UNION SPRINGS - State Senate candidate Paloma Capanna says she is walking to reinvigorate the American spirit.
“I want to get people excited about democracy again,” said the 40-year-old Democrat and Webster attorney running against longtime Republican incumbent Michael Nozzolio for the 54th Senate district seat in 2008.
For too long, she said, the region has been without “robust races with candidates from both sides debating the issues, serving the people and finding solutions to problems.”
And Capanna is trying to do something about that.
To kickoff her campaign, Capanna decided to spend eight days walking the 162.2 mile span of the district - which includes Wayne, Seneca and part of Cayuga counties - to energize voters and spread the word that she is an instrument of change.
Capanna, longtime friend and field coordinator Jo Dankosh, and Rebecca Elgie and Bernie Fetterly of Tompkins County Health Care Task Force traveled to Frontenac Park in Union Springs on Friday, marking the seventh day of the walking tour at mile marker 137.5.
The tour began in Webster and ends at Myers Park in Lansing Saturday afternoon.
The idea for a walking tour was born from a need to get the people involved in government again, Capanna said.
“The question I had was: What is it going to take to get people involved?” she said.
She realized that she needed to go out and find the people and there was no better way to learn about the district and meet its people than to walk through it.
“The initial reaction has been, what is true for most politicians, that they are not yet connected,” she said. “We're walking 150 miles to get people excited about democracy and talk with them about their daily lives. It's the show stopping that gets people out of their daily lives and to me so that we can start talking about the issues.”
Each stop along the route highlights her campaign platform, she said. A stop at Frontenac Park was important as it reflected her position on maintaining the region's parks and waterways and informing the public on global warming and using green energy.
This isn't Capanna's first campaign for public office. In 2006 she ran against then nine-term incumbent Jim Walsh for the 25th Congressional District for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. She later withdrew her candidacy to avoid forcing a primary against Democrat Dan Maffei.
“In 2004 I went to vote and saw a blank line (on the Democratic ticket) on the federal level while the war in Iraq was waging, the federal deficit was soaring, civil liberties were being trampled by President Bush,” she said. “I could not, in good conscience as an American, allow this to continue further in the country.”
Three years later, Capanna is looking to oust eight-term Nozzolio and, in her eyes, help turn around a stagnant state senate run by long-term incumbents.
Capanna has been asking for campaign contributions during her travels. She's asking people if they have a “Dollar for Democracy.”
“Judging from the contributions,” she said, “I feel this district is totally ready for change.”
Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at alyssa.sunkin@lee.net or 253-5311 ext. 239
For too long, she said, the region has been without “robust races with candidates from both sides debating the issues, serving the people and finding solutions to problems.”
And Capanna is trying to do something about that.
To kickoff her campaign, Capanna decided to spend eight days walking the 162.2 mile span of the district - which includes Wayne, Seneca and part of Cayuga counties - to energize voters and spread the word that she is an instrument of change.
Capanna, longtime friend and field coordinator Jo Dankosh, and Rebecca Elgie and Bernie Fetterly of Tompkins County Health Care Task Force traveled to Frontenac Park in Union Springs on Friday, marking the seventh day of the walking tour at mile marker 137.5.
The tour began in Webster and ends at Myers Park in Lansing Saturday afternoon.
The idea for a walking tour was born from a need to get the people involved in government again, Capanna said.
“The question I had was: What is it going to take to get people involved?” she said.
She realized that she needed to go out and find the people and there was no better way to learn about the district and meet its people than to walk through it.
“The initial reaction has been, what is true for most politicians, that they are not yet connected,” she said. “We're walking 150 miles to get people excited about democracy and talk with them about their daily lives. It's the show stopping that gets people out of their daily lives and to me so that we can start talking about the issues.”
Each stop along the route highlights her campaign platform, she said. A stop at Frontenac Park was important as it reflected her position on maintaining the region's parks and waterways and informing the public on global warming and using green energy.
This isn't Capanna's first campaign for public office. In 2006 she ran against then nine-term incumbent Jim Walsh for the 25th Congressional District for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. She later withdrew her candidacy to avoid forcing a primary against Democrat Dan Maffei.
“In 2004 I went to vote and saw a blank line (on the Democratic ticket) on the federal level while the war in Iraq was waging, the federal deficit was soaring, civil liberties were being trampled by President Bush,” she said. “I could not, in good conscience as an American, allow this to continue further in the country.”
Three years later, Capanna is looking to oust eight-term Nozzolio and, in her eyes, help turn around a stagnant state senate run by long-term incumbents.
Capanna has been asking for campaign contributions during her travels. She's asking people if they have a “Dollar for Democracy.”
“Judging from the contributions,” she said, “I feel this district is totally ready for change.”
Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at alyssa.sunkin@lee.net or 253-5311 ext. 239
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