This is another installment in the Meet your next Congressional representative series. Previous candidate profiles can be found on The Ithaca Voice’s 2022 Election landing page.
ITHACA, N.Y.—Marc Molinaro, a prominent Republican in New York State from the Hudson Valley, is aiming to bring “Upstate common sense” to Congress.
Molinaro is running unopposed in the Republican primary, and has his eyes locked on winning one of the most competitive congressional districts in New York State. As he makes his case to the people of New York’s 19th Congressional District (NY19) that he should be sent to Washington to represent them, Molinaro is leaning on a deep career in public service.
“I admire the work of local government officials more than I admire the work of members of Congress,” said Molinaro.
A lifelong politician and public servant, Molinaro entered politics at the age of 18 when he was elected to serve on the board of trustees for the Village of Tivoli in the Hudson Valley. He then rose to the position of mayor of his hometown just at age 19, making him the youngest mayor in the U.S. at the time.
From there, he was elected to the Dutchess County Legislature, then to the New York State Assembly. In 2012, he left the state legislature, winning a bid for Dutchess County executive, where he is currently serving a third term. In total, Molinaro has accumulated almost three decades of experience in office.
But Molinaro’s name truly went statewide when he made a run against former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2018. He lost that election, but the publicity has become capital for his congressional bid.
His time and accomplishments serving Dutchess County and the Hudson Valley have strongly shaped the policies Molinaro’s has built his platform on, frequently pointing to the accomplishments made there when explaining what he would like to do if elected to congress.
Molinaro said he wants to improve America’s approach to mental health, calling it a “crisis across the country.” He said he wants to see the federal government require public and private insurance to cover “meaningful mental health services,” and for reimbursement rates to be increased for those seeking treatment.
“If we can commit trillions of dollars to military expenses, we can commit billions of dollars necessary to build up a public mental health infrastructure that’s community based,” said Molinaro.
Asked if he thought that the U.S. is overspending on the military, Molinaro responded, “I think everything is a matter of priority. I believe in national defense, I believe in spending on our military, but at the same time […] I’m saying that of equal concern ought to be what is an epidemic. It is a crisis across this country, because there are individuals that don’t have access to mental health services.”
Also at the top of Molinaro’s issues is stronger federal action on addressing the opioid epidemic in the U.S.
Molinaro is a proponent of expanding community based services that intervene and prevent individuals struggling with addiction from entering the criminal justice system, and broadly accessible medication-based treatment to wean individuals away from opioids, with drugs like methadone and suboxone. Peer to peer mediation, recovery coaches, and a general build-up of community based care networks that can facilitate a “soft handoff” for people struggling with addiction and are transitioning back into communities from prison, jails, or hospitals, Molinaro says need more federal funds.
“As a nation, we don’t lack the funding, we lack the coordination, and we lack the integration of the services,” said Molinaro.
Molinaro, though, is skeptical of safe injection sites. It’s an approach to addressing addiction, which he said he sees as “giving up on what truly works in helping people get to sobriety and jumping to what we think…
Read More: Meet your next Congressional representative series: Marc Molinaro