Political Candidates Speak Out:
Backgrounds, Goals Explained
Meet a Candidate for Assembly, 101st District, for Election Day, November 8, 2022
Publisher’s Note: We sent out an e-mail asking the candidates for the major political races next week to share information about themselves, so our readers can get to know them a little better. Every candidate had the opportunity to return their answers. We asked them:
A. Please tell us about yourself.
B. If you were elected to office, what are your top priorities and why?
We have run these answers over the last few weeks, in hopes this will help in your decision-making process on Tuesday, November 8. Please get out and vote!
MATTHEW MACKEY—DEM, WFP
Running for Member of Assembly, 101st District
A. My name is Matthew Mackey and I am a social worker and advocate dedicated to changing policy that will benefit communities. As a social worker, I have been specially trained in recognizing issues within policy and identifying solutions through collaboration with communities and organizations. I grew up on a small apple farm in Milton, NY and in Bloomingburg, NY with two deaf parents. As a young child, I often served as an interpreter for my parents and advocated for them to receive services granted to most parents.
I started working as a teenager to support myself and help my family, eventually working my way up to becoming an advocate for families with children who have special needs. In that role, I helped save families millions by fighting insurance companies to provide benefits to children. I then decided to pursue my master’s degree in social work from Adelphi University and worked with organizations like the National Association of Social Workers-NYS Chapter, by helping shape policy agendas and advocated directly with New York legislators with the powerful stories of the people I work with and how to create better policy that works for everyone. Never being afraid to stand up for what is right, even from within my own party, in 2011, I helped stop the deportation of a bi-national, same-sex married couple, who had been living in the U.S. legally for over 25 years and built a business together by petitioning the Obama Administration with over 20,000 signatures in six days.
B. Having worked directly with legislators and understanding how Albany works, I will be prepared from day one to get resources our communities need to thrive. Some of my priorities will be investing in rural healthcare, infrastructure development (broadband and cell service), protecting our environment and farms, and revitalizing our communities. All of these issues are related to public safety, the habitability, and the affordability of living in a district where resources are sparse. Everyone in our communities deserves a healthy and happy environment in which to live and grow, for now and for generations to come. Together, Change is Possible!