Former Assemblyman Al Stirpe announced Wednesday that he will run for the 127th Assembly seat he held from 2007 to 2011. The seat is currently held by Republican Don Miller.
Stirpe, a Democrat, made the announcement at a press conference on the lawn of the NSEA offices in North Syracuse in front of representatives from the Democratic party, labor and local nonprofits. Also on hand were representatives from the Liverpool and North Syracuse school districts, including Liverpool Superintendent Dr. Richard Johns, North Syracuse teachers’ union President John Kuryla, North Syracuse school board members Toni-Lyn Brauchle and Sandra DiBianco and several teachers from North Syracuse’s Main Street Early Education Program, which is across the street from NSEA.
Stirpe said people like those standing behind him were among those he consulted when he decided to run again.
“As I went about trying to decide whether I should run this year or just go ahead in some other capacity to be involved in the community, I went out and I talked to people from all different areas,” Stirpe said. “As I sat down and met with them, I asked them all… Does anybody care who’s in this office? Most of them said, ‘Sure.’ The current officeholder, the office seems to be on hold. There seems to be a void. They’re looking for someone who will be an advocate for Central New York. They want someone who will actually do something as opposed to just talking about doing something.”
Stirpe said the current officeholder – Miller – focuses solely on taxes and the idea of a 0 percent tax cap. He said Miller is close-minded and inflexible to other positions.
“When you focus on ideology, you lose sight of people,” Stirpe said. “When you lose sight of people, the consequences of your actions cease to matter.”
The 127th district covers the towns of Cicero, Clay, Fabius, Manlius, Pompey and Tully.
