NBC5 Debate: New York State Assembly District 115
Candidates Michael Cashman and Brent Davison share their views ahead of Nov. 4th election
Thanks for joining us for this special edition of NBC 5 in depth. We’re joining you from our Plattsburgh studio here two weeks from this Tuesday, there’s gonna be *** special election to fill the state assembly seat for district 115. Here’s how we got there. It is with *** heavy heart. That I inform you that I will be leaving my seat as your assemblyman. In late July, Billy Jones shocked many in northern New York, announcing that he was stepping down after 9 years in the state assembly and in the middle of his 5th term in office. Northern New York’s district encompasses *** large portion of Clinton, Essex, and Franklin counties, including cities and towns like Plattsburgh, Malone, Saranac Lake, and Keene. Jones’ decision opened the door for both parties to find *** candidate for the special election in early August, Plattsburgh town supervisor Michael Cashman was the first to throw his hat in the ring, seeking the Democratic nomination. I welcome anybody into the conversation that gives those that are going to elect their next candidate the opportunity to make *** choice. I feel that I have things to offer, um, and my focus is going to be on. Connecting with the constituents within the three counties, weeks later, Brent Davison announced he would seek the Republican nomination, retiring after nearly three decades with the New York State Police, the last several serving as Troop B commander to make his first run at office. My goal is to be. *** check on Albany and *** voice for the North country as *** whole regardless of party as long as the people want common sense change and reform, I’m their candidate. Whoever wins will enter *** chamber with *** heavy majority of Democrats to serve out the last year of this two-year term in the assembly. We are joined here in studio with Michael Cashman and Brent Davison for this debate. Thanks to both of you for doing this. Um, we’re gonna get your stances on the big issues impacting this district here in *** minute, but first we want to get to the rules. Here are the rules for this debate. I will ask questions of both candidates, giving them *** minute to respond. There could be some rebuttals and even some follow ups at my discretion. In the second half, some direct questions to the candidates again, *** minute to answer again rebuttals at my discretion. *** lightning round asking quick questions and hoping for quicker answers, just *** few words in that lightning round. And then closing statements. Mr. Davison will go first after Mr. Cashman won *** coin flip and he elected to have the last word. So let’s start with one of the biggest issues in Northern New York over the last year. Last winter we saw 15,000 state prison corrections officers walk off the job. Saying it had become too dangerous to do their job, the CEOs put part of the blame on the Halt Act, the solitary confinement law enacted back in 2021. The three week strike was unsanctioned. 2000 CEOs lost their jobs. The staffing level remains low, lower than 70% across the board, across the state. We’ve reported on the exposure of staff to unknown chemicals found on inmates. Some needed Narcan to survive. Uh, we know both of you support repealing the Halt Act. I’m gonna ask both of you, and I’m gonna start with Mr. Davison here I’m gonna give you one minute what is the alternative that you propose that could be passed next session in the assembly, Mr. Davison, one minute for you. Well, obviously I would prefer that they just repeal the Halt Act, but, um, recently the commissioner came out with some steps that kind of mitigate the situation. I think that would have been nice to see that maybe *** year or more ago, um. When it comes to the exposures and things that are going on, the Department of Corrections has *** good idea of how these exposures are occurring. There are steps that could be taken immediately to help mitigate those things. I would ask that those things happen immediately. I think the safety and welfare of the people working in the facilities should come first before anything else, um. You know, certainly people that work in correction facilities should be treated at least as well, if not better, than people who are incarcerated there and um speaking to several of them having Bena CO uh they don’t feel that they’re being. That their welfare is being looked after so um I think we need to start over completely and we need to involve the people the the the stakeholders. I think we need to have, you know, the union for the correction officers, correction officers, civilians, their union, and even some, uh, you know, inmate advocates involved in starting over and actually having ***. That makes things better in the correctional facilities because right now the Hal Act does not do that. It does not make things better for anybody except for the proportion of inmates that are wanting to prey on others. Mr. Cash, what alternative would you have to the Halt Act? Yeah, first, let me thank you for hosting the debate today. I agree with my opponent. Health and safety has to be paramount. The commission recently recommended *** 10 point plan. That’s *** starting point, but we can’t stop there. *** full repeal is something that we both agree on, um, so we have to move forward with the 10 point plan that was adopted by all the unions behind the wall because we have to make sure that the health. And safety of the CEOs and the civilians are protected, and I will continue to be *** *** dogged advocate until *** full repeal, uh, goes through. Let me follow up. Uh, given the staffing shortages, should the state offer jobs back to the 2000 CEOs that were let go last March? I’ll give you *** chance to answer that. Yes, I think that they should. They’re already trained. They’re the experts in the field, um. You know, the National Guard soldiers are are trying to fill in the best they can, but they’re not equivalent to correction officers that have been through the academy and have years of experience. Should the state rehire? Absolutely. And, and I’ve been on record for saying this. What the governor did was vindictive. In fact, as an officer of the New York State Association towns, we made sure to put out *** statement because the governor was trying to blackball the. from being able to take local jobs. They’re the best trained. They know what’s going on. We have 18 year olds that are in the National Guard that are behind the wall. They don’t know what they’re doing. It’s not safe for the CEOs. It’s not safe for them, and it’s not safe for the incarcerated. The IG’s report from 2024 said that docs wasn’t fully implementing the Halt Act correctly at some of its facilities. Is docs to blame for some of the issues that have risen up here? I’ll start with you. 30 seconds the state’s to blame and it needs to be recalibrated and we need to get back to common sense solutions that get at the health and safety of protecting everybody behind the wall. I docs to blame for some of this? I agree. Um, they made it clear the warning signs were given. They kept telling them that there was going to be *** strike and their their cries for help were ignored and what happened was the strike. Alright, so we agree at this point through the prisons. Let’s get to, um, let’s get to housing. Uh, the state has *** housing crisis. It’s been estimated that 800,000 new homes are needed in the next decade. Last year’s assessment in Clinton County called for 1100 new units by 2029 to keep up with the demand. What’s the best way to increase the supply and diversity of the housing stock, Mr. Cashman, I’ll give you one minute. Sure, so the town of Plattsburgh is the only community in Clinton County that saw growth on the last census, OK, modest growth but growth. The town of Plattsburgh led *** six county. 120 person North Country housing symposium because we know we need *** mixed economy. You need market rate. You need affordable housing. You need workplace housing. What we need to do is reduce the cost for construction builders. We also need good infrastructure that will encourage people to build in communities public water, sewer, good roads, broadband. It’s all. Connected, so we have to cut costs. We have to have good infrastructure, but we also have to cut the red tape that New York State has as well, Mr. Davison, it’s tough to cut those costs right now. Uh, how do you increase the stock of of housing here in in Northern New York? I, I agree the biggest problem is affordability right now it’s almost unaffordable to to live here in New York state. We have some of the highest taxes in the country. The new energy. Mandates are gonna make the cost of housings go up approximately 30% for new houses. Um, we’ve got to find ways to incentivize for new new home or excuse me, new home buyers, um, find ways to help people, you know, the middle class seem to be get left out *** lot when it comes to buying new homes. We have housing for lower income and. You know, we want to bring jobs and business into the area. We’ve gotta have workers to fill those positions, and they have to have housing that they can afford. So we’ve got to find ways to reduce those costs and unfortunately the energy mandates and the high taxes are not, they’re not doing anything to bring the cost down. That’s why the town of Pottsburg adopted the CAMS law, uh, as *** housing acceleration program, and I think that program could be used statewide in many respects, uh, cutting costs and, and moving housing forward. You know, once again I think we just need to tone back the spending that’s going on in the state we’re spending money that we don’t have on things that we don’t need. We need to put our spending in areas like housing for people. Uh, rather than spending on stuff that we don’t need, and we’re, we’re probably gonna have to spend on, uh, medical benefits as we sit here. The federal government is in *** shutdown because of *** standoff over health care. The one big beautiful Bill Act will cut nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid programs over the next decade. Uh, the Congressional Budget Office says this, and close to 12 million people are gonna end up losing their coverage in its place, the rural health transformation, it’s the RHT program funding. Is $50 billion to be allocated to approved states over *** five year fiscal year of *** period of 2026 to 2030. You both talk about expanding and protecting health care for your constituents. How do you do that with *** new funding mechanism providing less money and needing approval from the federal government? Mr. Davison, we’ll start with you. Well, one of the things is our medical, uh, medical coverage issues did not start with the HR one. It’s been going on here for quite some time. My wife has worked, uh, for CBPH for over 30 years. She’s *** nurse. She’s also been *** manager and she’s also been in the union. The problems in the North Country started when we outsourced our medical care to UVM and we have people in Vermont making decisions for our upstate New York hospitals our specific um. You know, critical care stuff now you have to travel *** lot of times for 1.5 to 2 hours to Burlington to get the care that you used to be able to receive in Plattsburgh. An example would be open heart. We used to do about 500 open heart surgeries per year in Plattsburgh. That’s been taken away now. The problem is, sometimes there’s an emergency situation and you don’t have an hour and *** half or 2 hours. It could be the difference between life and death. I think we need to start, we need to bring the control back under people in New York state. We need to incentivize the doctors and nurses to live and work here. During COVID, *** lot of our nurses were fired over the state COVID mandates that they received the COVID vaccine. *** lot of those nurses haven’t come back, and now we’re paying traveling doctors and nurses sometimes 2 and 3 times what they would normally be making, and this is adding to our healthcare problems. Let me give you *** minute, Mr. Cashman. Yeah, what would you do there? rural healthcare has always been. rural America doesn’t get its fair share already, and we need to protect it by bringing people to the table. I’m really proud to have received the endorsement of 1199 SEIU as well as our nurses. I’ve I’ve walked the line with them when they have not received the critical um money to support their positions, you know, understaffing, but what we need to do is to recognize that rural. America needs *** network. We need to punch above our weight. We need to bring people to the table. We need to create new consortiums and opportunities that will provide that network of support, and we also have to prioritize rural health care as one of the top things that the state works on. So it seems like the both of you are calling for the New York hospitals here in northern New York to be on *** different umbrella. Not not managed by UVM Health Network. I’m, I’m not, I’m not saying that. What I’m saying is we need to get people back at the table. We need to reevaluate the needs are, OK, because it’s not just UVM, it’s the broader impact of health care all throughout New York State and actually all the country. You started with what the issues are from the federal government are going to have on the state, so what we need to. Do is we need to recognize that it is going to trickle through the entire system and we need to open the aperture of the conversation so that we can we can address it more local control, yes, uh, speaking to, you know, multiple nurses, even physicians in the area, they’re telling me that the problem with our health care is that it’s being ruled by people in Burlington. OK. Energy costs huge issue get emails all the time from. Viewers about this New York State Electric and Gas NIEG filed paperwork with the state back in June looking to increase delivery rates by 35% for electricity customers, nearly 40% for natural gas customers. Now if approved, monthly bills are estimated to increase by $33 for your typical residential customers. NISAG provides services for more than 40% of upstate New York. People want action. They don’t wanna pay more um if you’re elected what what uh what will you do to prevent these rate hikes and what alternative energy source for the future do you support? To make it more affordable for Northern New Yorkers, Mr. Cashman, let’s start with you one minute on that. Sure, first and foremost, the grid can’t, uh, sustain *** lot of the practices that New York State wants to put out. That’s very problematic, uh, and they’re putting all of the new increases on, you know, the customer’s backs. What we need to do is to create guardrails to the Public Service Commission to make sure that they. Are caps not just on the electric rates themselves, but what they’re charging for all of these fees. If you look at the bill, it’s not just the electric rates that are hitting our seniors and working class families, it’s all of the add-on fees we have to put caps on it and we have to hold NISAC and the other power authorities accountable to make sure that they are reinvesting their own profits back into the grid. Mr. Davison, what would you do to prevent these rate hikes? Well, once again, New York State passed laws without taking into consideration the difference of the North country from the more urban areas, um, as, as Mr. Cashin said, we don’t have the grid to support this. The mandates that they’re putting on the state are not practical. They’re not feasible, they’re not even attainable. We’re going to have it where, uh, we’re gonna have people freezing to death up here in the winter times, um. You know, cost of housing is already out of control, and now we’re gonna add another 30% onto the cost. We’ve got to look at, uh, and, uh, they bring up the renewable energy that we have already started in our area, i.e., the windmills, the solar panels that energy is all getting shipped out of the area going to city areas. Why aren’t we using that energy here? Um, *** lot of these big mega farms now are producing energy with the methane. Once again, the stuff’s being shipped out of the area. Why aren’t we making use of our own energy that we’re creating? Um, I think nuclear is something that we have to look at again. It’s efficient. It’s clean. We can’t leave our people to freeze to death in the winter. They want the buses to become electric. Those buses will not make the rural routes of the north country on *** battery. You agree with that, right? I, I do agree with that, and it’s been well stated. I mean, part of the reason that we’re not capturing the, the energy from the windmills and the solar farms is because the grid here isn’t built and designed that way. So you know what I want to do is make sure that there are carve outs in bills down in Albany having *** strong voice of somebody that’s in the room versus somebody knocking at the door can continue to work with the majority to get some of that done. And while not all of it has been successful, it’s *** lot more easier to have somebody voicing the concerns of the North country with somebody in the room versus somebody knocking at the door. Quickly though, I have not been in *** position to advocate for this stuff. Mr. Cashman. I, I wonder, have you reached out, had you reached out to Billy Jones or Governor Hokel in opposition of these electoral mandates? Absolutely, absolutely. Go to Sun Community News. Uh, we passed *** resolution as *** town board, and when was that? I was earlier this year and we’ve continuously pushed back on things. OK, yeah, right. On that note, we’ve tackled *** good amount here. Let’s take *** quick break before we uh start some direct questions for the two candidates for New York State Assembly District 115 here on NBC 5. We continue here with the two candidates for New York’s open state assembly seat for the 115th district, Michael Cashman and Brent Davison. I’m gonna ask *** few direct questions to each of you. There could be some time for rebuttal. Uh, you both have campaign commercials out, of course, running on our air. Mr. Davison, you have an ad that caught my eye immediately. Uh, it’s got *** comic strip theme calling Mr. Cashman *** yes man for Governor Hokle, saying he’ll just vote along party lines. Let’s take *** look at this. You got it Buck? Yes, ma’am. Let’s say no to Cathy Hochle and her yes man, Michael Cashman. My question to you, Mr. Davison uh what in Mr. Cashman’s time as town Plattsburgh supervisor has shown him to be *** yes man I’ll give you *** minute for that. Well, he’s running under the Woror Family Party, which is *** party of um closing prisons, defunding the police, welcoming socialism. These uh green mandates that we were just discussing, um, the, the party platforms that I run run under I embrace, uh, what they represent in the last debate Mr. Cashman said that that was not true for the working family party, um. I’m not aware of him going against the governor who he has endorsed in the past on these things. It it wasn’t until just recently that I’ve heard that he wanted to repeal the bail reform, the Halt Act, um. You know, uh, his predecessor was voted almost 95% of the time with the uh the one party rule in Albany. I don’t think he’s demonstrated anything that I, I would be open for examples where he’s reached out to go against the things that have been hurting. The upstate New York people, I’ll give you 30 seconds to respond to that. We have you changed your stances? No, I haven’t, I haven’t changed my stances and in fact for those folks at home can Google it, uh, Sun Community News is just one example of, uh, you know, my position on corrections. Uh, we’ve pushed back on the electric rates, uh, it’s well documented, um. And as far as what I stand for, I stand for the working class family. That’s why numerous unions have endorsed me because they are being attacked right now. Our working families, our seniors, um, affordability, safety and protecting our future is what my campaign represents. So you don’t represent those other parts of the working family platform? No, I don’t. You don’t at all, but you took their endorsement and are running under their platform. There are many things that um parties represent that you can have differences of and in the broad spectrum not every Republican is like every other Republican and not every Democrat is like every other Democrat. Would you agree or disagree? Would you agree that family platform’s pretty radical, pretty, pretty, and as I’ve told those individuals, that’s not the part that I agree with. I, I just wouldn’t have ran into that platform. That’s the difference. OK. When Billy Jones announced he was stepping down, the first person to declare their candidacy was you, Mr. Cashman, when you made your announcement and intention to run for state assembly, you held the event in the town of Plattsburgh offices, caught the eye of some folks, including myself, the Clinton County Republican. Committee member Jeff Luck uh filed *** well backed an ethics complaint I should say with the state two weeks after your event saying you used your current office and taxpayer funded items to hold *** political rally. Mr. Cashman, you called it *** distraction at the time. Do you stand by that? Was it wrong if only for the optics? And what’s the status on that ethics complaint certainly, uh, thank you for the question. It’s certainly, um, nothing new has come of it. And I stand by the fact that Democrats and Republicans alike from the town of Plattsburgh as well as the county Democrats and Republicans have held events there. In fact, Donnie Kasper Zack ran for mayor last year from City Hall in *** very similar type of situation. Uh, given the distraction that it, uh, it became, I certainly would not have done it, and I certainly won’t do it again. The seal over you while you’re making your announcement, the optics just, yeah, and I, and I apologize for that, um, but you know it is what it is, uh, it was *** public event as *** press conference. It wasn’t *** rally, and we didn’t use town resources to do it, OK. I’ll give you, I’ll give you 30 seconds on that yeah, I, I, I had to retire from my career to build *** run, um, and I, I can’t imagine how I could do any kind of *** job while running this campaign. I, I’m busy from morning until I go to bed at night. So, obviously, uh, it’s got to be very difficult for him to be able to do both of these things and uh I wasn’t aware of all the rules that that uh you were allowed to do and not do but I’m new to politics, so, um, it was brought up to me and I and I thought uh if it if you’re not allowed to do it then you shouldn’t do it. OK, let’s talk about our neighbors uh the numbers don’t lie less Canadians are coming across the border right now to visit and spend money and time here in Northern New York. Here are some uh comparisons of vehicle numbers from Customs and Border Protection at the Champlain port of entry from 2024 versus 2025. You could see the numbers and the differences that they’re staggering. We’re talking about *** difference of 600,000 people from one year to the next. Um, let me ask each of you, Mr. Davison, I’ll start with you, and then Mr. Cashman, I’ll give you one minute. Uh, what do you blame this on the current exchange rate, uh, which is 71 cents, Canadian cents to the US dollar, the Trump tariffs right now, or the president’s public comments on Canada, calling it the 51st state, and how do you repair the relationships with the Canadians, Mr. Davison, I’ll give you one minute. Yeah, I would think it probably has mostly to do with the the tariff policy. I, I think the administration. Um, found that, uh, the tariffs were not reciprocal, that we were being tariffed high amounts, and, uh, you know, our neighbors to the north were not, uh, having tariffs put on their goods coming south so obviously that’s *** federal thing, but you know I realized the cooperation and the partnership that we have with our neighbors to the north. I grew up two miles from Canada. Um, it’s why I’m *** Montreal Canadiens fan, but I, I think we have to, we have to find ways to work with them and keep our relationship strong. I can tell you that I just retired. The relationships with law enforcement across the border are still just as strong as they were. Um, you know, when it comes to business, we have to work on repairing that and hopefully the tariffs resolve themselves soon and we can get back to normal trade business. Mr. Cashman, what would you blame the, the change in numbers on it’s certainly the tariffs and we’re seeing, uh, that at our golf courses, our hotels, our local restaurants, um, I hear it every single day. In fact, that’s why I went to Cornwall to build *** relationship because while Plattsburgh is seen as Montreal’s US suburbs, the relationship is much bigger than one region. Canada and the US need to maintain *** strong relationship. Um, we continue to work with the Chamber of Commerce. In fact, in their economic survey they identified 97% of businesses were concerned about the tariff. When does 97% of anyone agree? Um, so it certainly is having an impact here in the region. Politics is very divided these days. Uh, you can read my emails, opposing parties sending press releases by the hour, uh, lawmakers trashing each other across the aisle at some point. Depending on who gets elected, either one of you, you’re gonna have to reach across the aisle. Can you tell me an issue today where you agree with the other side that could pass legislation and make *** positive impactful change for people who live here in Northern New York? Mr. Cashman, I’ll start with you one minute on that. Sure, I’ll give you two actually. Uh, first is I issued *** press release, um, agreeing with Assemblyman Matt. nicer and not holding public forums for the 15 year energy plan. They want to do it through basically Skype and Zoom and stuff like that. I think that’s *** disservice to our region. I would work with Senator Dan Sneck to find ways to reuse Camp Gabriel’s, um, so I’m ready to partner with individuals across the aisle. I’ve done it all of my career, whether it’s the. Uh, Republican Clinton County legislative body, whether it’s with my colleagues in the New York State Association of Towns as *** as an officer, Republicans and Democrats rolling up their sleeves to represent the 933 towns in New York state to get common sense things done, whether it be infrastructure or other or other items, Mr. Davison, an issue today where you could agree with. Democrats and get something passed next session. What would that be? Yeah, I’d like to resolve this tariff issue so we can get back to normal trade policy. Uh, my opponent just mentioned reusing state facilities such as prisons for other things rather than just letting them sit vacant, um. I’ve, I’ve visited some of these facilities when uh the Lewis station was closed down we looked at camp, uh, the Mariah shot camp to see it was feasible. It was just way too big for us to use however, it’s just sitting there, you know, decomposing that doesn’t make sense to me. um, in my entire career I’ve worked with, you know, district attorneys, judges, sheriffs, police chiefs of all different parties, and I was able to get the mission accomplished in *** in *** high level of, uh, satisfaction. I can work across the aisle, I can negotiate with people, um, you know, and I can work with the people that are closest to me. Uh, we, we talk about endorsements and I, I think it’s odd that my, my opponent has not had any endorsements of the previous mayors from the city of Plattsburgh, most of them who are Democrats, so, uh, on the contrary, he and former mayor, um, Rosenquist were brought in by PBS and, and they were, there was *** mediation that went on to try to get them to get along *** little bit better so you can find that on YouTube. So I think I can work across the aisle just as well as my opponent can. Let’s, uh, let’s get to the lightning round. Quick questions, uh, quicker answers. I’ll keep it short, have *** little fun here too. Um, what are you picking up at Stewart’s, Mr. Cashman? Mr. Davis ice cream. OK, uh, who makes your favorite Michigan, Mr. Davison. Um, oh, I’ll say McSweeney’s Claire Girls, well documented, uh, the best quality of northern New York that, uh, no one seems to talk about maybe outside of the region, Mr. Cash like Sin plain. Lake Champlain, yeah, I think we have more opportunities to to talk about the resources of Lake Champlain. Yeah, there’s our Adirondack resources, the mountains, the lake, OK, um, there’s talk and *** plan of an ICE holding detention facility in the town of Plattsburgh, uh, Plattsburgh, uh, you’re for it against it. I’m for law and order, so if it helps get that done, I’m for it, OK. ICE has always been here. We’re *** border community. People should expect that, and I don’t anticipate that we, we wouldn’t have something like that, so I’m for it. OK, uh, New York’s governor in January of 2027 will be. I’m not pointing at you as you’re as you’re gonna be governor, but who do you think is gonna be governor in January 2027, *** Republican, Republican, uh, we’ll see, we’ll see. I, I, I mean, I’m focused on our race, right? It’ll be interesting to see who runs. All right, last question, uh, in the lightning round here. Uh, if you lose in November, will you run again for this office next year? If you win, will you run again, Mr. Davison? Uh, I plan on winning and yes, I’ll run again, Mr. Cashman. When I win, uh, we will run again. All right, time now to get each candidate to give their closing statement here. Each of you will get one minute. We decide the order on *** coin flip, uh, that means that Mr. Cashman, uh, he won the coin flip. He chose the last word, Mr. Davison, uh, you have one minute to deliver your closing statement. Go ahead. Yes, I’m Brent Davison. I’m *** lifelong resident of the North Country. Um, other than my 4 years active duty, I’ve lived here. I’ve gone through the good times and the bad times. Um, I’ve suffered with the people in North Country. We went through the ice storm together, the manhunt, COVID, uh, the people in the North country stick up for each other. They care about each other. They take care of each other and coming out of being here for all those things I’ve gotten stronger with the people. Um, I’m not *** career politician. I’m *** family man. I’m *** servant. I’ve been serving the North country in my community in the country since I’ve been 17 years old. I’m not in this for climbing the political ladder. I’m in it to bring *** strong voice to Albany on, you know, public safety, affordability, and to push back on some of the laws that come to the North country that just don’t make sense. I want to bring common sense down there. And I want to be *** check on the one party rule that has put us in the situation that we find ourselves in right now. My positions don’t change because there’s an election coming. I’m not *** political weather vane. I’m sta uh I’m guided by my faith and my beliefs, and I think I’m the best person to represent the 115th district. Thank you, Cashman. You have one minute. Thank you. My name is Michael Cashman, and I’m running for the 115th Assembly District. I come from *** working class family. My mother was *** secretary. My stepfather was *** sheet metal fabricator, and my maternal grandparents lived downstairs. My grandfather was *** custodian. My grandmother was *** waitress for many years, and I came here 26 years ago to go to SUNY Plattsburgh as *** first time, first generation college student. And my grandfather used to have *** statement that he said where you choose to live is *** statement within itself. The North Country is *** welcoming place. It is *** place of transplants, whether you came here from the Plattsburgh Air Force Base, whether you came here to go to college, whether you came here because you married someone and you found yourself back here in the north country. I believe that the working class families of the North country deserve the strongest voice that they can have down in Albany. I’m prepared to work with Republicans and Democrats alike. That’s why I earned the endorsement of Assemblyman Billy Jones and Assemblyman Janet Dure, both who held this position and understands what it takes to get things done and to deliver for the North country. That’s exactly what I will do. I’d be humbled to receive your vote. Thank you. We want to thank the two candidates for New York’s one. 15th assembly district seat for joining us here on NBC 5 in depth. Thank you for running for office on this uh tight timeline here. Remember folks, uh, Tuesday, November 4th is election day. Whoever wins this race will serve as your voice in Albany and this region for the next legislative session. Again, thanks to all the two candidates for joining us this morning. Thanks for you for joining us here on NBC 5. Have *** great rest of your week. Thank you. No problem.
NBC5 Debate: New York State Assembly District 115
Candidates Michael Cashman and Brent Davison share their views ahead of Nov. 4th election
Updated: 11:07 AM EDT Oct 26, 2025
On November 4th, voters in Northern New York will decide who will fill the open vacancy for District 115’s State Assembly seat. Billy Jones stepped down in September after nine years in office and with a year left in his 5th term representing the district that includes Clinton and Franklin counties.Plattsburgh Town Supervisor Michael Cashman is the Democratic Party’s candidate on the ballot. Former New York State Police Troop Commander Brent Davison is the Republican Party’s candidate for the office. This week, they joined NBC 5’s Brian Colleran for a half-hour debate of the issues that they will have to tackle if they are elected to the office: the state prisons, housing, energy costs, health care and plenty more.
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. —
On November 4th, voters in Northern New York will decide who will fill the open vacancy for District 115’s State Assembly seat. Billy Jones stepped down in September after nine years in office and with a year left in his 5th term representing the district that includes Clinton and Franklin counties.
Plattsburgh Town Supervisor Michael Cashman is the Democratic Party’s candidate on the ballot. Former New York State Police Troop Commander Brent Davison is the Republican Party’s candidate for the office.
This week, they joined NBC 5’s Brian Colleran for a half-hour debate of the issues that they will have to tackle if they are elected to the office: the state prisons, housing, energy costs, health care and plenty more.