State Sen. Tom O’Mara, a veteran of more than 20 years in the state legislature, is facing a challenge from a political newcomer this fall.
James Bobreski, of Penn Yan, is running as a Democrat against the Republican incumbent in the 58th Senate District, which comprises Chemung, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga and Yates counties, and the eastern portion of Allegany County.
Bobreski is an inventor and process control engineer and is president of Synchronicity1 LLC, a company that focuses on agricultural automation, robotics, and sustainable independent farm systems.
In announcing his candidacy, Bobreski said O’Mara and other Republican lawmakers have embraced Trump Administration policies he believes are driving up costs while cutting critical federal funding, along with overreaching immigration policies and weakening environmental protections, among other issues.
“Funding for our schools, health care programs, environment issues, invasive ICE forces, and our energy future have all been cut back by this administration and supported by our republican representatives in Congress,” Bobreski said.
“The issues that I will campaign on are education and falling scholastic scores, high cancer rates, toxic ground water, landfill responsibility, and coal ponds,” he added. “Also what needs to be dealt with is the encroachment of the federal government on states rights such as we see with ICE. None of which seem to have been addressed by the office of the 58th New York State Senate current administration.”
While Bobreski’s experience until now has been in the private sector, O’Mara has a long career in public service.
He served a stint as acting Chemung County district attorney and county attorney before he was elected to the state Assembly in 2004, replacing longtime Assemblyman George Winner after Winner won a seat in the state Senate.
After Winner announced he was retiring, O’Mara ran for and won his Senate seat in 2010. He is currently serving out his eighth two-year term and is on the ballot on the Republican and Conservative Party lines for the Nov. 3 election.
O’Mara, a Chemung County native who lives in Big Flats, is ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Investigations and Government Operations Committee.
He is also a member of the Senate Codes, Energy and Telecommunications, Insurance, Judiciary, and Rules committees.
To learn more about Bobreski and his candidacy for the state Senate, go to jimbfornysenate58.com.
More information on O’Mara is available at nysenate.gov/senators/thomas-f-omara, or omaraforsenate.com.
This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Yates County Democrat Bobreski challenging Tom O’Mara for Senate seat
Reporting by Jeff Murray, Elmira Star-Gazette / Elmira Star-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jeff Murray, Elmira Star-Gazette | USA TODAY Network
