Former Auburn School Board President Ian Phillips, a Democrat, announced his campaign for State Assembly in Central New York’s 126th District at Skaneateles Lake with local officials. Phillips will prioritize affordability, protecting our lakes, and restoring accountability to all levels of govern ment, according to a press release announcig his candidacy. Phillips announced that he has earned the endorsement of Skaneateles Supervisor Chris Legg. “Ian is a born-and-raised Central New Yorker whose family goes back generations in our area,” Legg said. “From his tireless work to support our schools and his advocacy for policies that lift up the middle class, Ian’s record shows he’s exactly what we need to protect our lakes and our pocketbooks. I know Ian Phillips will be a fresh voice for our families and bring us together to get results.” Phillips also announced that he has earned the endorsement of Auburn Mayor Jimmy Giannettino. “Ian will protect our lakes and our drinking water in the assembly,” Giannettino said. “He knows that our water resources are under threat, and I trust him to partner with local leaders to take on this fight in Albany.” “We deserve an assembly member who will prioritize people and not pet political projects,” Phillips said. “The costs of utilities, childcare, healthcare, taxes and rent are out of control, and the middle class is being priced out of the American Dream in Central NY. Our families deserve a real shot, not the nonsense that our current Assemblyman uses to divide us. In short, I’m running for Assembly because we deserve better.” Phillips, a union organizer and former teacher, born and raised in Auburn, is a proud graduate of our local public schools. After college, he organized parents in Philadelphia to fight for additional school funding and to keep seniors from losing their homes in the 2007 foreclosure crisis. He joined Teach for America to help in the neediest and most hard-to-serve areas. After teaching in Detroit Public Schools, he returned to Central New York in 2012 and worked for former US Representative Dan Maffei, where he fought to bring grant money to his hometown fire department to stave off cuts and advocated to have the Harriet Tubman Home finally named a National Park. Since 2015, Phillips has worked with educators across Central New York as an organizer with the New York State United Teachers, the state’s largest union. He’s worked on issues to advance working and learning conditions in our schools, colleges, and teaching hospitals – including the largest ever union action at the NYS State Fair against Gov. Cuomo, who had proposed massive cuts to CNY’s public schools. He has served two terms on the Auburn School Board, with three years as its board president. In that time, class sizes have decreased free before school and after-school programs have been added; fourth grade music programs have been restored; and STEM-specialized teachers have been hired at  all grade levels to promote the skills of tomorrow – all while the district tax rate has decreased by  14%. Phillips has spent his career leading and organizing to help improve the lives of Central New Yorkers. His campaign will focus on three major areas: affordability, protecting our lakes, and accountability for elected officials. Phillips lives in Auburn, in the same neighborhood he grew up in, with his wife Tracy and rescue dog, Lincoln. The 126th Assembly District includes parts of Cayuga and Onondaga Counties. The general election will take place on Nov. 3, 2026. ...read more read less