Upstate Jobs Party Joins Calls for Upstate Debate

Upstate political movement calls for real debate of issues impacting millions of New Yorkers

Albany, NY – The Upstate Jobs Party (UJP) today added their voice to the calls for debate of Gubernatorial candidates on Upstate issues. Following Tuesday evening’s debate in New York City, UJP leadership noted the complete lack of attention shown to Upstate issues discussed.

UJP Founder Martin Babinec said, “The Upstate Jobs Party was established to focus on fixing the Upstate economy and we could not be more disappointed by the complete absence of important Upstate issues in this week’s debate.  I cannot imagine how voters in Upstate New York can possibly consider voting for candidates that have been silent on issues most important to them.  We need to know how the candidates plan reverse the outmigration of our talent, develop policy to enable private investment in our economy, and reform State government.”

UJP is calling for a debate featuring all candidates for Governor and focused on important UJP issues, including:

  • Stemming the outflow of our young talent,
  • Leveraging private investment to build innovation economy jobs that help lift wages and job creation across all sectors
  • Fully reforming New York State government

Additionally, issues relevant to Upstate voters have been completely ignored by the one debate:

  • Supporting a strong local workforce,
  • Dealing with Upstate infrastructure deficiencies
  • SAFE Act,
  • Addressing environmental issues like drinking water and hydro-fracking

Founded in 2016, the Upstate Jobs Party built support through the platform put forward by Martin Babinec, a successful software and tech entrepreneur who has helped hundreds of others start and grow companies in Upstate NY. Supporters of his independent Congressional bid came together following the 2016 election with commitments to stay involved in advancing UJP.

In 2017, Upstate Jobs Party supported independent candidate Ben Walsh, who successfully upset the political establishment by winning election as Syracuse Mayor on an Upstate Jobs Party line. Walsh is the first independent Mayor in Syracuse history.

On September 18th, UJP announced that New York State Senate Candidate Bob Antonacci would be running on the line for the 50th Senatorial District in Syracuse.  Just last week, UJP announced its support for Democrat Carrie Woerner for reelection to the State Assembly and Republican Daphne Jordan for election to the New York State Senate.

“When the only question about Upstate asked in a debate is about the Buffalo Bills, we’ve failed.  As much as I love the Bills, as UJP continues to spread our message, we find more and more that our neighbors in Upstate New York feel forgotten by politicians speaking to a solely New York City audience.  It’s time for candidates for Governor to directly address the issues we’re facing, including fostering an environment where new companies in innovation industries can succeed and build a stronger economy in Upstate NY,” added John Bullis, UJP Chairman.

The UJP has committed significant resources, including from its Independent Expenditure Committee, to electing candidates that believe in real policies to grow the Upstate economy in the 2018 campaign cycle. Volunteers interested in joining the effort to create more jobs in Upstate NY, keep our best and brightest talent from leaving to pursue opportunities elsewhere, and build a strong economy throughout the region are encouraged to visit UpstateJobs.org to learn more.

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Media Contact
Timothy Dunn
Upstate Jobs Party
518.380.1765
tdunn@dunnstrategy.com

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