New York progressives charted a path to public power at a Tuesday panel discussion at the Salt City Market. They see the plan as a means to lower utility rates and upgrade infrastructure at a time of increased power generation demand.
The panel featured:
- New York Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha, who represents the 103rd District
- New York City Councilmember Chi Ossé
- Onondaga County Legislator and state assembly candidate Mo Brown
- Onondaga County Legislature candidate Jo Bennett
- Local Democratic Socialists of America representative LouLou DiGiuseppe, who moderated the panel
More than 40 people attended the event, including Syracuse Mayor Sharon Owens, Councilor Chol Majok and state assembly candidate Ian Phillips.
The panel, staffed by Democratic Socialist elected leaders, comes at a time when ratepayers list the cost of utilities as one of the key issues on their mind as they head to the polls. A poll by environmental group Climate Power shows that 40% of voters surveyed ahead of the November midterm elections list utility costs as their most important issue…