Two candidates — one a town supervisor, the other a county legislator, are seeking the opportunity to represent the New York state Senate District 50 of Central New York.

Democrat Chris Ryan, an Onondaga County legislator, and Republican Nick Paro, the town of Salina supervisor, have experience in the political world and say they are ready to take the next step — into Albany. The seat is open due to state Sen. John Mannion running for Congress, looking to flip New York's 22nd Congressional District seat back to the Democrats.

“I’ve talked about bail reform and criminal policies. I talked about the migrant crisis in New York that's costing us $2.4 billion in this last budget,” Paro said.

“I’ve always been making sure that our streets are safe and that's part of it. So, economic development, certainly public safety and education, but also health care, It's on people's minds and it needs to be addressed,” Ryan said.

Both believe they are ready to see their visions forward.

“We need to come up with opportunities for people to continue to live here, afford the house that they're living in, and also maintain the jobs that they have,” Paro said.

“I’m going to be an advocate and I'm going to be a strong voice and make sure that those resources come back home,” Ryan said about overall issues and Micron's investment in Central New York.