Sam Rodgers

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Sam Rodgers
Image of Sam Rodgers

Republican Party, Serve America Movement Party, Conservative Party, Independence Party

Elections and appointments
Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Syracuse University, 2015

Personal
Religion
Christian
Profession
Attorney
Contact

Sam Rodgers (Republican Party, Conservative Party, Independence Party, Serve America Movement Party) ran for election to the New York State Senate to represent District 53. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Rodgers completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Sam Rodgers earned his undergraduate degree from Syracuse University in May 2015. He also attended Cornell Law School and the Maxwell School of Public Citizenship at Syracuse University for graduate studies. His professional experience includes working as an attorney.[1]

Elections

2020

See also: New York State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for New York State Senate District 53

Incumbent Rachel May defeated Sam Rodgers and Russell Penner in the general election for New York State Senate District 53 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Rachel May
Rachel May (D / Working Families Party)
 
54.8
 
66,643
Image of Sam Rodgers
Sam Rodgers (R / Conservative Party / Independence Party / Serve America Movement Party) Candidate Connection
 
44.2
 
53,734
Image of Russell Penner
Russell Penner (L) Candidate Connection
 
1.0
 
1,246
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.0
 
52

Total votes: 121,675
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Rachel May advanced from the Democratic primary for New York State Senate District 53.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Sam Rodgers advanced from the Republican primary for New York State Senate District 53.

Conservative Party primary election

The Conservative Party primary election was canceled. Sam Rodgers advanced from the Conservative Party primary for New York State Senate District 53.

Independence Party primary election

The Independence Party primary election was canceled. Sam Rodgers advanced from the Independence Party primary for New York State Senate District 53.

Libertarian primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Russell Penner advanced from the Libertarian primary for New York State Senate District 53.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Serve America Movement Party primary election

The Serve America Movement Party primary election was canceled. Sam Rodgers advanced from the Serve America Movement Party primary for New York State Senate District 53.

Working Families Party primary election

The Working Families Party primary election was canceled. Incumbent Rachel May advanced from the Working Families Party primary for New York State Senate District 53.

Campaign themes

2020

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia
Released April 6, 2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Sam Rodgers completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Rodgers' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

I am a husband, brother, son, friend, former athlete, lawyer, reader, dog-owner, and man of faith.

I grew up in a tight-knit family as the middle child between four sisters. My parents always preached the responsibility of service and the qualities of leadership. I witnessed the value of hard work from my paternal grandfather on the dairy farm and compassion from my maternal grandfather who was a pastor.

In college, I started 50 consecutive games for the Syracuse University football team and was elected team captain by my teammates and coaches for my senior season. I leveraged my position as a college athlete to lead local service projects and speak to local school children. After college, I attended Cornell Law School to enhance my ability to serve the Syracuse community. Football established my love for service and studying law developed the tools I needed to effectively represent Central New York.

Currently, I work as an Assistant District Attorney. My wife Jenna works for the Syracuse University Athletic Department and was a captain of the Syracuse Women's Soccer team when we met as undergraduates. We live in the City of Syracuse with our dog Truman.

The policy process. We behave too partisan which denies common-sense and leads to unbalanced and unwise policy. I will lead by example and demand a collaborative common-sense approach to our legislation. I prefer to work with people who come from a variety of backgrounds to find common solutions. I see my political viewpoints as a thoughtful approach to problems, not an end solution. I want to help lead the next generation of political advocates for New York.

The most vital role of an elected official is to represent the interests of his or her district. This requires a heart to serve, an open-mind, and strong advocacy skills.
My legacy as a legislator will be someone who was thoughtful, considerate, and principled. I will work with all my colleagues to defend the interests of my district and the rest of New York.
I worked in the Athletic Equipment room at Syracuse University immediately after graduating college. In my role, I cleaned the locker room and did the laundry of the football team. The team that I was a captain of the year before. The job in the equipment room gave me two opportunities that changed my life.

First, the job allowed me to train for the NFL. In the year that I worked in the Equipment room I tried out for the Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals, Denver Broncos, and Atlanta Falcons. In these tryouts I lived out a childhood dream of mine, meeting John Elway and training in the shadow of Lambeau Field. I also had to face the reality that my ultimate dream of playing in the NFL might not happen. Football had taught me many life lessons and I understood it was time to apply those lessons on a different field.

Second, it was in the equipment room that I began researching the benefits of law school. I wanted a career where I could positively influence and inspire my community. I found that a law degree would open up doors to serve the community as a career. I really enjoyed law school and feel that it has equipped me to analyze problems quickly and approach challenges with an open mind.

Working in the Equipment Room at Syracuse gave me opportunities to consider what I really wanted out of my career. In those afternoons of folding towels I decided that I wanted to inspire and influence my community.
Layla by Eric Clapton.
It seems that my bull dog, Truman, has a crush on the neighbor's dog, Layla. So I sing him a little Eric Clapton. The only problem is I only know one word to the song, "Laaayy- LA."
People are leaving. Outmigration is happening at an alarming rate in Central New York. Young people are seeking jobs elsewhere. Families are leaving for better opportunities. Parents are leaving to be closer to their children. Elderly people are heading south. These trends are directly related to New York's burdensome tax and regulatory policies.

My wife, Jenna, and I are dedicated to reversing these trends. After I graduated from Cornell Law School, and Jenna had established herself as a valuable employee to the Syracuse Athletic department, we had job opportunities outside of Central New York. However, we determined that the potential to thrive in Central New York is unmatched. We strive to encourage all people to see Central New York for its positives and work to change its negatives. Our quest started with choosing Central New York over other geographical regions in the country and continues with my journey to the state legislature.
The ideal relationship between the Governor and state legislature is one of balance. New York's governor has a lot of executive power and the legislature needs to check the Governor's power. Over the last two years New York has been hurt by "one-party" rule, meaning the policy branches of government are controlled by the same political party. Due to this dynamic, a lot of legislation has passed that was ill-considered, poorly written, and unwise. When the government is in proper balance, officials from all political parties must collaborate with each other and compromise. A balanced procedure leads to legislation that is well-rounded, properly vetted, and beneficial to the people of New York.
Dave Valesky. Dave represented New York's 53rd District well and there is a lot about his approach I intend to model. Dave might seem like an odd role model because he represented a different political party than me. However, Dave showed a commitment to represent the diversity of the whole district. While him and I would disagree on many specific votes, we would both agree on the importance of considering various perspectives from many constituents. As an elected representative, I understand it is not my responsibility to always vote my personal beliefs but to vote and advocate for my constituents. I believe Dave Valesky represented this value.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also


External links

Footnotes

  1. Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on April 6, 2020


Current members of the New York State Senate
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Minority Leader:Robert Ortt
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John Liu (D)
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