Manlius resident Anne Messenger announced her candidacy for Congress on Tuesday, becoming the first Democrat to enter the 24th Congressional District race against incumbent Republican Rep. John Katko.

Messenger, 70, used to manage her own company, Messenger Associates, which specializes in career management and human resources consulting, according to auburnpub.com. Messenger also served chair of the Onondaga Community College Board of Trustees and a board chair of the Central New York Community Foundation.

In 2008, Messenger was recognized by Syracuse University with the Community Entrepreneurial Leadership Award, auburnpub.com reported.

She is currently involved with CenterState CEO, an organization that focuses on economic development strategies and the advisory boards of both Excellus BlueCross BlueShield Central New York and St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, her personal website shows.

While Messenger is the first Democrat to publicly announce her candidacy, Phil LaTessa, another Democrat and former Syracuse city auditor, has filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission, according to auburnpub.com.

Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner is also reportedly considering entering the race once her term ends this year, per the newspaper report.

Katko, who was first elected in 2014 unseating Democratic incumbent Dan Maffei, successfully fended off a challenge by Democrat Colleen Deacon last November.

Chris Martin, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in the auburnpub.com article that the party is confident that constituents will re-elect Katko in 2018 considering his efforts in taking on major issues such as expanding mental health care and fighting against the district’s synthetic drug epidemic.

“I welcome Anne Messenger to this race,” Katko told auburnpub.com.

Published on July 11, 2017 at 10:01 pm

Contact Sandhya: ssiyer@syr.edu