Upstate Jobs Party Announces Major New Endorsement in Capital Region

Independent Political Organization Supporting Challenger Dave Catalfamo for State Assembly, Noting Strong Support for UJP Platform

Albany, NY – Upstate Jobs Party (UJP) founder Martin Babinec today announced a major new endorsement by UJP in the Capital Region.  UJP announced their strong support for New York State Assembly Challenger Dave Catalfamo. UJP announced support for Catalfamo as the right choice in the Capital Region to reform our education system, realign economic development policy, boost the innovation economy and lead holistic government reform in the State.  Catalfamo joins a bipartisan slate of candidates in the region including Senator Daphne Jordan and Candidate Rich Amedure, as well as New York State Assembly Member Angelo Santabarbara.

UJP recognized Catalfamo’s long career as an economic development expert who has led the State through other very trying times, such as rebuilding after 9/11.  Catalfamo’s steadfast commitment to supporting private investment and job growth, and history of working across party lines, commitment to reforming our education system through broadband expansion in rural areas and demonstrated dedication to small and startup businesses showed he was the right candidate for UJP.  Catalfamo also has made Upstate Matters a key theme in his campaign, regularly identifying the unique challenges and opportunities in Upstate NY.

Martin Babinec said, “The Upstate Jobs Party looked across the State for the right kind of candidates to support and we’ve found the right slate to support in the Capital Region.  I’ve known Dave for a long time, and there is quite simply no better champion for private sector job growth in Upstate New York.  Whether it was rebuilding after 9/11, bringing thousands of innovation economy jobs to Upstate, supporting the launch of Utica’s Innovation Collective or his ongoing and steadfast focus on Upstate Matters, Dave has proven himself to be the right candidate for UJP. I know we have the right bipartisan team to lead this region forward, and I’m excited to work with them post-election.  Each candidate has embraced UJP’s platform to reverse the outmigration of our talent and is committed to developing policy to enable private investment in our economy and reform State government.”

For 2020, UJP has launched a platform with 4 main areas of focus – reforming a broken economic development system, overhauling our education system to empower teachers and students, supporting the innovation economy, and seeking holistic government reform.  UJP believes this focus will help stem the outflow of our young talent, getting government out of the way of investors and entrepreneurs, and fully reforming New York State government.  That platform can be found at www.UpstateJobs.org/platform.

New York State Assembly Candidate Dave Catalfamo said, “I’m honored to earn the endorsement of the Upstate Jobs Party.  As we recover from this pandemic, our region is uniquely positioned to support the growth of innovation companies, but we simply can’t do that if we increase the tax burden on our entrepreneurs and small businesses. I got in this race because like UJP, I believe upstate matters and I look forward to bringing my years of economic development experience to Albany.”

Founded in 2016, the Upstate Jobs Party built support through the platform put forward by Martin Babinec, a successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur who has helped hundreds of others start and grow companies in Upstate NY. Supporters of his independent Congressional bid came together following the 2016 election with commitments to stay involved in advancing UJP.

In 2017, Upstate Jobs Party supported independent candidate Ben Walsh, who successfully upset the political establishment by winning election as Syracuse Mayor on an Upstate Jobs Party line. In 2018 State Elections, three of the four candidates supported by UJP were elected, with six out of seven elected in local races in 2019.  Today’s announcement is one of several UJP endorsements for State offices statewide.

“As we continue to spread our message, we find more and more candidates and elected officials who believe that fostering an environment where new companies in innovation industries can succeed is the surest path towards creating a stronger economy in Upstate NY,” added John Bullis, UJP Chairman.

Significant resources, from the Independent Expenditure committee – Upstate Jobs Committee – will be committed to support the elections of candidates that believe in real policies to grow the Upstate economy in the 2020 campaign cycle. Volunteers interested in joining the effort to create more jobs in Upstate NY, keep our best and brightest talent from leaving to pursue opportunities elsewhere, and build a strong economy throughout the region are encouraged to visit www.UpstateJobs.org or www.VoteUpstateJobs.org to learn more.

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