Tonko challenged by immigration lawyer in ‘underdog campaign’ in Democratic primary | Politics




Rostislav Rar

Rar


Rostislav Rar, who is challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, in an Aug. 23 Democratic primary, said he knows what it is like to be poor.

“My mom tells the story of how we would eat an apple,” Rar, an immigration lawyer from Albany, said in a telephone interview.

When he was a toddler, the family lived in Siberia, in what was then the Soviet Union.

His mother would cut up an apple, give him the fruit, his father the peelings, and she would eat the seeds.

Rar, the son of a physicist, lived in Russia, Japan and Germany before immigrating to the United States with his family when he was 10.

He worked as an aide in the state Assembly for six years before enrolling in law school.

Rar said his campaign centers around three topics: the environment, education and equality.

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The centerpiece of his campaign is establishing a federal system of community centers in every municipality, modeled after that of Japan, where children and teens can gather for recreation and education programs, and senior citizens can gather for socialization.

“They need to have a safe place — a place where they can learn,” he said.

He is calling for increased funding for federally subsidized housing and for a national rent-control law, modeled after the system in New York City.

“The people who rent housing are often the poorest of the poor,” he said.

He wants a federal takeover of local school districts, and increased taxes on those with the highest incomes.

He wants a federal law requiring that police officers live in the municipality where they work and limiting the number of overtime hours officers can work in a shift.

“This is not about defunding the police. It’s about lifting them up,” he said.



U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam

Tonko 




Tonko said he has been traveling the district discussing environmental and alternative energy legislation he has championed, and his helping to pass the CHIPS and Science Act, legislation which he said will boost the computer chip industry in the region.

“I have been sharing with constituents the work which we have done,” he said, in a telephone interview. “I think they will appreciate the fact that we can get things done.”

Rar said laws to address climate change need to be more aggressive than what Tonko has proposed.

Rar said he is realistic about his chances in the Democratic primary against Tonko, a seven-term incumbent, in the 20th Congressional District on Aug. 23.

“I have no illusions,” he said. “I know that our campaign is an underdog campaign.”

Rar said that his campaign is giving Democratic voters a choice and raising awareness of issues, essential components of democracy.

“Voters are doing their research, and that is what is important,” he said.

Rar predicted his campaign will increase primary turnout, drawing out additional voters, some who will vote for Tonko, but also for his campaign, making an upset not out of the realm of possibility,

“Suddenly, that upstart candidate that nobody is paying attention to looks pretty good,” he said.

Tonko had $1.23 million in his campaign fund as of Aug. 3, while Rar, had a $2,056 deficit, according to the most recent reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

“This is a grassroots campaign. It’s volunteer led,” Rar said.

Tonko is already on the November general election ballot on the Working Families line.

The Republican candidate is Liz Lemery Joy, a former blogger and speaker from Schenectady.

Maury Thompson covered local government and politics for The Post-Star for 21 years before he retired in 2017. He continues to follow regional politics as a freelance writer.

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