While Syracuse University alumna and Democratic candidate for Congress Colleen Deacon hasn’t solidified her platform, she said she plans to take on student issues including student debt, an increased job market, sexual assault and campus safety.

Deacon filed her paperwork on Oct. 1 to run for New York’s 24th Congressional District. At the time, she became the second Democrat to declare a bid to challenge Rep. John Katko (R-NY), but since then, another candidate, Steve Williams, has come into the race. SU social work professor Eric Kingson is also running for the Democratic nomination.

Deacon previously worked as an aide to former Syracuse Mayor Matt Driscoll and as a congressional aide to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) for six years.

Deciding to run for Congress was a choice Deacon made because she said she believes “politicians in Washington spend an enormous amount of time on issues that don’t matter … that don’t affect people … (or) reflect the issues people have.” She added that she has always been interested in politics and government since she took political science classes at SU.

Since announcing her run for Congress, Deacon said she has been spending most of her time talking to people, reaching out to organizations, community groups and anyone who wants their voice heard.

One of Deacon’s main goals, she said, is to combat student debt. The 38-year-old said she will “champion student loans” because she, herself, just finished paying off her own student loans this past March. She added that she hopes to create jobs in the region.

“I know what it is like to have this burden on your shoulders while looking for a job,” Deacon said. “I know how hard it is when there aren’t job opportunities.”

Another issue Deacon said she believes to be very big on college campuses is sexual assault. A recent survey said more than 25 percent of female college students “experienced some kind of unwanted sexual contact” since entering college.

“I am very interested in being a champion on this issue,” Deacon said. “I am glad to see that the issue is being raised at the local, regional and national level.”

Deacon said she believes that it is something that needs to be talked about in order for there to be change. While the new “Enough is Enough” legislation is designed to increase reporting and change the culture to prevent acts, Deacon said she believes that there should be an increase in addressing the issue to young people.

Additionally, the issue on campus safety is one that “hits home” to the mother of a 12-year-old boy.

Recounting her own days on the SU campus, Deacon said she didn’t have to worry about the same issues that students now have to worry about now, like gun violence on or around campus.

Something needs to be done, Deacon said. She wants to have “a stronger legislation to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill … in order to keep students safe.”

Published on October 20, 2015 at 10:14 pm

Contact Ali: Ali Linan