in 2014. 

The district encompasses Madison and Onondaga counties, and it also contains a portions of Cayuga, Cortland and Oneida counties.

Central Current asked Klee Hood and Mannion to identify the biggest issue facing Central New Yorkers and how they would solve it. They were also asked to disclose their strategy for how to keep a beat on district-based issues, something that Rep. Williams has been criticized for. In a March analysis of Williams’ record, Syracuse.com concluded that the congressman’s voting record showed he was largely absent from local issues.

Klee Hood said part of her solution to keeping access to abortion is passing H.R. 12, or the Women’s Health Protection Act introduced in the House of Representatives in 2023, which prohibits governments from imposing restrictions on abortion before fetal viability. The bill also recognizes an individual’s right to travel across state lines seeking an abortion.

Mannion touted the passage of “Green CHIPS,” a bill he co-sponsored and helped pass in the state legislature. The bill provides economic incentives to environmentally friendly semiconductor manufacturers. The bill is credited as pa​rt of the package of funding and tax breaks that eventually lured Micron to Onondaga County.

Sarah Klee Hood

Central Current: What do you think the biggest issue facing NY-22 is? How would you solve it? 

Sarah Klee Hood: The biggest issue, bar none… is women’s rights. Because when women aren’t treated as first class citizens, when they aren’t allowed to decide their medical future and make decisions for their own body, not only does that woman suffer, but her entire family suffers. We must ensure that we codify [Roe v Wade] or pass H.R. 12 to allow women and their health care providers to make their own medical decisions without politicians’ opinions in the room. Short of women’s rights, it is absolutely jobs and the economy. It’s… ensuring that Central New Yorkers aren’t left behind when large corporations come to town. More importantly, it’s ensuring that we elect a congresswoman who has experience in workforce development, such that we don’t have to wait on future endeavors. We can get to work now. We can bring good paying jobs to Central New York, continue to drive our local economy and allow Central New Yorkers and Mohawk Valley folks to thrive.

CC: Incumbent U.S. Rep. Brandon Williams has been criticized by municipal leaders in his district for not being engaged on local issues and being largely absent from important conversations about the future of the area. What would your approach be toward maintaining your finger on the pulse of local issues? 

Klee Hood: I have a very good pulse on the local issues. I’m a hyper-local public servant. I serve at the local town board, and it gives me an opportunity to connect with the communities right here on the ground, and then I’m able to weave that back into federal policy failures. I’ll continue what I’m doing right now and expand. 

It’s about listening, understanding what’s going on, and one of the things that I plan to do once elected, is obviously having offices in the major cities of the district… ensuring that the community has access to us. Whether it’s New Americans and immigrants, whether it’s veterans, our LGBTQ community, a housing initiative… I want folks across this district with a pointed interest in a certain area to have access to myself and our team, so that we can provide the best services possible. A lot of it is showing up. We have a lot of small towns around here, and one of the best ways to meet the community is through their little fairs and parades. They get to see us one on one, they get to ask questions, they get to hold me accountable. At the end of the day, I think that’s what makes the best representative that you can have. That is somebody who is in the community, knows the community, is allowing them to hold their representative accountable and really just ask questions and share their concerns.

John Mannion

Central Current: What do you think the biggest issue facing NY-22 is? How would you solve it?

John Mannion: From my years in running for office, and living here my whole life, it’s about jobs and it’s about the cost of living here. We will talk about the potential for a national abortion ban, which I would put right there with this.

From an affordability standpoint, in my time in the state senate, we accelerated middle class tax cuts, we provided property tax relief, we also suspended the gas tax. We increased the subsidies available to individuals for childcare, we have expanded universal school meals and a universal pre-K. So those are some of the things that can help make sure that we keep money in people’s pockets.

From the job side, I’m proud of the work that I did with the Green CHIPS legislation. Without tying that into the federal Chips and Science bill, Micron would have simply not come here, they would be going somewhere else. I also have supported, at the state level and we can expand it to the national level, apprenticeship programs.

I carried a line in the budget for the Manufacturers Alliance of Central New York, and have taken that from $750,000 to $1.75 million. People are earning, while they change careers and gain new skills with a new employer… I just see this as an important way to help bring people out of poverty, make sure that there’s opportunity for everyone.

CC: Incumbent U.S. Rep. Brandon Williams has been criticized by municipal leaders in his district for not being engaged on local issues and being largely absent from important conversations about the future of the area. What would your approach be toward maintaining your finger on the pulse on local issues?

Mannion: So I’ve already represented 52% of the district. I have not just great relationships with our municipal leaders, but also systems in place through my office to make sure that I’m connected to our other local elected officials, also those at the state and the federal level… I have systems within my office to make sure that our constituents are easily accessible to them and we take action when they address our office with a concern. Whether it’s through our email system, whether it’s through mobile office hours, whether it’s through phone calls to our office, but we respond. We document every action in trying to help constituents. The next step is going to be, after I’m in office, to make sure that the people who I haven’t already represented know that I’m fighting for them. How I fight for them is I listen to what their needs are, we develop a plan, and then we act accordingly.

Correction: This article previously stated that Brandon Williams does not live in the district he represents and used the previous boundaries of New York’s 22nd Congressional District. This has been corrected. Central Current regrets this error.