Media and Press Coverage

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Mike Murphy

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

CANANDAIGUA — Jared Simpson’s father Robert Simpson served as Canandaigua town supervisor.  

As of Jan. 1, it’s a case of “like father, like son,” as Simpson is the new office-holder. 

“I’m honored and humbled to be in this same position and same spot,” Simpson said during a swearing-in ceremony New Year’s Day.  

And if Simpson’s son, Ammon, a sixth-grader, has his way, he, too, will someday join the family “business.” Ammon, who along with other family members stood by as Simpson was sworn in, served as his father’s junior campaign manager during the 2021 campaign. He said that he wants to serve as town supervisor when it’s his time. 

Until that day, Simpson — the dad and Canandaigua social studies teacher — said he is looking forward to working with the “great” residents in town as he continues along this “journey.” 

“My goal going forward is to continue to listen — and continue to care — to the people who might not ordinarily have a voice,” Simpson said.   

Simpson, a Republican who defeated challenger Sam Casella in the November general election, takes over for former Supervisor Cathy Menikotz, who did not seek re-election. Simpson praised her as a “great mentor and a great leader with a strong moral compass.” 

Simpson was among several town officials sworn into office during the ceremonial event. State Sen. Pam Helming, a former Canandaigua town supervisor, handled the swearing-in duties, and recalled how Robert Simpson helped her get into town government. 

“He’s going to be an amazing leader,” Helming said of Jared Simpson.

Incoming Councilmember Adeline Rudolph, who is a caseworker in Helming's office, was elected to the Town Board in November in her first attempt at public office. She joins Councilmember Terry Fennelly, who has served on the Town Board since January 2010. 

Town Clerk Jean Chrisman, who ran unopposed in November, also was sworn into office.

Link to story on Rochester Democrat & Chronicle site:

New Canandaigua supervisor Jared Simpson follows in dad's footsteps (mpnnow.com)

By STEVE BUCHIERE sbuchiere@fltimes.com

Mar 31, 2021 

CANANDAIGUA — With the town’s supervisor opting not to run for a second term, its deputy supervisor is now vying for the seat.

Jared Simpson announced Monday that he plans to run for town supervisor.

Current Supervisor Cathy Menikotz, citing personal and family reasons, decided not to run for reelection.

“I am grateful for Cathy’s leadership and guidance,” said Simpson, who on Saturday was unanimously nominated by the Town Republican Nominating Committee to fill Menikotz’s spot on the ballot. “It has been a pleasure to work with her for the past year, and I look forward to working with her for the remainder of her term.”

According to the Republican Committee, Simpson was elected to the Town Board in 2019. The committee said he is leader of the town’s Environmental Conservation Board and also has re-written the town’s Code of Ethics, clearing the way for a permanent Board of Ethics to “help ensure the integrity of town government.”

Simpson is a teacher in the City School District, where he has served 22 years. He teaches government, U.S. history and global studies. He also is a football and girls lacrosse coach in Canandaigua.

Simpson said he is excited for the chance to serve the rapidly growing town as supervisor.

“Sometimes unexpected opportunities arise,” said Simpson, a lifelong resident of the town. “Now is the right time to do the right thing for the residents of the town of Canandaigua and run. I look forward to representing each and every taxpayer in this great community, and continuing to do what I enjoy most — working for the residents of the town of Canandaigua. As supervisor, my focus will be on ensuring that town government listens to taxpayers and uses our tax dollars wisely.”

Simpson and his wife, Kellie, have four children.

Link to story on FLTimes.com:   Jared Simpson to run for Canandaigua town supervisor after current Supervisor Cathy Menikotz opted not to run for another term 

Meet the new Assemblyman from the 131st Legislative District, Jeff Gallahan!

Jeff Gallahan was elected to the New York State Assembly on November 3, 2020. His district is comprised of Ontario County and parts of Seneca County.

Jeff believes that his real-world experience will be beneficial to the people of his district and throughout New York. He is a believer in the “American Dream” and has raised his children to be hard-working while leading by example. As an Assemblyman, Jeff will fight to hold the line on taxes and push for an end to recently enacted bail reform measures. He believes this is a critical time in history when it comes to police and community relations, and we must ensure law enforcement has all the tools necessary to keep our communities safe. Jeff is committed to standing up for middle-class values, small businesses and our important agricultural community.

-- See the rest of Jeff's Biography, and connect with him through his State website: 

 Jeff Gallahan - Assembly District 131 | New York State Assembly 

Rochester Business Journal

By: Diana Louise Carter, April 25, 2019

Pamela Helming is known for doing her homework.

The state senator representing the 54th District- which spreads from Webster in the west past Fair Haven, Cayuga County, in the east to the town of Lansing, Tompkins County in the south- has been known to consult a tablet in the middle of a legislative debate to buttress her argument.

Victor Town Supervisor Jack Marren, who is the chairman of the Ontario County Board of Supervisors, one threatened to cut off internet access during board meetings so Helming – then the supervisor of the town of Canandaigua- couldn’t “stump the supervisor” with the contemporaneous research she was obtaining with her tablet.

Now in her third year and second term as a state senator, the Republican Helming can-without consulting her notes or staff- tell a visitor where the Waterloo Girls’ cross-country team stands in sectional, regional and state competitions. A former cross-country athlete herself, Helming took pleasure in recognizing the championship team one recent morning.

Before she ran against a Democratic incumbent for the position of Canandaigua town supervisor some years ago, the then town board member asked local political parties for time to speak with them about their concerns.

“I sent a letter to every political party involved in the town of Canandaigua,” she recalled. She was working without a tablet at that time, having lost her company-owned tablet, laptop, smart phone and car when she was laid off as an environmental compliance manager from a landfill-operating waste company. So she made a daily habit of walking four miles from her home outside the city of Canandaigua to the Wood Library downtown for the computers and printers.

The Republicans, Democratic, Independent and Conservative parties all endorsed her.

“I beat a Democrat on his own line,” said Helming with a note of pride in her voice.

Helming, who comes from the Midwest but has lived in Canandaigua for more than 35 years, first became active in public affairs after her daughter was born in 1990; becoming a mother made her focus on the future of the environment. At the time, development of Canandaigua Lake was becoming a much-discussed environmental issue, she recalled. She found a seat on the zoning board of appeals and then moved up to town board.

“I never had a plan laid out,” Heling said about her political career during an interview in her downtown Geneva district office.

As a town supervisor she worked to make town government more transparent, creating a community newsletter and putting information on the town’s website where people could see it without having to visit town hall. She pushed for a greenway plan for the town, trying to balance environmental concerns while encouraging economic development.

Similarly, she had no designs on running for state office, even after longtime state Sen. Michael Nozzolio announced he would not run for re-election in 2016.

In fact, instead of making political plans, she went on vacation with her husband, Gary, who sells snow-making equipment for ski areas. Helming wasn’t answering her cellphone, so two people who had worked with her and for the Ontario County Republican Party ended up calling Gary Helming to get Pam on the line so they could try to persuade her to run.

Both Kristine Singer and Doug Finch had been hired by Helming to work for the town. Singer, who worked in bookkeeping for Canandaigua, is town supervisor for Canadice. Finch is town manager for Canandaigua. 

“We got to see how dedicated she was to her constituents. And she took a very personal, active role in everything that was coming before her,” Singer said. “Pretty much anything that came before her, she did her homework, she dug into it and… she didn’t just pass it off to staff to do.”

Helming didn’t go for the idea at first, Singer recalled. “She thought we were nuts.”

But Singer and Finch felt she was better than anyone else running. “We know nobody can push her around,” Singer said. “She’s not easily influenced.”

Helming said recently she had a hard time thinking of herself in the same category as Nozzolio, with his Ivy League education. Nozzolio holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Cornell University and a law degree from Syracuse University.

“I’m the first person in my family to go to college,” Helming said.

“She’d be the first to say she used to be a little shy in front of a microphone,” Marren said. At an appreciation event she emceed recently, she laughed at herself for repeatedly breaking a promise to her staff that she would not hug everyone who came forward for a certificate, as well as all their family members.

Marren added that she relates to people genuinely and compassionately, which serves her well as a senator.

Away from the mic, Helming is a problem solver. She brings to bear her experiences from working in direct care right out of college, to marketing for care agencies, to working in environmental compliance for a multi-state corporation, to more than a decade in municipal government. 

“I don’t think the public realizes how much case work” is involved in government, Helming said. “I’m able to help a lot of people solve problems.”

 Marren said her experience at the town level really helps her in her newer role of state representative.

“Those are pretty big shoes to fill,” Marren said. “Not to disrespect Sen. Nozzolio. He had his ways. Supervisor Helming has filled those shoes and she’s done it in a whole different way.” 

The environment is still a key issue for Helming and played a role in her deciding to run for Nozzolio’s former seat. The district includes four Finger Lakes and the shoreline of Lake Ontario.

“I was concerned our lakes wouldn’t get the attention we need,” she said.

Singer said Helming was instrumental in getting state funding to combat algal blooms in the Finger Lakes, including Honeoye Lake. Though Canadice isn’t in the 54thdistrict, it benefitted from the legislation Helming promoted.

Helming’s was also one of the louder voices opposing the creation of a waste-fueled power plant in Romulus at the former Seneca Army Depot, a project that appears stalled now because of the passage of legislation that would prevent such an incinerator in the Finger Lakes watershed. Helming co-sponsored the legislation. 

She said she hopes Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who has supported banning the project, will visit the
Finger Lakes to sign the legislation into law.

“I encourage him to sign it here, where all the people who’ve been a part of it can see him,” Helming said. “Grassroots efforts can and do make a difference.”

On other issues, though, Helming is critical of the governor’s stances, particularly his penchant for creating policy by way of budget funding. Though the proverbial “three men in a room” making decisions for the state (the governor and legislative branch leaders) is now two men and a woman, she notes: “That excludes hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers and those of us who represent them.”

A gun owner herself, Helming is opposed to the Safe Act gun control law Cuomo enacted several years ago. She also supports lowering taxes in the state.

Helming began her work as a senator by methodically doing her homework once again. In her first two years, she held 30 town hall meetings all over the district. And she introduced more legislation than any other member of her freshman Senate class, she said. “A lot of it came out of the town hall meetings.”

Like many upstate office holders, Helming feels the region does not get the attention it needs or deserves. She points to roads and bridges that fail to earn state transportation dollars for needed repairs, and the lack of sufficient broadband service in rural areas.

“There are so many areas that have sketchy service,” she said. While many people seek internet service at local libraries, Helming notes that there’s even a library in southern Cayuga County that doesn’t have reliable service.

Such issues form the backbone of the 54th District and Helming’s role in the Senate. “I’m the spokesperson for our rural communities in central New York,” Helming said. 

During her initial year in the Senate, Helming kept the office in Seneca Falls that Nozzolio, a native of Seneca Falls, had used. Then she moved it to Exchange Street in Geneva to be more centrally located, to take part in the renaissance of downtown Geneva, and to be closer to conveniences. She holds business meetings in a nearby Lyons National Bank office, she said, and larger gatherings in the new state visitor’s center on the edge of Seneca Lake, she noted.

The office also happens to be about 10 miles closer to her home. She has a satellite office in Wayne County.

These are terribly negative political times, Helming said. And in reaction, she’s become a one-woman band of positivity.

“I have made a real attempt to highlight and spotlight positive things happening in the 54thSenate District,” she said. Her schedule, when she’s in the district, is filled nearly daily with recognition events, like greeting the cross-country runners and a classmate who won a wrestling championship. She has established regular recognitions for veterans in her district, too.

At each event with youngsters, as she did with the Waterloo athletes, Helming makes sure to ask the young people if they’ve ever considered a life in government. She usually gets a negative answer, but then she tells the teenagers how such work is a job for people who like to help people.

Later on the day she met with the runners, Helming would champion not one woman of distinction for her senate district, but all 25 nominees for that title with a reception at Ventosa Winery on the east side of Seneca Lake. The event drew about 200 people, giving attention to women who quietly go about their business, as Helming said, and might not otherwise get recognized.

If there’s any doubt that women sometimes lack the recognition and status they’re due, consider this: Helming represents the senate district that includes the place where the women’s rights movement was born in 1848. And yet 168 years later, she became the first woman to hold that seat.

dcarter@bridgetowermedia.com/(585) 363-7275

Link to the article:  https://rbj.net/2019/04/25/helming-focuses-on-the-positive-face-of-government/