2 Dem candidates in primary for NY-24 Congressional District
Winner will challenge Tenney in general election
Photos by Tom Rivers: Alissa Ellman of Lockport, left, and Diana Kastenbaum of Batavia both are on the ballot in Tuesday’s Democratic Party Primary for the 24th Congressional District. They are shown speaking at a candidate forum at Hoag Library in Albion on June 4.
Registered Democrats in the sprawling 24th Congressional District will go to the polls on Tuesday (June 23) to determine the party’s candidate in the general election against Republican incumbent Claudia Tenney. The district covers 14 counties including Orleans, and stretches from Niagara Falls to the Finger Lakes and North Country.
Diana Kastenbaum of Batavia and Alissa Ellman of Lockport are both seeking the Democratic Party line. Kastenbaum previously ran for Congress in 2016 against then Congressman Chris Collins in the former 27thCongressional District for New York.
The two Democratic candidates shared their views during a candidate forum on June 4 at Hoag Library in Albion. About 75 people attended the forum.
Kastenbaum, 75, previously served as CEO and owner of Pinnacle manufacturing Company in Batavia. She was one of the few women running a tool and die company.
She is a trustee for Genesee Community College. She was married to the late Hiram Kasten, a noted stand-up comedian and actor. Kastenbaum’s daughter Millie is an assistant district attorney in Manhattan.
Alissa Ellman, 42, is married with two grown daughters in Lockport. She grew up in rural Allegany County. She joined the Army National Guard at the age of 17, and deployed at age 19 to Afghanistan from January 2003 to June 2004 as a flight operation specialist.
She later returned to the Afghanistan with Halliburton from 2005-2008 managing flight line operations in Kandahar. In 2018, Ellman was diagnosed with a rare adrenal cancer, associated with toxic burn pit exposure during her service in Afghanistan. She was working at the Buffalo VA when her job was eliminated as part of DOGE cuts early last year.
“I’ve never aspired to be a politician, but I enjoy public service,” Ellman said during the candidate forum.
She showed off a small tattoo on her arm that says “NY-24.”
“That is to remind me of where my priorities are,” she said.
Diana Kastenbaum speaks during a candidate forum on June 4 in Albion. She said lowering the cost of healthcare and expanding coverage would be her top priority if elected to Congress. She is standing next to forum moderator Jim Renfrew with Alissa Ellman on the other side of Renfrew.
Kastenbaum said the country “is at a very dangerous point in time” with military conflicts, frayed alliances and growing inequality at home in the U.S. She said the rural 24th Congressional District is suffering under Trump with cuts in healthcare, growing food desserts and rising costs on families.
“Healthcare is the number one issue,” she said.
She would make agriculture another top priority, calling it an economic force for the 24th District. Trump policies and actions have threatened farming with higher fuel and fertilizer costs, vanished markets from his tariff wars, and a shortage of workers due to aggressive immigration enforcement.
She would support expanded guest-worker programs for foreign workers on farms, including allowing the seasonal workers to stay up to three years.
Kastenbaum said the Republican-controlled Congress has provided no oversight to Trump and abdicated its checks and balances.
“I want to see us get back to the rule of law and have people be held accountable,” she said. “We need to get Congress back in the game, stand up for our NATO allies, protect national security, and pitch in and help in the war in Ukraine.”
Alissa Ellman said she wants Trump impeached and to be held accountable for his “anti-American” actions, including going to war in Iran without Congressional approval.
Ellman said lowering healthcare costs “would be my utmost priority.”
She would also support impeaching Donald Trump. “He needs to be held accountable for his actions,” she said. “He needs to be held civilly and financially liable for his anti-American decisions.”
Ellman said better public transportation, especially in the rural communities also would be a top priority.
“Public transportation isn’t sexy but it’s critical,” she said. In many rural areas, senior citizens have a long drive for care.”
Both candidates say they oppose the war in Iran, and said Trump hastily took the country to war without exhausting diplomatic measures.
They are concerned about the rising costs of living and would make affordability a priority. They faulted Tenney for providing no pushback to President Trump, no matter how his actions or policies raise costs on Americans, threaten long-standing alliances or pull the country into military conflicts.
The 24th Congressional District is gerrymandered in a way that is solidly Republican with Republicans at a 219,522 registered voter advantage over 120,959 Democrats. There are also 12,527 registered Conservatives.
Diana Kastenbaum chats with Albion resident Betty Garcia Mathewson after the forum in Albion.
Ellman and Kastenbaum both believe they can get Republican support and the majority of the unaffiliated voters or “blanks” that total 132,763 in the district, making it possible to pull off an upset against Tenney in the Republican-stacked district.
Kastenbaum said she would seek to emulate the example of the Barber Conable, the esteemed late local Republican Congressman from Alexander in Genesee County. Conable connected with Democrats and Republicans, and served as president of the World Bank.
Conable showed an effective congressman respects all members and can build bridges with the other political party, Kastenbaum said.
“Barber Conable, that is the type of representative you need,” Kastenbaum said during the candidate forum. “He could talk with Republicans and Democrats and everyone. We won’t get anywhere without compromise. I know that from my business.”
Kastenbaum said she would want to serve in Congress for a maximum of six years – three 2-year terms. She favors campaign finance reform to reduce the influence of big donors on both Republicans and Democrats.
Ellman said the “blanks” would be a focus if she wins the Democratic primary and moves on to the general election against Tenney. Those unaffiliated voters are the key to the election, Ellman said, and she plans to seek out their support, even if it means knocking on the door of every “blank” in the district.
Ellman, the military veteran, said too many people profit when the country goes to war.
“We need to stop treating the military as an industrial complex,” she said.
She favors abolishing ICE due to its tactics that she said have created fear in communities around the country.
“I favor law enforcement that gets the criminals out,” she said. “With ICE, there is very little vetting or training.”
Kastenbaum doesn’t think it’s likely that ICE will be abolished. She said citizens need to continue being activists “to protect our neighbors’ rights,” she said.
Both candidates said they are concerned about the impact of artificial intelligence on the workforce as well as the growing push for massive datacenters, including one proposed for the STAMP manufacturing site in Alabama, near the Orleans County line.
Kastenbaum wants a moratorium on new data centers, putting new ones off until more research can be done on the ramifications of the centers and AI’s impact on the workforce.
“You need active people who know what they’re doing and will work on it,” she said about challenging issues. “I’m one of those people.”
Alissa Ellman meets some of the people gathered for the candidate forum held at Hoag Library in Albion.
Ellman said AI could further disrupt the workforce, making it even more challenging for people to make a living and buy a home. She said she would support a universal basic income “so people are not working three jobs.”
With AI and its impact on workers: “We have to band together,” she said. “We have to work together.”
Ellman said she sees a struggling NY 24th, including in Orleans County. She would like to see more job opportunities for people. She is encouraged by an active citizenry in the district.
“I see a lot of people out here who want to do the right thing,” she said.
Kastenbaum calls NY-24, “the Lake District” due to its proximity to Lake Ontario and the Finger Lakes.
Medina in particular has a lot to offer, she said, with a bustling downtown with many independent businesses.
“I’ve seen the beauty of this district,” Kastenbaum said. “You have a lot to be proud of. You have a lovely community.”
