Webb staves off challenge from Lansing Legislator Sigler

New York State Senator Lea Webb says she will be looking to bring affordability and continue to fight for better access to health care for residents to the town and village of Lansing when she returns to Albany next year for a second term in the New York State Senate. 

Webb was elected for a second bid in the state Senate’s 52nd District Tuesday, staving off a challenge from Republican Mike Sigler. Webb garnered about 57% of the vote to Sigler’s 43%, according to unofficial results compiled by the New York Times. 

The district covers parts of the counties of Broome, Cortland and Tompkins, including the town and village of Lansing.  

Webb, a former member of the Binghamton City Council, was first elected to the state Senate in 2022 after defeating former Binghamton Mayor Rich David. Both were vying for a seat vacated by four-term Republican state Senator Fred Akshar. 

Webb’s first campaign was marked by promises of delivering new affordable housing solutions to her district, as well as ensuring protection of women’s reproductive rights. Both of those issues not only remain front and center in the senator’s plans during her second term, but they have become even more pressing, both in her district and in New York.

“I am continuing the work that motivated me to run for the seat in the first place,” Webb told Tompkins Weekly in a Wednesday interview. “That is continuing to center the needs of our working families and small businesses. That is focusing on issues around affordability, on challenges related to creating more quality affordable housing and most certainly addressing the need for increasing access to good-paying jobs so that families can thrive and not just survive.”

Affordability, Webb said, entails continuing to fight for lower utility bills and higher wages.

Access to health services, including reproductive health choices and mental health support in schools, are also priorities of Webb’s second campaign. During her first term, the longtime Binghamton resident served as the chair of the Senate Women’s Issues Committee. She was also a member of the committees on Agriculture, Health, Higher Education, Procurement & Contracts, Mental Health and Cities.

Election results from Tuesday also brought significant gains for women and LGBTQ+ community members supported by Webb. Voters resoundingly approved Proposition 1, a constitutional amendment that reinforces anti-discrimination protections in the state constitution, with 62% of the vote, according to unofficial results reported by the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

The amendment establishes constitutional protections against discrimination based on ethnicity, national origin, age, disability and sex — including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes and reproductive health care and autonomy. The amendment also protects abortion rights and access to reproductive health care, including birth control and in vitro fertilization by preventing future state laws from banning abortion and/or punishing or prosecuting pregnancy outcomes such as miscarriages. 

When a right is established in the Constitution, it is protected from future legislation that might put it at risk, according to the New York City Bar Association. 

“I was elected in a post-Roe v. Wade world, where we still continue to see challenges, which have actually grown significantly, as it pertains to access to quality reproductive care. The passage of Proposition 1 highlights that this concern, and the need to protect this form of health care is a sentiment shared by many New Yorkers,” Webb said. “We will continue to work on legislative solutions to make childbirth safer, to protect our bodily autonomy and to ensure protections for the health care providers who provide this essential health care.”

Despite some gains in Congressional elections — like Democrat Josh Riley’s victory over Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro in New York’s 19th Congressional District, which includes Lansing —  Democrats at all levels of representation are concerned about the future under President-elect Donald Trump. Webb is no different.

“We have seen what happens when we don’t acknowledge the challenges that we have, when we focus on things that ultimately divide us,” Webb said. “We have to acknowledge the very real systemic barriers that perpetuate these challenges. For me, it is important for our community to know that. We all have to answer this call to step up and really anchor ourselves in our shared humanity. We need dignity and respect.  We have to lean on and uplift each other during this time and every time.”

Lansing at Large appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com. Contact Eddie Velazquez at edvel37@gmail.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter): @ezvelazquez.

In brief:

Artist Lee O’Connell will debut her watercolor art exhibition, “A Moment In Time,” at the Lansing Community Library on Dec. 14. This event will feature a conversation with O’Connell at 11 a.m.  

“This talented watercolor artist from Corning, NY, draws inspiration from the small details around her — whether it’s a person, flower, or shaft of light,” reads a post on the library’s website.