Katko, Balter respond to questions at NAACP forum

Congressional candidates Dana Balter and Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus) on Sunday took the podium inside the Living Water Church of God on Syracuse’s South Side to share their views on crime, education, taxes and poverty.

Balter, a Democrat and political newcomer, is challenging incumbent Katko for New York state’s 24th Congressional District. At a forum hosted by the NAACP on Sunday night, Katko and Balter each gave statements and took questions from the audience.

The two candidates answered questions on poverty and crime in the city, education, the future of I-81, prison reform and President Donald Trump’s rhetoric. Keith Alford, director of Syracuse University’s School of Social Work, moderated the forum, asking questions that were submitted online and from an audience of about 30 people.

When asked what she would do to combat poverty, Balter said she would focus on three areas: improving educational opportunities, supporting affordable housing and expanding healthcare.   

“The quality of your education is tied to the zip code in which you live,” Balter said. “That means we are not setting up our kids for the best chance of success, for the best job opportunities, for the best economic future.”

Balter said, if elected, she would work to expand federal funding for schools and affordable housing, make public colleges and universities tuition-free and raise the federal minimum wage to $15. She would do these by voting to repeal the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the tax reform bill signed into law last year, she said.

Like Balter, Katko said he supports subsidized housing for Syracuse residents, and added that he will never vote to cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. He voted against the Republican-backed repeal of the Affordable Care Act because the Republican Party didn’t have an alternative plan ready, he said.

Katko, who called himself a “moderate, independent Republican,” has been rated as the 7th most bipartisan members of Congress by the Lugar Center at Georgetown University. Former President Barack Obama signed 1o of his bills into law, and Katko never submits legislation unless he has a Democratic co-sponsor, he said.

Balter has attacked Katko for his support of the Republican tax plan.

“I voted for the tax reform bill for the people in this city because they’re the ones getting an opportunity,” Katko said at the Sunday forum.

He said the tax cuts provided to businesses will benefit his constituents because the cuts will act as an incentive for companies to create jobs in the United States. The tax bill also provided tax cuts to families. Congress has voted to extend those cuts beyond 2027, he added.

A woman in the audience asked Katko how many people are on his staff, and how many were people of color. Twelve and zero were the answers, respectively, he said.

At the second portion of the forum where Balter spoke, she was asked the same question. Balter said 20 percent of her staff is people of color. When she made her campaign hires, she said she tried to made sure her staff was illustrative of the district she hopes to represent. The 24th district includes all of Cayuga, Onondaga and Wayne counties, and the western part of Oswego county.

Reading a question submitted online, Alford asked Katko if he approved of Trump’s “bullying tactics.”

“I routinely stand up to him,” said Katko, who said he wrote in former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley for president instead of voting for Trump in the 2016 election. “But if you want someone who is going to oppose every single thing he does, that’s not me. You have to try and make whoever’s president successful.”

Several attendees said Katko hasn’t spoken out against Trump often enough.

Syracuse activist Alfonso Davis said in an interview after the forum that even though Katko didn’t vote for Trump, the congressman needs to rally against the president’s divisiveness, sexism and racism.

Attendee Elise Baker, of Syracuse’s South Side, said she voted for Katko when he first ran for the 24th Congressional District seat in 2014. Now, she isn’t sure if she’ll be voting for him again, she said. She added his answers were “not totally direct.”

Both Baker and Davis both said they didn’t think Katko was as involved in the South Side community as he said he is. Katko has been criticized in the past for not holding enough town halls or having open office hours. Balter said Katko’s “refusal to engage with constituents” is disrespectful.  

Linda Brown-Robinson, president of the NAACP of Syracuse and Onondaga County, said the chapter was criticized for having both candidates speak at two separate times throughout the night. Each candidate spoke for about an hour and a half, and the entire program running from 4 p.m. until 7:30 p.m.. Brown-Robinson said Katko refused to speak at the same time as Balter.