Webb and Sigler discuss housing, climate and healthcare during the WSKG debate

Candidates in the race for New York’s 52nd Senate District unveiled their plans for housing, energy and public safety during a live WSKG debate on Thursday.

The district includes the cities of Binghamton, Ithaca, Cortland and surrounding areas. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Lea Webb is seeking a second term in November, while Republican Rep. Mike Sigler of Tompkins County is trying to unseat her.

Housing and the high cost of living in the district were at the forefront of the debate.

As a senator, Webb said she worked on programs to support homeowners and renters as well as efforts to build affordable housing infrastructure. She referred to state programs that convert one- and two-family homes into affordable housing and renovate run-down buildings.

Sigler said New York should lower property taxes and build more single-family homes. To achieve this, the state must create incentives for the construction of more housing and the corresponding infrastructure, he said.

Both candidates were asked about their stance on New York’s good cause eviction law, which provides statewide tenant protections that limit the reasons a landlord can refuse to renew a tenant’s lease. The City of Ithaca recently adopted the policy.

Sigler said he was not in favor of eviction for good reason. He said it would make it harder for landlords to evict.

“Eviction court is very difficult in New York State, and [non-renewal] is perhaps a possibility [landlords] “If it’s easier to get a tenant out and make the building more comfortable for the other people living there, they have rights too,” Sigler said. “Good Cause Eviction kind of undoes all of that. It is a violation of property rights.”

Webb said the policy only serves to protect tenants and still allows landlords to evict problem tenants.

“As the name suggests, you have to have a good reason, that doesn’t mean you can’t evict,” Webb said. “The law was designed to provide protection for tenants and it was not designed to punish the small, small landlords. It is intended to take action against the bad actors who create unlivable conditions for tenants.”

Over the course of the hour-long debate, the candidates discussed gun violence, voting access and access to reproductive health care in the state.

Webb said that after the Roe v. Wade should work for New York to further protect access to reproductive health care and abortion.

“The Roe v. Wade decision has continued to have a negative impact in our state and our community,” Webb said. “In communities like ours where we already have difficulty accessing specialists, whether it be a gynecologist or other doctors, we need to do more, and that’s what I did as Senate Women’s Issues Chair.”

Sigler said if elected, he would not introduce legislation to restrict abortion in New York. But he said the state should reduce the need for abortion care.

“We do that through health care for women when it comes to reproduction,” Sigler said. “The pill and maybe copper IUDs, and some of that should be funded by taxpayers. We want women to control their bodies so they can decide when to become pregnant. That’s why we want to make abortions as rare as possible.”

The candidates also briefly touched on national politics. Webb said she plans to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race, while Sigler said he won’t vote for any of the leading candidates.

Watch the full debate below.