TOWN OF DEWITT  – While knocking on doors and meeting with constituents in the midst of her run for the DeWitt Town Board, Sarah Klee Hood began realizing that a number of the pocketbook issues brought up by community members extended well beyond the town limits.
Gradually the decision formulated in her head to campaign for the 22nd congressional district seat covering Onondaga, Oneida and rural Madison counties as a way to approach those issues through a federal-level purview.
As one of DeWitt’s councilors since last November, she has expressed a desire to increase walkability around town and acquire the appropriate funding for sidewalk projects despite difficulties in doing so.
“The money that you anticipate doesn’t always come in the big check or legislative package that you thought,” Klee Hood said. “Having awareness of where failures are to get funding and policy down to the town and community level is what I’m looking to bring back to the federal level.”
In her race for Congress and her potentially ensuing term, Klee Hood hopes that her version of “common sense” gun laws will prevail, specifically reform that would include the closure of boyfriend and trade show loopholes. On that end, she said she seeks to set down “speed bumps” on gun ownership without taking away any citizen’s second amendment rights, mainly inspired by the “heart-dropping” feeling she experiences as a mother of two whenever a shooting incident occurs at a school.
“It’s scary when you’re 10 years old and have to think about all of these extra conditions that are now placed on your life,” she said. “You’re having lockdown drills in addition to fire drills. It’s a lot of stress placed on our young kiddos.”
As far as loopholes go, Klee Hood said she also wants to ensure that corporations and top earners pay their fair shares in taxes.
“The system is broken if you’re trying to raise two children and both parents are working but you’re paying more in taxes than folks making a couple million or billion dollars,” she said.
As a director for an incubator aligned to assist small businesses in developing green technology, she also intends to address climate change and shape policy informed by her work.
Drawing from her degree in dietetics, the DeWitt resident said another priority is to have a combination of nutrition and affordable healthcare plans combat chronic diseases. Part of that, she said, is to continue providing free school breakfasts and lunches so that children are guaranteed two meals to start the day.
Klee Hood added that as those kids grow up they should be greeted with a more affordable and accessible path to college or trade apprenticeships that leaves them debt-free. Along those lines, she stands as a proponent of free two-year college as well as free four-year college for “critically manned, understaffed” fields like nursing, teaching and tech.
She said her viewpoint as the only woman in the race on either side of the aisle gives her different insight into the issue of Roe v. Wade, an overturned decision she wishes to help codify.
Because of her experience as an Air Force operations officer, Klee Hood’s vision in the realm of foreign affairs is to see the United States adopt a “diplomacy-first” solution before waging war.
“Our human lives are the greatest resource that we have as a country,” she said. “That should be our last choice to engage them in any direct conflict.”
Overall Klee Hood describes herself as an “everyday American” who sticks to what she knows and a “non-traditional” candidate who doesn’t rely on special interests or inside political connections.
Born in Eastwood and raised in Chittenango, she believes the way forward is to show that Central New York retains “deep roots.”
“We don’t want younger folks growing up and moving away and then never coming back,” she said. “This is a gorgeous place to live.”
Early voting for the 22nd District is open until Aug. 21. The primary election takes place on Tuesday, Aug. 23.
On the Democratic side, Klee Hood faces off against Francis Conole, Chol Majok and Sam Roberts. The Republican candidates in the race are Steve Wells and Brandon Williams.