Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - It was, at times, a contentious debate for the 142nd State Assembly district on Tuesday between Democratic incumbent Pat Burke and Republican challenger Gary Dickson, who's also the current Town Supervisor in West Seneca.
Both candidates took part in the annual political debate hosted by St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute, just one week out from Election Day 2026.
Burke and Dickson were both issued questions Tuesday on a wide variety of topics in Albany that will have an impact at the local level, as well as even pressed about a couple personal issues that have popped up in recent years. Among the topics discussed were retaining New York's population, electrification issues, safety of students and staff in schools, the gubernatorial race and more.
Despite some of the issues drawing some back-and-forth between the candidates, both feel in the end, it's now up to the voters to decide who will represent them in the state capital come January.
"I have faith in my constituents. They're going to make the decision they think is best for them and their families," said Burke following the debate. "I hope they see the work that I've done and want to send me back to Albany, and we're just going to keep talking to voters till the end, run through the tape. But I feel good about where we're at."
"We need a representative who represents the values of the 142nd district," said Dickson after Tuesday's debate. "In tongue-in-cheek, I say he's a great representative for Manhattan. He votes with Zoran Mandami like 95% of the time. He does everything the majority asks of him, because why not? Because his campaigns are basically funded by Albany, so if he doesn't tow the line, it's a problem. So I think the residents of the 142nd, their values are closer to mine than his."
During the debate, Burke was asked about recent comments reported by the New York Post about the "voluntary intoxication exclusion" in state law, calling the bill the “ruining drunk sex bill.” He has since apologized for the comments he made, and continues to advocate for the bill in Albany.
"Mischaracterizing someone's words and using them against them, like not foreign to politics, I think I explained it pretty well," Burke said.
Meanwhile, Burke accused Dickson of smearing and trying to ruin his credibility, whether it was over the "voluntary intoxication exclusion" or the allegations of a hostile work environment in his office back in 2023. Dickson feels there's nothing he and his team have published that is not documented.
"You can go look on the 'Real Pat Burke' website, there's a copy of the the complaint for the Division of Human Rights. His comment about the 'ruining drunk sex bill' is public, it was on The View. And as I said, the Erie County Sheriff's, I never said anything about that. I never posted. There was some confusion about it, absolutely, but I never said anything about it," Dickson noted.
Political debates like Tuesday's seem to becoming more-and-more fewer, with debate moderator Ted Lina telling WBEN it's a concern of his in the current political landscape. However, both candidates feel there should be more debates between candidates, allowing for constituents to hear more from the people they're voting to represent them in local, state or federal government.
"I think it's fun, so I like doing it," Burke said. "As the incumbent, you don't have to debate - people presume you're up, people presume you're going to win. I want to debate. I enjoy talking about the issues. I think it's something we're supposed to do. We should do more of it, people should get away from their keyboards, talk to more people, engage more. I don't know. I thought it was a fun exercise."
"The state law requires it for the statewide people who receive public financing. I think that could easily be increased to three. There should be maybe three scattered for those people. And I think for all of the other people that receive public financing, they should have to do a debate," Dickson added. "Now, there are lots of races where there's no opponent, so that's got to be taken into consideration. But I'll do five debates, it's not a problem."
What were each candidate hoping the students at St. Joe's would get out of Tuesday's debate?
"I thought there were a lot of enthusiastic young people out there who are going to be voting for the first time. I'm sure there's a few 18-year-olds in the crowd, but a lot of them in following year or the years to come, I want them to be inspired. I want them to be a part of this, and today they were," Burke said.
"Hopefully we were not overly mean to each other, so they see that. I mean, I think kids need to see how adults deal with things and how, perhaps, maybe we should be getting back to more of that," Dickson added. "At the end of the day, the public gets the candidates that they deserve, just like Churchill said."
Election Day is set for Nov. 3.
The 42nd annual political debate saw both candidates a bit contentious with one another
The 42nd annual political debate saw both candidates a bit contentious with one another
