Republican Mike Sigler will face incumbent State Sen. Lea Webb (D-NY) in November’s election for New York’s 52nd Senate District with a campaign focused on lowering costs, reducing crime and restricting immigration.
In 2022 Webb narrowly beat Republican Richard Davis in the state senate race for the 52nd district by a 2.3 percent margin, or 2,397 votes.
Before running for state senate, Sigler spent 20 years as a sales manager for Park Outdoor Advertising and has served in the Tompkins County Legislature for 14 years.
In an interview with The Sun, Sigler said he is a “more practical person” than the incumbent. According to Sigler, Webb’s current policies on reducing the reliance on fossil fuels have led to cost increases and “people struggling to pay bills.”
“They would like to say we’re not using natural gas. …What have they done toward that goal?” Sigler said. “It has been very unsuccessful, [and] it has raised the rates of electricity in this state by a lot.”
While in office, Webb passed legislation to ban carbon dioxide fracking and supported investments in green technology jobs and workforce development.
Rather than building solar farms upstate and shipping the power with “expensive wiring” back to the city, Sigler said that constructing nuclear power plants closer to New York City, which “needs the power” will be “a much more cost-effective approach” to reducing the state’s reliance on fossil fuels.
There are currently four nuclear power plants in operation in the state of New York, all of which are located in Upstate New York.
Sigler also said that he differs greatly from Webb in his approach to lowering drug use in the area. He said while Webb supports supervised injection sites — where drug use is monitored by health officials — he instead advocates for greater access to detox centers.
“If somebody comes to you and says they want to get off heroin, you need to get them to rehab,” Sigler said. “Whereas my opponent would argue for supervised injection sites, I don’t meet very many people that are supportive of that. I would much rather see a detox facility in every county.”
Sigler explained that Tompkins County attempted to run a detox center but failed due to a nursing staffing shortage.
“We had one set up here in Tompkins County,” Sigler said. “They couldn’t get staff. They were only offering between $40,000 and $60,000 for a nurse.”
The Ithaca Voice reported in July 2023 that hourly rates were listed as $30 to $40 an hour, but the Alcohol and Drug Council’s interim executive director said they were preparing to offer a $40 to $45 price range.
The center opened in May of 2023, operating at partial capacity with only one nurse working, and closed earlier this year.
Another main focus of Sigler’s campaign is reducing local crime rates. He said the state has implemented “a bunch of bad policies” such as bail reform that, according to Sigler, allow many to avoid punishment for certain crimes.
“We had a bunch of bad policies that kind of went through,” Sigler said. “Bail reform was the problem and it still is. I mean, you talk to regular cops who work in the street, they’ve actually stopped arresting for certain things, but they know if they bring them in, the judges will just let them go.”
An analysis of crime trends in Ithaca conducted by the Matrix Consulting Group found that between 2016 and 2021, crime rates increased. However, the Tompkins County district attorney said that arrest rates did not rise significantly between 2022 and 2023.
Sigler said that immigration should be more of a federal concern than a state concern, believing the border should be shut down.
According to Sigler, New York does not have the capacity to handle an influx of migration. He pointed to how some New York State taxpayer money funds migrant resources.
The New York State Comptroller reported that the 2024-2025 Enacted Budget Financial Plan dedicates $4.3 billion to emergency funding for those seeking asylum.
“When it comes to migration, it’s a federal issue. They need to get on the ball and stop shipping everybody to New York State and other states that simply don’t have the capacity to handle it,” Sigler said. “We need to know who is coming to the country.”
Sigler also said that he is fully supportive of Israel, noting the large Jewish population in New York State.
“Israel is an ally,” Sigler said. “In my opinion, we have to finish off Hamas.”