Rick Zaccaria, a career businessman and political newcomer, is challenging incumbent Assemblyman William Magnarelli (D-129) for his seat in the upcoming fall elections.
A Syracuse native who has made Van Buren his home for the last 19 years, Zaccaria is confident his platform on taxes, jobs and welfare reform resonates with the public.
“I don’t think I feel any different [about New York state politics] than a lot of people do. My platform is very simple. We have the highest taxes in the nation and that needs to stop. We’re bleeding in population – people are moving away, jobs are leaving the state and that needs to stop. I’m going to turn those trends around,” Zaccaria said.
He’s also opposed to the implementation of Common Core in the state education curriculum as well as the SAFE Act, a gun control law that was passed by the New York State Legislature in January 2013 and subsequently signed into New York state law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“Those are two big issues that also helped me to make this decision to jump in,” he said.
Zaccaria, who is endorsed by the Republican and Conservative parties, said so far a majority of those he’s met – both Republicans and Democrats alike – are on board with his ideas for change. His biggest obstacle right now, however, is familiarizing the public with who he is and what he represents.
“We spent most of the last couple months putting our team together. Our next step is to get out and start really meeting people, knocking on doors,” he said. “After that, any place where we think we can be visible, we’re going to try to be there.”
Zaccaria described the basis of his campaign with three words: faith, duty and integrity.
“That’s how I’ve always lived my life. That’s how I intend to live my life after we’re elected,” he said. “Unlike a lot of people in New York politics, we’re going to do this full time. If I am elected, we’ll be a full time assembly. We’re going to take care of our constituents, our community. We’re going to put them first.”
Currently, Zaccaria works as a corporate manager in marketing and sales training for Beltone Electronics, an international hearing aid company. Prior to Beltone, he was president and CEO of Action Ear Hearing & Audiology, his father’s hearing aid company which he took over in 2007. A father of three, Zaccaria has two daughters, Kaitlyn, 20, Morgan, 19, and one son, Gabriel, 3. He, his wife, Natalie, and family reside in Van Buren.
To learn more about Zaccaria, visit his website at rickzaccaria.com, email him at [email protected], like his Facebook page, backzacc4assembly, or follow him on Twitter, @backzacc4ny.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4.
District 129 includes the Northside, Westside, Eastwood and Valley areas of the city of Syracuse, as well as the towns of Geddes and Van Buren. As of the 2010 census, a total of 130,747 civilians reside within New York’s 129th state assembly district.
