A Syracuse University professor, who hopes to challenge Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., in congressional elections next year, plans to center her campaign around health care and criminal justice reform.

Dana Balter, a visiting assistant teaching professor in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, kicked off her 2018 campaign last week in hopes of securing the Democratic nomination in New York state’s 24th Congressional District race.

Balter, who studied theater and communications sciences and disorders at Northwestern University, plans to focus her campaign on health care reform, among other topics. Balter supports a “Medicare for all” plan.

“We have a Medicare system that works very well and is incredibly efficient,” Balter said. “The people who benefit from it really like it, and so the simplest thing to do would be to open that program up so that anybody could access it.”

Criminal justice reform is also a centerpiece of Balter’s congressional bid. Balter wants to bring more local attention to how poverty is treated “like crime” in the U.S., she said.

“We see situations where a single mom might be in jail for a few days because she can’t pay a parking ticket, and that’s just not appropriate,” Balter said.

Rules on fines, fees and money bail need to be changed to make sure people “caught in the criminal justice system are there for legitimate reasons,” she added.

Balter also said she is upset with President Donald Trump administration’s efforts to privatize public education. She wants to emphasizes the importance of equal access to education during her campaign.

Eric van der Vort, a Maxwell doctoral candidate and Balter supporter, said he is confident of her education policy knowledge.

“Dana is a fresher voice — she’s smart, she’s got the policy expertise and ambition that is necessary for Congress,” van der Vort said.

If Balter receives the Democratic Party nomination, she will face off against Katko, the Republican incumbent. The congressman voted against the Republican Affordable Care Act repeal bill earlier this year.

But Thomas Keck, a Balter supporter and professor of political science in the Maxwell School, said he does not view Katko as the moderate he builds himself up to be.

“Representative Katko still votes with the Trump administration more than 90 percent of the time,” Keck said, “which proves that he is unwilling to criticize Trump’s policies even when those policies are quite extreme.”

Balter said she hopes to spend the next few months traveling across the district, talking to as many people as possible to gain support.

If elected, Balter said working across the aisle would be important.

“If we put aside the labels and desire to be right, we can realize that we aren’t so different,” she said. “We all want our families to be safe, healthy and prosperous. If we start from that point of agreement, we can have a real honest and healthy dialogue about how to get there.”

Published on September 25, 2017 at 11:35 pm

Contact Sloane: skgallag@syr.edu