The NAACP Ellenville Branch joined the Sullivan County branch to host a candidates’ forum Thursday night at SUNY Sullivan’s Seelig Theater. The Republican candidates were absent, leaving Democrats Michelle Frazier and Congressman Josh Riley to address the audience.

Frazier, a Democrat running for the 51st State Senate District seat, was scheduled to face Republican Assemblymember Christopher Tague, who represents the 102nd District. The 51st District includes Ulster, Sullivan, Schoharie, Otsego, Broome, Chenango and Delaware counties, spanning parts of the Mid-Hudson Valley and Southern Tier.

The evening’s other featured contest was for the 19th Congressional District seat, between Riley (D) and Peter Oberacker (R), the incumbent state senator for the 51st District, who defeated Frazier in her first run for the seat.

Neither Republican attended the forum. Camille O’Brien represented both candidates, explaining that Tague had to attend his wife’s 50th birthday party, while Oberacker was recovering from a leg injury sustained during a volleyball game.

The 51st District

Moderator Molly Esteves read questions to Frazier, who emphasized housing, health care, agriculture and the need for policies that reflect rural communities.

Asked about data centers, Frazier responded emphatically: “NO!” Her answer drew laughter from the audience.

She expanded on her position, citing her family’s dairy-farming background and New York’s agricultural potential.

“I deeply believe that New York State will return to being the bread basket for the United States, as California is on fire, and the Midwest is drying up. We have water, we have land and we have brilliant farmers who know how to grow great things,” she said.

Frazier also addressed Medicaid-funded transportation services, whose reimbursement rates have not kept pace with inflation since 2015. She argued that universal health care should include transportation and that reimbursement rates must reflect rural communities’ needs.

“A lot of these systems have been predicated on an urban context,” she said, noting that she had traveled approximately 1,000 miles campaigning across Sullivan County.

“It sometimes takes an hour to get from one side of this county to the other. That all needs to be accounted for,” she said, adding that rural representation must understand the pressures on local businesses and health care providers.

Frazier summarized her priorities as “Housing, health care, and a fair share.”

She called for smaller housing developments suited to the district rather than the large projects favored by some state incentive programs.

“Most of our incentives are geared towards urban housing where they look for 500 units. We need 20 units. We need 15 units,” she said.

Frazier also described a health care crisis in the district, citing long trips to medical appointments and limited public transportation. She supports the New York Health Act and universal health care.

“So, this past summer Sullivan County didn’t have a single OBGYN. That is not acceptable to me,” she said.

The 19th Congressional District

After a short break, the forum turned to the 19th Congressional District, which includes Ellenville, the Rondout Valley and Shawangunk and stretches west toward Ithaca and east toward the Massachusetts border.

The district has been competitive in recent elections. Republican Marc Molinaro defeated Riley in 2022, but Riley won the seat in 2024 with 51.1% of the vote to Molinaro’s 48.8%.

O’Brien delivered remarks on Oberacker’s behalf, emphasizing his plan to lower utility costs through a proposed utility ratepayer Bill of Rights. She said he intended to introduce the legislation on his first day in Congress and hold utility companies accountable, adding that “when everybody’s rates jumped last year, he immediately came out and asked for everybody to send bills, comments, issues to his office.”

Riley highlighted $600,000 he secured for Margaretville Hospital for a heliport that would help transport patients to Westchester for surgery.

He also discussed his opposition to the Trump administration’s efforts to close the Department of Education, citing conversations with children in the My Brother’s Keeper program as an inspiration.

Riley called for health care to be recognized as a civil right, arguing that the current system can bankrupt working people.

He also addressed concerns among agricultural workers about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, calling for an immigration system that is both strict and fair.

“If you’re here unlawfully and you’re committing violent crimes and harming the community, you should be removed,” Riley said. But immigrants who work, pay taxes and contribute to their communities deserve “the same shot at the American dream that generations of folks before us had.”

Early voting in New York began October 24 and runs through November 1. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3.