Solages sees people, Long Island all first

Michaelle Solages is a seasoned lawmaker, having spent a decade in the Assembly. During her time, the Democrat and her district have seen some of the most turbulent times in recent memory, all thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Now, with an eye toward recovery, Solages aims to tackle what she has described as a top issue on the minds of voters — high inflation and the high cost of basic living — by easing the price of utility bills.

“It’s one of the biggest concerns I hear from constituents,” Solages told reporters during a recent Herald Roundtable session. Whether it’s water or electric, the Assemblywoman says she aims to push her fellow lawmakers to work with the federal government to increase funding for home energy assistance programs designed to help the most vulnerable. Especially if they find themselves in danger of running out of fuel, or having their utility service shut off.

“That’s a program that many people can tap into and don’t know that it’s there,” Solages said.

On a wider scale, she pointed to “serious conversations” lawmakers in Albany are having about restructuring the Long Island Power Authority into a fully public utility to keep prices down and improve services. Solages, however, did not hide her disapproval with the legislatively appointed commission that has stalled in holding its mandated public hearings over the issue.

As for improving safety in the community, Solages believes in tackling the root causes of crime rather than pinning the blame on cashless bail reform, which she says has been overused as a political tool by Republicans to explain away the increase in gun violence and catalytic converter thefts.

“We just enacted legislation to create a verification system for these catalytic converters,” Solages said. “So now this would be a database, and a person who brings it into the scrap yard now has to give ID and identify themselves when they hand in these catalytic converters.”

To stem the tide of gun violence, Solages agrees with the recent expansion of so-called “red flag” laws, designed to prevent people showing signs of being a threat to themselves or others from purchasing a firearm. She also is looking toward what she believes could be promising violence-interrupting initiatives aimed at de-escalating and preventing life-threatening conflicts and mediating non-violent situations.

Solages also says she’s working on less glamorous, long-running “bread and butter” issues plaguing families in her district. Like the need to expand universal pre-kindergarten. Or improve safety on the Southern State Parkway. Or have greater accountability and transparency among businesses and developers seeking tax breaks through Industrial Development Agency applications.

Pushing back on her opponent’s claims that she’s ignored calls for a community center in Elmont, Solages says there is money set aside — $5 million, in fact — for a community center.

“The developer and I talk about this almost every other week,” the Assemblywoman said. “We’re in negotiations for a location.”

Solages says her record of bipartisanship and collaboration with parties on both sides of the aisle also stands for itself — even if Democrats lose the super-majority they’ve held on the lower chamber in recent years.

“I don’t see political party — I see community,” Solages said. “And I see New York first and Long Island first. I’m working across lines, working with people on humanizing issues.

“And I think we can get there by remembering we’re people first, and working together.”

Have an opinion on Solages? Send an email to jlasso@liherald.com.