Japheth Fitzpatrick says he wants to run as an independent candidate for New York’s 100th Assembly District, which includes much of Sullivan County and the Middletown area in Orange County.
But first, he has to get on the ballot.
Fitzpatrick, a local business owner and former co-owner and operator of Forthright Cyder & Mead in Youngsville, is currently collecting signatures to qualify for the race. He says he needs 2,000 signatures by May 19 to be included on the ballot and challenge incumbent Assemblymember Paula Kay.
Speaking with Radio Catskill, Fitzpatrick said his path toward politics began with his experience trying to build a small business in Sullivan County.
He and his wife moved to the region from Queens about eight years ago after making cider and mead as home brewers. Fitzpatrick said they saw Sullivan County as a place with more space, more affordability and more opportunity to turn the hobby into a business.
But the timing was difficult. Fitzpatrick said they received final approval to open just one week before New York shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He described that period as chaotic, with state rules changing from week to week while he and his wife tried to operate safely and keep the business going. Still, he said Forthright Cyder & Mead was able to build a customer base through farmers markets around the county.
“We were at every farmers market in the county,” Fitzpatrick said. “We did pretty well.”
But Fitzpatrick said the business ultimately ran into a problem many residents and small businesses in the region have faced: the rising cost of property.
He said the plan was to start in a rental space, grow the business and then eventually buy a permanent location. But by the time they were ready to make that move, Fitzpatrick said property prices in Sullivan County had doubled after the pandemic.
“It’s as simple as that,” he said. “The profile of the business didn’t make sense at the price point that the properties were at.”
Fitzpatrick said that experience is part of what pushed him toward the Assembly race. He said property prices are one issue, but he sees them as connected to larger challenges facing the district, including the cost of living, the difficulty of running small businesses, the decline of farming and the lack of steady year-round jobs.
He said the region’s seasonal economy makes it hard for workers, business owners and families to plan for the future.
“We get highs, we get lows,” Fitzpatrick said. “Even seasonality is unpredictable.”
Fitzpatrick argued that the district needs to rethink how it supports farms, small businesses and full-time residents. He said too much of the local economy depends on tourism and seasonal activity, while farms and small businesses struggle to stay open.
He also pointed to transportation as an issue, saying he believes better connections between Sullivan County, Orange County and the rest of the state could help the region attract more full-time residents and economic activity.
Fitzpatrick is not officially on the ballot yet. He says his immediate focus is collecting enough signatures to qualify. If he does, he said the next step will be making his case to voters across Sullivan County, Middletown and the Town of Wallkill.
Radio Catskill will continue covering the 100th Assembly District race. Radio Catskill plans to offer interviews with all candidates in the race so voters can hear directly from those seeking to represent the district.