United States Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.) and Democrat Colleen Deacon, the candidates for New York state’s 24th Congressional District, faced off Tuesday in a debate televised by Time Warner Cable News in Syracuse.

The two debated a number of issues, including terrorism, police reform and the opioid epidemic. The candidates will face off two more times in debates on Nov. 3 and Nov. 6.

Here are three takeaways from Tuesday’s debate:

Islamic State recruitment

The candidates clashed over their records and positions on stopping the Islamic State’s recruitment within the United States.

Katko called IS the “most existential threat of our time” and accused Deacon of not caring enough about the terrorist organization.

“She has seemed to not make it a priority during the course of her campaign,” Katko said. “… That’s something the American people should take into consideration when deciding who they want to represent them in Congress.”

Deacon quipped back, though, and said she’s been making the counteraction of IS recruitment a priority during her campaign over the past year. She said she would enact “no fly, no buy” legislation, which would prevent people who are on the FBI’s no-fly list from purchasing a gun and criticized Katko for not supporting a similar bill.

Police reform

On the subject of police reform, Katko said all police officers should be required to wear body cameras.

“I think body cameras will solve a lot of the narrative out there,” he said, adding that he wants to ensure there is respect for police officers from the community.

Deacon agreed with Katko’s position on body cameras, she also said the federal government should do more to help police officers. That includes providing them with necessary training and giving them the resources to hire new officers who can understand the communities they’re policing, Deacon said.

“Everything we can do to help solve this problem I am all for,” Deacon said.

Opioid crisis

Between 2005 and 2014 in upstate New York, there was a 222 percent increase in admissions to treatment programs among people between the ages of 18 and 24 for heroin and other opioids, according to a June report from the New York Heroin and Opioids Task Force.

On Tuesday, both Katko and Deacon acknowledged the opioid crisis but disagreed slightly in how they would approach solving it.

Deacon called the issue a health epidemic, and said it’s important that treatment facilities are available for those suffering from addiction.

“We need to make sure we’re addressing it as a health epidemic,” Deacon said. “No community is immune from this terrible, terrible drug, and we have to do everything we can to provide the resources to help people.”

Katko said he agreed treatment resources are needed for fighting back against the crisis, but he also said law enforcement should play a role in solving the issue.

“The things my opponent said about prevention and treatment, absolutely,” he said. “But you also need the enforcement leg as well.”

Published on October 26, 2016 at 12:04 am

Contact Michael: mdburk01@syr.edu