WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – Lonny Koons, who was running for congress, now plans to seek a seat in the state Assembly.
Koons, a trucker who lives in the Town of Croghan, is running in the 117th state Assembly district, now held by Ken Blankenbush.
Although Blankenbush is up for re-election this fall, he is unopposed, and Koons says he is simply getting an early start on the next election cycle, in 2024.
The 117th includes all or parts of Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence and Oneida counties.
“Working at the state level, the solutions I want to push will be pushed directly to the people.” Koons said Wednesday, by way of explaining why he’d switched from congress to the Assembly.
Koons defines himself as a ‘populist,’ and indeed, he’s neither wholly conservative nor progressive.
His web site, Koons for NYS Assembly, lists his position on 30 issues, ranging from ‘cancel culture’ (*hint: he’s against) to ‘term limit’ (he’s for them).
Koons say going out to 30 or 40 towns last summer, meeting people, opened his eyes.
“It kinda changed my outlook a little bit on things as to what I thought they were, versus actually what they are,” he said.
“As a populist, it’s not so much party as ‘this is what the people want.’ It doesn’t matter to me what the people in New York City want, it matters to me what the people in Gouverneur want, what the people in Lowville want, what the people on the farms up here want.”
That means that even though Koons is a Republican, he takes some positions at odds with many in his party. On abortion, for instance, he supports a woman’s right to choose up to fetal viability,
That’s part of a larger position he calls ‘pro-whole life,’ which – as his web site explains – “broadens the idea of supporting a life through support, education, assistance (counseling / social services), reform (counseling / prison (if needed), the death penalty), elderly care, all the way to the grave.
“Why does the idea of “Pro-Life” have to end at birth?”
Koons supports background checks and psychological checks for gun buyers, as well as a statewide registration system..
“It is my belief that these are not infringements on our rights and will help keep the general population safe. Criminals will always find a way to do criminal activities, but these processes can curb and possibly avoid some of these incidents while still allowing law abiding citizens to possess firearms,” he notes on his web site.
Koons resurrects an idea he had in his aborted run for congress – walking the entire district – for his Assembly run. He plans to walk the entire 117th.
And he is sparing in his criticism of Blankenbush, even linking to Blankenbush’s Assembly web site.
“I’m not attacking him. I just want people to see the difference.”
Koons initially announced a run for congress against incumbent Republican Elise Stefanik, but dropped out after being accused of election wrong-doing. Then, in May, he said he was in the race again.
In a statement, Blankenbush said “I am not going to speculate on those saying they are going to run in 2+ years.
“Just this morning we learned that inflation rose 9.1% in June. Right now, my focus remains on bringing attention to our inflation relief bill that Albany Democrats failed to even bring to the floor for debate.
“This bill would combat record inflation by slashing state sales tax for two years on everything from gas to groceries. New Yorkers need relief and they need it now.”
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