Dear John,

Josh is running for Congress to give folks a fair shot to enter the Middle Class and stay there; to protect the planet for future generations; and to make our Democracy work for everyday folks, not special interests. Check out his recent op-ed below, where he lays out some of his priorities and contrasts them with Marc Molinaro, who has been selling out Upstate New York.

We hope you’ll take the time to read it, but if you’re crunched for time, please chip in $5 to help us reach our fundraising goal.

MOLINARO’S RECKLESS VOTE AGAINST CLEAN ENERGY MANUFACTURING HURTS THE LOCAL ECONOMY

Earlier this month, Congressman Marc Molinaro was presented with a choice: either support Broome County’s efforts to revitalize the economy or undermine them. Unfortunately, he voted for the latter. It was a shockingly irresponsible vote that jeopardizes the exciting progress Broome County has made in recent years.

Molinaro’s vote was a gut punch to folks who have witnessed the ups-and-downs in our local economy. When my own family came here over a century ago, the region was known as a “Valley of Opportunity” because of its abundant jobs and strong Middle Class. For generations, we manufactured products the world needed to meet its biggest challenges– tabulating machines for the Social Security Administration, boots for soldiers fighting World War II, circuit boards that spurred the technology revolution.

That changed as my generation came of age. We lost thousands of good jobs when plants closed. Poverty increased. The opioid epidemic ripped through neighborhoods. Meanwhile, Wall Street enjoyed record profits, which it used to fill the campaign coffers of the politicians who sold us out.

Facing adversity, though, Upstate New Yorkers have pulled together to overcome it. With innovation led by Shailesh Upreti and his team at Binghamton University, combined with leadership from elected officials like Broome County Executive Jason Garnar, Upstate New York’s economy is on the verge of a renaissance.

Last year, I invited the Chairman of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Climate Change to tour Imperium3’s operations in Endicott. I showed him that the plants where my family once worked are being transformed into state-of-the-art manufacturing operations making clean-energy technologies to fight climate change. Combining the right public investments and private equity, we will again be a Valley of Opportunity where folks can earn a place in the Middle Class manufacturing the things we need to save the planet. It’s reason to be hopeful. I know I am.

But instead of supporting those investments, Marc Molinaro called them a “bad idea,” and he derided them as “reckless spending.” And now Molinaro is holding our local economy hostage in Congress’ negotiations over the debt limit. He joined the most extreme elements of his party–everyone from George Santos to Marjorie Taylor Greene–in voting to cut federal investments in advanced clean-energy manufacturing. That vote jeopardizes the progress being made here.

Why would anyone purporting to represent Upstate New York do such a thing? Maybe it’s because he’s not from here and doesn’t fully appreciate the stakes. Or maybe it’s because he is bankrolled by the same Big Oil interests who will benefit the most if America stays dependent on fossil fuels instead of transitioning to the clean-energy future we’re building in Upstate New York. (Petroleum giant Koch Industries is among his biggest donors, and Big Oil spent over $50 million for Molinaro to be in the House majority.)

Instead of selling us out to the highest bidder, our elected officials should buy into the promise and potential of Upstate New York. and support federal investments in clean-energy advanced manufacturing.