{"id":29303,"date":"2019-03-22T07:56:07","date_gmt":"2019-03-22T11:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/?p=29303"},"modified":"2019-03-22T14:23:55","modified_gmt":"2019-03-22T18:23:55","slug":"despite-age-democratic-senate-candidate-feels-hes-the-right-choice-to-represent-the-57th-district-in-albany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/despite-age-democratic-senate-candidate-feels-hes-the-right-choice-to-represent-the-57th-district-in-albany\/","title":{"rendered":"Despite Age, Democratic Senate Candidate Feels He’s the Right Choice to Represent the 57th District in Albany"},"content":{"rendered":"
Austin Morgan<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n FREEDOM, NY – The Democratic candidate running for Cathy Young’s<\/strong> (R-Olean) recently-vacated State Senate seat<\/a> says that despite his age, he’s still just as capable and qualified to represent voters in the 57th district when compared to the other two individuals running for the seat.<\/p>\n Democratic candidate Austin Morgan<\/strong>, 22, is a lifelong resident of Freedom, NY in Cattaraugus County. The son of a teacher’s aide and a maintenance mechanic, Morgan was the valedictorian of Pioneer High School\u2019s Class of 2015, and he is a first-generation college student about to graduate from Cornell University<\/strong> where he is studying child development and environmental influences on that development. He’s worked as a teacher aide with special needs students, substitute teacher, State Senate Legislative Analyst, and as the co-President of a student-run event production business on the Cornell Campus.<\/p>\n Morgan has already been endorsed by all four county Democratic Committees<\/a> in the 57th district, including Chautauqua County.<\/p>\n Morgan was a guest on this week’s Community Matters<\/strong><\/a> program and talked about his candidacy and why he’s decided to run for State Senate.<\/p>\n “I think it’s time for some energy and I think it’s time for some excitement in our local politics. When was the last time we looked at government and didn’t have an exhaustive sigh?” Morgan asked. “So I put my name in because I really feel a sense of duty to the towns, the streets, and the people who raised me.”<\/p>\n Morgan appears to be the lone Democratic candidate in a special election for a Senate district that historically has favored Republicans (the party has held the seat going back to the days of the late Jess Present<\/strong>, who was first elected to the State Senate in 1968).\u00a0 On the Republican side both Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello<\/strong> (Irving) and Allegany County Legislature<\/strong> Chairman Curtis Crandall<\/strong> (Belfast) are vying for the party’s nomination, with Borrello already receiving the endorsement<\/a> of all four county Republican Committees.<\/p>\n Even though both Borrello and Crandall have been elected to public office and currently serve in leadership positions at the local level, Morgan said that doesn’t necessarily translate to them having more knowledge about what it takes to operate within the State Legislature.<\/p>\n\n