To read more about Caleb Slater’s opponent, Rachel May, click here. To read more of Central Current’s 2024 election coverage, learn how to register to vote and more, click here.Republican Caleb Slater is challenging incumbent Democrat Rachel May for the New York State Senate’s 48th District seat.Slater has worked in real estate, including having worked for national commercial real estate firms. He also owns a limited liability company that specifically invests in real estate. Slater was an active political organizer as a student at Ithaca College, and more recently, worked for Republican campaigns during the 2022 midterm election season. He volunteered on a primary campaign for Brandon Williams, the Republican representing New York’s 22nd Congressional District. Slater has also worked as an organizer in North Carolina to support Republican Ted Budd’s Senate campaign.Early voting begins Oct. 26, which is also the deadline for voters to register to vote. Election Day is Nov. 5.Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.What’s one thing you plan to do if elected to help bring Micron to fruition?If elected, one thing that I plan to do to help bring Micron to fruition is coordinate with our local leaders on all of the needs to help push this forward.I anticipate there are some regulations from the DEC as well as on energy, that are of concern. You may have read about the report regarding bats causing some delays from the department environmental conservation, which is a state agency, and there are questions regarding energy. So, in essence, I want to evaluate any regulatory burdens that are getting in the way of business more broadly, but that also includes, and is not limited to, specifics relating to the micron project.What’s one thing you plan to do to make Micron a boon for everyone?I see Micron as putting the cart before the horse. While I think it’s excellent that this is the start of bringing manufacturing back to Central New York, which was once a hub for the entire nation, if we do not cut back on the regulatory burdens and taxes that have caused all of these other companies, from BCS automotive to New Venture Gear — I could rattle off all day long — If we don’t assess why they left, we’re missing an opportunity here. We have an opportunity to keep the momentum going forward. There are companies that use these microchips and have a benefit if they set up operations in Central New York, their cost of shipping, their cost of getting products to and from their factory goes down significantly. So what I want to do is analyze all of the things that are preventing business from coming here or have caused business to leave here, and evaluate those things and address those things so that we can continue the momentum. I don’t want it to stop with Micron. I want this to be the start of something great.Should Micron be unionized? I am a pro-union candidate. I see the benefits of fighting for quality working conditions and wages. We saw this in the automotive industry recently, when (at) all of the major companies the unions fought for higher wages, even those who were not unionized had higher wages. I am endorsed by the (Amalgamated Transit Union) bus union as well as the Council 82 police union because I recognize the value from the weekend, to higher wages, to better working conditions that unions have brought to Central New York. So I am in favor of bringing good, paying union jobs to our region.Since the law was changed in 2019, Raise the Age has become a lightning rod topic. Do you think it should change? What should change about it?Absolutely. We need to repeal Raise the Age. We have seen an increase in both copycat offenders as well as repeat offenders since Raise the Age has been enacted. I’m actually looking at the Syracuse (CompStat data) right now, right off their website. Let me look at some of these examples. Well, it looks like on the latest results, we have seen an increase in violent crime, burglary, stolen vehicles, aggravated assault. And my opponent and others may tell you that this is similar to the national trend, but the scale at which the increases have occurred in New York State is unique. Rochester, New York, which is impacted by this law, is the number one municipality in the country per capita for car theft. We have seen case after case after case of juveniles committing crimes and just being given an appearance ticket and then repeat offending. So yes, Raise the Age needs to be repealed, but that alone will not will not be enough. We also need to increase investment in social workers and after school programs for the kids and mentorship apprenticeship programs for kids in fatherless homes, they need more structure in their lives. So I believe in a comprehensive approach to both crime and issues pertaining to specifically juveniles.Editor’s note: Syracuse’s CompStat data shows a decrease in violent crime in 2024 but increases in overall crime, particularly property crime. The number of burglaries and stolen vehicles have increased but aggravated assaults are down in 2024 and when compared to the five-year average. Do you think New York State has enough tools to boost affordable housing? How would you add to those tools?Slater: New York State has tools to boost affordable housing. Yes. First and foremost, we need targeted incentives. I would say any housing development that has at least 66.7% of their units meeting 80% AMI, which stands for (area) median income, they will have an automatic property tax exemption for 10 years. That will reverse the current trend of luxury apartments getting the huge abatements, and shift those abatement dollars to the people who are in the most housing burdens. Okay, so again, point one, target incentive. Point two, affordable housing reform. As it stands today, a lot of those that are given the affordable housing contracts are not necessarily the developers that can do it for the cheapest rate. I think that there is a lot of room to improve transparency and how these contracts are given. I support a “public bidding process.” The third point that I would present to you are regulatory burdens that are unique to New York State, that cause the cost of the development to go up. I spoke with several developers who shared with me 25% of the cost of a new home in New York State are regulations — like wetlands, sprinklers, windows, stairs. I don’t want to eliminate all regulations, but I want to be more sensible in how these are being implemented to lower those burdens.So again, for existing housing, targeted incentives. I want reform and transparency in how affordable housing contracts are granted, and I want to repeal certain regulatory burdens that get shifted onto the buyer of the house. And another one that we’re seeing that’s going to make it worse if we don’t change course, is the Green New Deal, the idea that we are going to transition to all electric. That’s a big difference between myself and my opponent. She is in favor of that. I am not. Natural gas is more affordable. It’s more reliable. And, starting in 2026, to remove the gas hookups from new construction – it’s really going to hurt the opportunity to develop in some of the underdeveloped areas of Onondaga and Cayuga County. That’s for new construction.Do you support the right to counsel in housing court?The criminal justice system is overloaded and our resources aren’t sufficient to meet the needs we have now. We have a massive backlog in our public defender’s office.At the same these cases regarding housing are more streamlined when there is legal representation on both sides. We need to take all of these factors into account when crafting a solution to this issue.Do you support the Equal Rights Amendment? Do you support codifying abortion rights?The Equal Rights Amendment has been presented to my campaign and myself throughout this campaign cycle. I support equality amongst races, amongst sexes. As somebody who was raised by a single mother and is the grandson of a civil rights activist who marched with Martin Luther King Jr. My grandfather was a World War II veteran who came back and was subject to Jim Crow laws.Many of these protections already exist on a state and a federal level. The reason why I have not taken a public stance on a yes or a no vote is because I think this is up to the voters, and what I cast or anyone cast in the booth should be private. But what I do believe in is increasing the number of propositions and ballot initiatives in our state, because that is the truest and purest form of democracy. I would love to see a constitutional amendment on balancing the budget. I would love to see more constitutional amendments brought to the floor.I have not taken a public stance on Proposition One, because that is up to the people to decide. That is a private vote that happens at the ballot box, which is different than a vote that you’re placing on the floor as a senator.That’s already been done. Am I not correct on that? New York State has legalized abortion since 1970 which is three years before Roe versus Wade was decided. My stance on this issue stems from a personal story. My biological mother is someone who was struggling financially, struggling mentally, and she had to make a decision. She was considering boarding me, but somebody told her to give this child life. She was told that if she did, I would face sexual, physical, emotional and financial struggles. As a foster kid, I experienced all of those things, but despite all of the hardships, despite all of the pain, despite all of the struggle, I’m happy to be here. I would be the biggest hypocrite in the world if I didn’t hold the position that I hold, which is that everyone should be given a fighting chance.In terms of the legality of abortion, it’s settled law. It’s been settled since 1970. So in a state like New York, my concern is the demand instead of the supply. I want to provide more financial resources to pregnant mothers. I want the tax incentive, the parental tax cut, to begin on the day of pregnancy. I want tax exemption for baby food, baby diapers. I want to expand maternity leave. These are the types of votes that I would cast as a state senator. In terms of codifying Roe versus Wade, New York State has had this legal since 1970 and it’s very likely that Proposition One will pass this November. I have no control over that as a state senator.What would you do to fight energy rate hikes affecting working families?First and foremost, we need more money in the pockets of Central New Yorkers. There are different philosophies on how you do that. Some people say that you need to raise the floor and everyone needs to be making a higher minimum wage. Other people say you need to raise the ceiling. That’s where my philosophy comes into play. I want more manufacturing. I want more high paying jobs available to Central New Yorkers, but I also want to see more money in the pockets of Central New Yorkers. If they’re spending less on their property taxes or spending less on their income taxes, or spending less in other avenues of their life – because gas prices and fuel prices go down and food prices go down due to programs and policies that incentivize an increase in energy production in New York, rather than a reliance on foreign states like Pennsylvania or foreign governments like Venezuela, Saudi Arabia. We’re not so much doing Russia anymore, but if we were incentivizing production here at home, and we were increasing the number of high paying jobs available, Central New Yorkers would have more money in their pocket, and they would be able to pay for those rate hikes. And also an increase in energy production and options would increase the supply, which would decrease the cost of the energy that we’re seeing.How will you make sure that taking construction on the Interstate 81 viaduct doesn’t worsen health outcomes for residents that live near it?So I think that we need to be targeting parcels of land for revitalization efforts. And so what I mean by that is, while I had objections initially to the I-81 project, the project is moving forward, and I can’t do anything about that now. But what I can say is, since we are moving forward, there is an opportunity for reimagining the downtown area and bringing life to areas of Syracuse, which have been filled with poverty for many, many decades. New York State should be incentivizing Syracuse and Onondaga County to identify large land parcels in key strategic areas to target for revitalization, and ensure that the infrastructure needs of those parcels are sufficient so that a large developer would want to build housing or commercial property. This includes ensuring adequate sewer capacity, electric availability, water capacity, traffic controls and zoning to smooth the path to breaking ground for a developer. This will be much more effective in addressing the housing problems than building off of what we have. So the key to solving that housing problem, as sewer politics drive a massive amount of where development happens, is how much of it gets done. It really boils down to, again, similar to the affordable housing question, we need to incentivize developers to build new housing with modern standards at the most affordable rate. We have tons of homes and apartments that have been in Syracuse for many, many years. We don’t build the same way that we did 100 years ago. New housing and improving existing housing is essential to not just the health of the residents that will be affected by the I-81 project, but citywide.Central Current re-asked this question to Slater and received the following answer: I would like to study, first and foremost, similar projects that have been initiated throughout our state and throughout our region and throughout our country, find the best model and replicate that model.The post 2024 election Q&A: Caleb Slater looks to flip NYS Senate’s 48th District appeared first on Central Current.