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Young Dem starts Congress run early

Funiciello: Greens expect a primary

Patrick Nelson (Photo provided)

Less than a month after the start of Republican U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik’s second term, an opponent has formally announced his candidacy for her congressional seat.

There is plenty of time for more Democrats and Republicans to decide to run. Meanwhile, the Green candidate of the last two elections said several Greens are interested this time around, and he expects a primary.

Patrick Nelson, a 27-year-old from Stillwater, has launched his website www.nelsonforny.com and a Facebook page titled “Nelson for New York,” which features a banner photo of a Bernie Sanders presidential rally. As of Friday night, the page has garnered a modest 330 Facebook likes, but it’s early — very early.

In an interview, the young Democrat said he announced his candidacy this early to provide voters with information on how he views critical policy proposals coming out of the Capitol and White House within the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s presidency. Nelson added that his comment on “every major piece of legislation proposed” will continue over the next two years via his campaign’s social media.

“It’s incredibly early (to announce), but these are not normal times that we are living in,” he said. “This is not going to be a normal campaign cycle in 2018. I want to be involved in the conversation now as the landscape is going to be largely defined by the first 100 to 200 days of this administration.”

Patrick Nelson (Photo provided)

If elected in 2018, Nelson would be even younger than Stefanik was in 2014 at age 30. But despite his youth, he has been involved with northern New York Democrats during the previous two challenges to Stefanik. He worked with the Aaron Wolf campaign with a focus on student debt in 2014, and he served as a field director last year for 2016 Democratic candidate Mike Derrick.

He currently works as a special projects coordinator for state Assemblyman Phil Stec. He is a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy with a dual degree in biochemistry and biophysics, and studied law for a year at St. John’s University in New York City.

In July, Nelson was an elected delegate for Sanders in New York’s 21st Congressional District. Nelson described the Vermont senator as a “fantastic human being.”

“What he showed us and the reason I am taking this leap of faith,” Nelson said, “if you tell the truth and are willing to fight for working people, the people will support you. It’s not about me, and it was never about Bernie. It’s all about the movement.”

Nelson preaches that he’d represent North Country constituents with science-driven policy.

Matt Funiciello, July 2016 (Enterprise phtoo — Antonio Olivero)

“Scientific literacy is something we definitely need more of in politics as we face the challenges in climate change and automation in the workforce,” Nelson said. “The problem with typical politics, elected officials choose to exploit the knowledge gap, and that’s something I’d like to see stopped — to explain concepts, and dispel half-truths and misinformation politicians use. It takes people that understand these concepts to write policy to effect these things, and frankly we don’t have enough of that.”

Nelson said some of the main issues he believes in include mitigating the effects of climate change immediately by transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy, providing universal health care since “free-market solutions to health care don’t work,” and reforming campaign finance and electoral systems.

He’s also highlighting his “21 for 21” campaign approach, which touts “21st-century solutions for a 21st-century democracy” and asks supporters to donate $21 via his campaign’s ActBlue online crowdfunding website.

“And I know we’d need to find 50,000 to 100,000 donors,” Nelson said, “but it’s in the spirit of American democracy.”

Matt Funiciello, the Glens Falls bakery owner who ran in 2014 and 2016 with the Green Party, said he has interacted with Nelson in the past and described him as “smart and well read.”

But Funiciello also was dismissive of Nelson’s chances. He doubts what kind of progressive change Nelson could achieve while working alongside what Funiciello described as establishment and corporate Democrats.

“It’s about looking at how effective he can be as a political rep once elected,” Funiciello said. “What will his agenda be, and how will he have the power to do it within that party?”

Funiciello said he is unsure if he will run again, saying he expects there to be at least two other Green candidates interested in the seat. He declined to name them, but he reiterated that whether he runs or not, he fully expects a Green primary before the 2018 general election.

He pointed to the upheaval and discontent during the first two weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency as further evidence Democrats and Republicans have failed Americans.

“Building a non-corporate party is absolutely a necessity to fight imperialism in the world,” he said. “It’s a much bigger goal than ‘Matt Funiciello for office.’

“If I’m not running, certainly somebody will be running as a Green,” he continued. “I think three to four people are interested in a Green ballot line. I’m not sure if I really want to do that again, unless if I feel it’s in the best interest of the party and getting real representation for us, the working class. But I know these people and there will be a robust primary whether I run or not, and I welcome that.”

Tom Flanagin, a spokesman for Stefanik, said Wednesday that “the congresswoman applauds anyone who puts their name forward to run for office.”

At this juncture, the Democratic Congressional Campaign committee seems to not be listing New York’s 21st Congressional District as one of the top Republican-held seats it is targeting in 2018.

The DCCC released a memo on Jan. 30 that listed 59 DCCC “targets,” Stefanik not included. Stefanik easily defeated Derrick and Funiciello in November, topping Derrick by more than 35 percent of the vote and winning all 12 counties in the district.

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