Skoufis spent a recent day with O’Neill students
If you want to get the answer to a burning question, have a teenager ask it.
Such is the case when New York State Senator James Skoufis visited O’Neill High School on April 22 — one of the young men in the audience asked what a lot of area residents are wondering.
It was Highland Falls’ Ryan Flynn who asked the senator if he had any plans to run for governor in the future; to which Skoufis replied that he loves his job — helping his local constituents — and at this time has no plans to run for governor.
But, O’Neill teacher Jorma Tompuri, who hosted the visit, said, Skoufis qualified by saying: “you never say never and anything could happen in the future, especially in politics.”
Just like the rest of the visit, that was interesting …
Skoufis talked politics and the state budget with Tompuri’s Syracuse University Policy Studies class. Although the legislator has been doing these visits with O’Neill students since 2015, this was the first time he’d been in the school building since very early in 2020. The last two years, his visits were virtual. He noted it was great to be able to attend in person again.
He and the students talked about the $221 billion state budget and he explained to the students where the majority of that government spending goes; health care, education and infrastructure, and noted roughly two-thirds of the budget is mandated spending and the remaining third is divided between the senate and assembly districts for local projects.
Skoufis said he got the feeling the students are engaged in the state’s affairs.
“Many of the students were very curious about all things public service,” Skoufis said. “They asked a lot of questions about the importance of relationships between me as a state senator and other folks in government and politics. My contentious relationship with the former governor was also a topic of interest! They clearly had a strong grasp of current events, no doubt due in large part to Jorma’s excellent instruction. We even spent some time discussing what’s involved in making the decision to run for public office.”
That’s a topic Skoufis is quite used to talking about — when he started in public service he was one of the youngest in the state to do so.
“It’s fair to say that my own understanding of the inner workings of state and local government has expanded a lot as I’ve moved from Woodbury councilman to assemblyman to senator, so it’s been a joy sharing more of my knowledge and experience with students,” he said. “Certainly, with the expansion of social media and communication touchpoints, the issues students care about and discuss at these sit-downs change from year to year.”
He knows that young people are a voice that needs to be listened to.
“Young people are often overlooked when it comes to political discourse and policy making. As one of a handful of state senators under 40, it’s crucial that I continue to advocate for the priorities and goals of the young people in my district, and to ensure the state is doing everything in its power to support and retain these residents,” he said. “Having this face-to-face time with students, my constituents, who are facing different challenges and opportunities than I faced at their age is an invaluable resource. It directly impacts the way I formulate opinions about what’s best for my district and gives me insight into how New York State law affects those who will soon be engaging with these issues as voters.”
To that end, Skoufis recently reinstated his Youth Advisory Council – a program initially begun in 2020, just before the pandemic shutdowns started. The Council includes 26 members ranging in age from 14-21 from all over the district.
“They’ve been meeting bi-weekly with me and my wonderful staffer, Yasmine, a recent graduate who was an intern of ours before being hired full-time. We’ve been covering a number of topics surrounding government, policy-making, politics, and more to give participants an opportunity to expand their knowledge base while also offering a platform for them to express their ideas and become more confident in bringing those ideas forward to lawmakers.”
Before the class periods ended on April 22, the senator also addressed the legalization of recreational marijuana, the Buffalo Bills Stadium project which Skoufis called, “a bad deal” for New York State taxpayers, and when local roads are going to be repaved.
“The students really enjoyed the time spent with the senator,” Tompuri said, “and commented to me afterwards, ‘he is so down to earth and sincere’ and I told them “that is what endears James to his constituents, they know that they have a voice in state government that listens and acts in their best interests.”
