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Assembly race debate coming

LAKE PLACID – The two candidates seeking to represent the North Country’s Assembly District 114 will debate next month.

Green Party candidate Robin Barkenhagen, an art gallery owner in Glens Falls, is the sole challenger to incumbent Republican Dan Stec of Queensbury. Each has spoken about the debate to Look TV, an independently owned television station. Stec said his campaign, the Barkenhagen campaign and the station have agreed on a debate moderator, though they are still deciding the details of the format. Stec said the debate would likely take place sometime after Columbus Day, Oct. 10.

“It’s going to happen; we just don’t have all the details yet,” Stec said.

Andrew Gabriels, producer and director for Look TV, said the debate would likely be an hour long and be broadcast as part of the station’s political show, “Beyond The Headlines.” The agreed-upon moderator will be the show’s host Michael Lenz, former mayor of Saratoga Springs.

Gabriels said the debate would be recorded live to tape, later broadcast on channel 68 in parts of Saratoga County and channel 8 in parts of Warren and Washington County. Assembly District 114 includes Essex and Warren counties and the northern parts of Saratoga and Washington counties.

For people in Essex County who have Time Warner Cable, the best way to view the debate would be to watch it online at the “Beyond The Headlines” website, www.looktvonline.com/beyond-the-headlines. Gabriels said video of the debate would be posted there the day of or the day after the event.

“Beyond the Headlines” is normally broadcast from 8:30 to 9 a.m. on Sundays and from 6:30 to 7 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

“Hopefully we should have it planned by next week,” Gabriels said.

Barkenhagen said the idea for the debate came following a previous interview he attended at the Look TV studios in Saratoga Springs last month. He said he asked station directors if they’d be interested in hosting a debate, and they expressed interest.

Both Stec and Barkenhagen also plan to attend the Friends of Thurman Town Hall Meet the Candidates Night at 7 p.m. Oct. 20. Stec and Barkenhagen will be two of many candidates at the event, including these from Warren County.

Stec in Lake Placid

Stec spent Monday mostly in Lake Placid. In the morning he met with regional tourism representatives at the Conference Center at Lake Placid. Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism CEO Jim McKenna said the conversation included discussion about the increasing popularity and crowdedness at hiking trails in the High Peaks. Stec is an Adirondack 46er himself, meaning he’s hiked each of the Adirondack mountains originally surveyed at 4,000 feet or higher in elevation.

Stec also met with small businesses in the area, including a trip to Blue Line Brewery in Saranac Lake. To end the day, he attended the Lake Placid village board meeting.

“There’s eight villages, one city and 40 towns in the district, so I try to get around,” Stec said. “I may have regular contact with the supervisors and mayors, not as much regular contact with board members. Just occasionally checking in, seeing what’s going on and saying hello. And this is a big district; this is an hour-and-a-half from where I live. You’ve got to make the effort to make sure they know.”

Seeking “Berniecrats”

With no Democratic challenger, Barkenhagen claims he’s had success aligning with some area Democrats as the primary opposition to Stec. He attended last month’s “Meet Your Progressive Candidates” forum in the Capital Region, which invited congressional candidate and Democrat Mike Derrick instead of Barkenhagen’s fellow Green Matt Funiciello. Barkenhagen said that and other events, including recent tours of fall festivals, have helped him increase public awareness of his campaign.

He said he campaigned for two days with the Washington County Democratic Committee at its table at the county fair.

“I’m very much aligned with what Bernie Sanders thinks,” Barkenhagen said. “I got to meet ‘Berniecrats,’ as we call them. “I’ve come away with a sense that I can get some Democrats to endorse me. Even if I don’t, I feel there is no hinderance to my campaign.

“Since they don’t have anyone in the race, it might as well be me.”

Facebook dispute

Barkenhagen was critical of Stec for taking down a comment the Green candidate posted to Stec’s Assembly Facebook page. Stec’s post linked to a Fox News article about heroin and opioid abuse in New York outpacing the rest of the nation. Barkenhagen replied, citing a Boston Herald article touting how medical marijuana can be used to help those suffering with pain from heroin addiction.

“He’s my Assemblyman, too,” Barkenhagen said. “Deleting my comments off his page, I don’t think that’s right. It gets back to being a representative of all people in the 114th District.”

Stec likened the matter to if he were to put a campaign sign endorsing Stec on Barkenhagen’s lawn.

“If he wants to promote his candidacy, I encourage him to use his own Facebook page,” Stec said. “I would never dream of posting to one of my opponents Facebook pages. I just think it’s highly improper.”

Stec’s Facebook page is at www.facebook.com/assemblymandanstec. Barkenhagen’s is at www.facebook.com/votebarkenhagen.

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