“I love our rural communities” is pretty much the first thing Michele Frazier says as she takes a seat in the Shawangunk Journal office to talk about her campaign to unseat Peter Oberacker in the New York 51st State Senate district.

Rural is a fitting description of the 51st. The district is sometimes called the “armpit” of New York, as it folds around the bend along the Delaware River. The district is bounded by the eastern edge of Binghamton and the southern ‘burbs of Utica, Schoharie, Margaretville, Gardiner, Wallkill and Bloomingburg. It includes Ellenville, Wurtsboro, Stone Ridge, Kerhonkson and Rochester. It sprawls out into 9 counties, an area the size of the state of Connecticut. And, because the boundaries have shifted recently, many residents don’t even know they’re in it.

Frazier is from the district, she says. Her parents had a “zucchini business” in Delaware County that evolved into a giant geranium propagation business. She served as a city council member in Oneonta from 2017 to 2019, but left it when she moved to Delhi.

“Lots of farmers,” she said of Delhi. “We have a very healthy community. I think it’s a model for rural New York.”

That’s a distinction she feels separates her from her opponent. “We need a rural person at that table.” Frazier is emphatic about this. She repeats, often, that rural New York needs more and better representation in Albany.

“I don’t buy into the ‘two states’ idea – that it’s New York City and New York State. After all, we have their water here. Both sides need the other. New York has everything going for it. We have land and farmers, we grow good food, crops that are essential to our survival. So, we have to work with our entire state for the benefit of everyone.”

Part of that is taxes. “The billionaires in New York City and elsewhere need to pay their fair share. The thing is when we fill the state’s coffers everyone benefits, even them.”

One of her big goals if she’s elected is a housing initiative. “We have a crisis. Everyone knows this. I would hope we could review and revise New York State zoning laws. And maybe a Housing Czar is what is needed.”

Health care is also on her list. She’s concerned about the effects of what she calls “health care deserts” in the district. “People put off visits to doctors, especially if they have to travel a long way to see one. That means more emergency care when they get sick. This is costing us in several ways.”

Frazier is endorsed by Planned Parenthood, but was relatively brief when we asked her thoughts about abortion access. “I almost died giving birth to my second son,” she said. “Abortion is often a life-or-death choice and it is a medical decision and should be left there. It isn’t a question for politicians.”

Frazier works in education, teaching criminal justice at SUNY Delhi (one of 7 colleges in her district). “I do well with the youngsters,” she says cheerfully. “I’ve been teaching 19-year-olds for twelve years.” She nods to that experience for some of her policy ideas. “I also teach a course on trauma. Childhood trauma costs the nation about $74 billion a year. Some of that is from the opioid crisis. When we cut down childhood traumas, we also cut down on the urge to abuse opiates, alcohol and all the rest.”

Cannabis is a lingering concern in the district, and she places the blame on regulatory pressures. “The price tag for entry on the retail side is way too high for those who want to get in. They’re strangling the market they want to grow and tax.

“Often, we don’t take account of the barriers, social and economic that prevent things. They didn’t take account of those with this cannabis rollout.”

Turning to her opponent, Peter Oberacker, Frazier is frank. “He is not doing the work,” she charges. “He doesn’t show up. He’s only heard from at election time. I notice he voted for his own pay increase, but voted against the social services budget as regards women.”

In September, Frazier charged that Oberacker backed out of a scheduled debate with her, but Oberacker’s Deputy Communications Director Dan Koerner told River Reporter “there was nothing ever on the senator’s calendar.” Vince Casale of the Oberacker campaign reiterated that, telling the Journal "There was no debate scheduled." This will be Oberacker’s first senate run without a debate.

Click here for our Peter Oberacker story.