The Overlook interviewed the three Democrats running in the June 23 primary for the 102nd Assembly District seat: Thomas Boomhower, Janet Tweed, and Mary Finneran.
The 102nd Assembly District includes all of Greene and Schoharie counties, as well as parts of Albany, Delaware, and Otsego counties. The district is represented by Assemblymember Chris Tague, R-Schoharie, who is seeking election to the 51st Senate District.
The Democratic nominee will face Republican Marcus Molinaro, a former U.S. representative, in the Nov. 3 general election.
Boomhower, 30, lives in Catskill. He is a 20-year Greene County resident and works as senior director of program management at the Upstate Capital Association of New York. He previously served as Greene County’s economic development specialist. He is a Catskill village trustee, having served on the village board for seven months while filling an unexpired term.
Tweed, 45, lives in Delhi. A Delaware County resident for 10 years, Tweed is a physical therapist at O’Connor Hospital in Delhi. She is a Delhi village trustee and former Delhi town councilperson. She won the Democratic primary for the 102nd Assembly District in 2024 and lost to Tague in the general election.
Finneran, 69, lives in Cairo. A native of Painted Post, in Steuben County, Finneran is an artist and former union welder. She was an art teacher for more than 25 years, most recently at the Coxsackie-Athens School District, and has served on the Cairo Library Board. She is also president of the Cairo Democratic Committee. She ran an unsuccessful primary campaign against Tweed in 2024.
The following has been lightly edited for clarity and concision.
What do you think is the most pressing issue in our district right now?
Boomhower: The most pressing issue in the district, and it’s the issue I hear the most from talking to people on the campaign trail, it’s what’s motivated me to jump into this race, is how utterly unaffordable everything is. The cost of living is way too high, and that’s what my campaign is centered on delivering economic security for everyone because no matter where you live, no matter what kind of job you work, you deserve to have that security, to know you’ll be able to meet your basic needs and pay your bills.
Tweed: The most pressing issue is a little bit broad, and that would be affordability. There are many things that go into that this year with the healthcare changes and reduction in federal payments and funding of Medicaid. We are going to see that effect for the next number of years. This winter also highlighted just how expensive our utilities, especially electricity, have become. This goes into the cost of living, including the cost of housing and renting, and transportation, whether that’s driving or the lack of public transportation throughout much of the 102nd District.
Finneran: I do think being able to afford to live is the most pressing issue in this district. It’s also having to choose between food and healthcare and transportation costs, and all of those different costs, it’s making it extremely difficult for people to live, to survive. Another thing with this agricultural district is the climate. Recently, especially in this district, we had a very early bloom, but then we had a deep freeze. That killed a lot of the fruits. We’re going to have a difficult time getting apples in this district, and other fruits that grow here. It’s a real shame, and it is due to climate change.
How would you go about addressing your top issue at the state level?
Boomhower: A lot of what I would do is look to make little adjustments to ensure that programs are actually accessible for the people who live and work here in the towns and villages across the 102nd District. One thing I would do is push to expand what qualifies for childcare tax credits to include things that are providing after school care, like a taekwondo studio or dance studio, while ensuring that our traditional daycares and childcare facilities are not going without as well. Right now, in the state, there is the Hudson Valley Power Authority, proposed by Senator [Michelle] Hinchey and Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha, which would help the state transition to true public power, where we get the perverse profit incentive out of our power utilities and make sure that we’re taking care of ratepayers. I think that would be a huge help as well as delivering the New York Health Act and transition to a single-payer health system in New York to just help drive down costs all across the board.
Tweed: There’s multiple pieces to affordability, and so there are multiple areas that can be worked on. Some of the biggest things that we can do in Albany is that we do have the power to control or manage how businesses are run, especially those that are providing essential services like utilities. The current model and bargaining with the Public Service Commission is that the board is weighted heavily towards the utility companies, so changing how that aspect is done, capping how much profits are allowed to be made by a utility company, are ways to address that concern. Continued support for housing, especially accessible as well as affordable housing, which means more than just having low-income housing but also having rent-stabilized housing and housing where people want to live. Addressing how we pay for healthcare is a huge issue, and the New York Health Act would decidedly change how individuals are paying for healthcare, so rather than the thousands of dollars we pay annually with co-insurances, co-payments, it would be a different payment source and would actually end up costing over 90% of New Yorkers less money.
Finneran: I would look to support the New York Health Act, the Hudson Valley Power [Authority] Act, and any bill that would help maintain and strengthen the Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act. I like the ASAP bill (Accelerate Solar for Affordable Power), which is about putting solar, not just in the rural farms, which a lot of people protest in this district, but it’s putting it on rooftops, it’s putting it in parking lots, it’s putting it all over, every place in the community. I have been lobbying, I have been rallying, I have been an advocate for many different bills for many different positions in this state. I really believe that with my experience having done that and recognizing that within the capital, the power comes within the legislature. I think I have a real understanding of how it works and I think I’m ready to get in there and learn more about how to work with central staff, how to work with the three people in the room and change some of how the whole system works.
In a primary where candidates share similar core platforms, what is the single biggest policy or strategic difference between you and your opponents?
Boomhower: I think because we are broadly aligned on policy issues here, it comes down to experience and who can win this seat in the general race. It’s not enough to just win the primary and it’s not enough to flip this seat on what we’re hoping is a generational blue wave. It’s about who can show up for the people who live here, work here, and are raising their families here, and deliver incredible constituent services on day one. Because I have grown up in this world, volunteering on campaign trails, my mom has worked for a number of elected officials, including in Congress, so I have that resource to draw on having seen it, growing up with that. There’s that contrast that I think gives me a leg up over the other two candidates in this primary race right now because I am both bringing that level of experience but also, I’m young, I look at things differently. I have more of an eye towards the future sometimes, and I think that’s a really unique thing that I bring to the table.
Tweed: Not only am I the middle name on the ballot, I’m also in the middle as far as age goes. What sets me apart though, where I am not in the middle, is my experience on the municipal level. I have eight years, and I’m continuing on working at the local level as an elected official. Mary Finneran has not been elected to a town or village office and Thomas Boomhower is in his first year at the village level. My experience at the local level actually sets me apart for one of the key issues that I didn’t talk about, which is how Albany supports and funds local municipalities, especially for water and sewer as well as for highways. That experience is something that I alone, out of the three of us, would be bringing to Albany. The second piece is my work as a physical therapist. I think that those two things – both my experience as a local official as well as my 20-plus years in healthcare, suit me to be a unique individual in this race. In Albany, I would be unique too, because I’m still a practicing clinician, rather than an administrator as far as the healthcare aspect.
Finneran: One thing is that I got the Working Families Party endorsement, which is an indicator that I’m a little further left. I also continually promote taxing the rich, because that is a way to help the people who can’t afford things, to provide them with money. There’s a lot of good tax bills, I’m not talking about taxing people who are well off, except we need to get a better progressive tax. It’s about taxing those who don’t pay taxes at all. I really haven’t heard the other candidates discuss that, so that’s one place where I’m different. They are similar on climate, to some degree, but I’ve been an advocate for climate forever and I’ve also been a healthcare advocate forever. Both of them consider both of those as issues on their platforms, so it’s probably how I would solve the affordability issue with taxing the rich might be something that makes me different.
The 102nd Assembly District is a primarily rural, mountainous district. How would you make sure rural voices are heard in the state legislature?
Boomhower: That’s the entire reason I’m running, because our voices, all across the 102nd District, and especially those on the mountaintops, do go voiceless far too often. My mom and stepdad live in Windham, so Windham is part of my community inherently and naturally. The other mountain towns, I get up there whenever I can because they’re beautiful and incredible places. One of the things I bring to the table is the ability to spring up a constituent services operation that’s present in all corners of the district. That means mobile office hours in every town in our community, and that means me showing up every month as much as I can in every corner of the district, including mountaintops. I would go out of my way to ensure I am physically present in those areas that we see all the time get skipped over by our representatives.
Tweed: Where I live in Delhi, but also thinking about Cooperstown, all of Schoharie County, we do have these tiny villages. Part of what I mentioned earlier, making sure that municipalities can meet both the needs, but also improve the quality of life for their constituents is a major change or shift that can be brought about through my being elected to Albany. We do have a number of farmers in the area, so if we are not addressing the needs of our farmers, listening to what both the Farm Bureau as well as Cornell Cooperative Extension and individuals are saying, that piece does not get heard. The third piece which I think is really important is that when you talk about the mountain towns, these have a large visitor economy, which means that we have to be able to handle the fluctuation in population that may change day-to-day as well as season-to-season. Allowing for changes to the current paths that allow for short-term rentals, so that we’re not kicking out locals, as well as addressing other concerns for housing, are specific to our communities.
Finneran: I am rural. I was raised in a rural community in Steuben County, which was not dissimilar. I will just continue to push for transportation, for broadband, for the things that we need in this district. People have a hard time. It’s not just a lack of healthcare, it’s trying to get there, so trying to figure out ways to make those things work, and to continue to listen and to talk to the people. I’ve had great conversations with some very, what you would call further right people, and we find that we have common ground. So listening to the people and promoting and promoting what they’re saying and finding ways to protect them is what I would do.
Connor Greco is a staff reporter for The Overlook covering Windham, Hunter and surrounding Greene County communities. Send correspondence to connor@theoverlooknews.com.
