Davison, who recently retired as the State Police Troop B Commander, pitched himself as someone who will stand up to the current one-party Democratic rule of New York state, with a focus on tackling the high cost of living.

Cashman, who is currently the Plattsburgh town supervisor, pitched himself as a majority party member who won’t always vote with his party, with a focus on providing better living conditions and safety for residents.

The two actually agreed on several issues — repealing the HALT Act, taking a cautious approach to electrification goals, opposing the Green Light Law, supporting universal affordable housing and supporting the Second Amendment — leading Davison to joke afterward that the two seemed like they were running on the same party line at times.

While they agreed on several policies, they still differentiated themselves by party — Davison, as a Republican, being part of a coalition to fight Democratic-led initiatives that could hurt the North Country, and Cashman, as a Democrat, saying he can shape these initiatives from the inside in ways that benefit the area.

Michael Cashman (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

Panelist Pat Bradley from WAMC Northeast Public Radio had brought a Davison campaign mailer which accused Cashman of being a “yes man” for Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Cashman said he’s an “independent thinker,” has worked well with Republicans in his political career and does not wholly agree with his party.

Davison said it’s convenient for Democrats to say party doesn’t matter to them when their party has been in power in Albany for years.

“There’s no reason that I wouldn’t think that my opponent wouldn’t follow right along, like his predecessor did, the majority of the time with the majority party in Albany,” Davison said.

He also said the Working Families Party, which has endorsed Cashman, is “very left wing” and questioned if Cashman would be able to work across the aisle.

Brent Davison (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

Cashman said the WFP is about focusing on policy for infrastructure, seniors and children that benefit families.

He said he wouldn’t be afraid to push back on his party and those that endorse him if he doesn’t think their policies would benefit the North Country.

“My opponent keeps talking about the majority Democrats. The majority is still going to be there,” Cashman said. “The big difference is having somebody in the room trying to convince them, versus somebody knocking on the door on the outside.”

“He says he’s going to fight against all this stuff. I don’t know how that’s possible. He’s one person,” Davison said. “If Mr. Cashman were to be elected, I wish him luck in fighting his own party. His predecessor did not do that.”

Election Day is on Nov. 4 and early voting begins on Oct. 25. To learn more about how to vote, go to tinyurl.com/mryjzn27.

This is a special election, coming shortly after Billy Jones resigned from the Assembly seat halfway through his term last month,

The debate will debut on Mountain Lake PBS on Friday at 8 p.m. and air again on Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m. It can also be streamed at mountainlake.org or on the station’s YouTube channel “Mountain Lake PBS” at tinyurl.com/4pb4mjwp after the first airing on Friday.

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Energy and environment

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Several times, both candidates said they believe local governments should make some decisions for themselves, instead of having to follow statewide mandates. New York state is so varied, what works for New York City doesn’t always work for the North Country.

Cashman said the state’s electrification goals are “problematic” for the North Country, where the grid does not have as much capacity. Davison said electric mandates are not practical and attainable, and would lead to people freezing to death if the grid fails.

Both said these energy goals and mandates for things like electric school buses need carve-outs for areas like the North Country.

Cashman said the green economy is here to stay, but in his district, he believes in a mixed economy.

He said the state uses the Public Service Commission to cap how much power companies can charge in their rates.

Davison said the Democrats, who control both state houses and the executive seat, are not listening to the North Country’s concerns. Cashman said he could get members of his party to hear these concerns.

Davison wants to protect the environment safely and in a controlled and financially feasible way.

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Housing

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Davison said he believes in offering affordable housing for everybody, adding that the middle class is often left out of housing efforts.

“In New York state, we’re spending money that we don’t have on things that we don’t need. Stuff like (housing) is something that would be worth spending money on,” Davison said.

Cashman said he’d like to wipe away sales tax for housing builders, build up the trades workforce through BOCES programs and said that the region needs strong infrastructure to attract housing, too.

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Health care

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The candidates were asked about the potential that the “One Big Beautiful Bill” could increase health care insurance premiums.

Davison said the bill also has benefits, like setting money aside for rural hospitals. He said Medicaid costs are already higher in New York than Florida and Texas combined, which he attributed to, in part, lots of fraud going on that needs to be addressed.

Cashman said he would “fight” to protect Medicare.

Davison said the North Country health care crisis started when local hospitals began outsourcing to the University of Vermont Medical Center. He wants to introduce incentives to bring medical professionals back to the North Country.

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Prisons

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Both candidates oppose the HALT Act, which changed the length and reasons an inmate could be put in solitary confinement, stating that long-term solitary confinement is torture.

Davison wants to repeal the HALT Act and “start from scratch” with stakeholders representing officers, civilian employees and inmate advocates. Being a corrections officer is a dangerous job, he said, and that HALT creates more tension and benefits the worst offenders who face reduced repercussions. Davison said he wants to bring legislators to Clinton Correctional Facility to show them what it’s like.

Cashman said the state needs to protect its employees, and that he would repeal the HALT act today if he could.

“My opponent is once again going to have to fight against his Working Families Party, because they’re all for closing prisons. They’re all for defunding police,” Davison said.

The candidates were asked about the ongoing murder trial of three COs from Marcy Correctional, where an inmate, Robert Brooks, was fatally beaten by officers in December.

Davison said what those officers did was criminal. Cashman said there will always be people who are bad at their job in every profession.

Both candidates also disagreed with Hochul’s actions after a statewide illegal wildcat strike among prison workers this spring, which included her attempting to stop local governments from hiring the officers who participated in the strike.

“What the governor did was vindictive and abhorrent,” Cashman said.

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ICE and ag

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The candidates were asked about immigration agents detaining migrant agriculture workers from North Country farms.

Davison said immigrants should be legal and vetted. He said migrant workers are needed for farms. He said the federal agencies should prioritize detaining undocumented immigrants who are threats to public safety.

Cashman said the current immigration enforcement crisis is a “failure of the federal government.” He said America needs better programs for year-round visas for workers.

“If an individual is here illegally, they should not be here,” Cashman said.

Both candidates opposed the Green Light Law, which allows undocumented immigrants to get drivers licenses.

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Canada

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Candidates were asked if President Donald Trump’s trade and tariff war with Canada is justified.

One of the reasons Trump has given for the tariffs is to force the country to strengthen its border against human and drug trafficking.

Cashman said less than 1% of fentanyl in the U.S. comes through northern border, and that the North Country relies on Canada. He called the tariffs a “nonsensical attack” that has hurt local industries.

Both men said, if elected, they’d like to continue working on the Assembly’s Canada Relations Task Force Jones helped start.

Davison said that Democrats have made it so there’s no deterrent for trafficking drugs, with catch and release policies.

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Guns

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Both candidates said they support gun ownership.

“We don’t need additional gun laws,” Davison said. “Maybe we should enforce the ones that we have.”

He said he sees criminal gun cases get plead down to “almost nothing.” He also said places with the toughest gun laws have the most gun crime, and that the policies only put restrictions on law-abiding citizens.

New York had the third-lowest gun death rate per 100,000 residents — with a rate of 4.7 — and Mississippi, which has permissive gun laws, had the highest gun death rate per 100,000 residents — with a rate of 29.4 — according to an analysis of 2023 data from the Pew Research Center.

Cashman said he’s pro-second amendment and wants to encourage gun safety education.

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Medical Aid in Dying

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Candidates were asked about the Medical Aid in Dying Act, which has been passed by both state houses but has not been signed by the governor. It allows terminally ill patients to request medication to end their lives.

Davison said he would not approve of MAiD and called it a “slippery slope.”

“Once we start assisting people in dying, we end up having insurance companies deciding whether or not you’re costing too much money and encouraging you to go through the assisted suicide,” Davison said.

Cashman said he’s advocated for the law himself. His step-father was killed by brain cancer, and he wished his step-father had the option to choose MAiD, even if he didn’t choose to use it.

“We afford more decency to our dogs and our cats and our pets than we do us humans,” Cashman said.

Davison said there is medication to alleviate suffering and that, as a deacon, he could not support MAiD.

To read more about Cashman, go to tinyurl.com/4r3fkcu2. To read more about Davison, go to tinyurl.com/29d4wk6t.