Governor Andrew Cuomo sounded the pandemic alarm in Western New York on Wednesday saying the region, "never lived the full pain of COVID’s wrath."

While COVID-19 rates in Western New York have spiked in recent weeks, some local residents weren’t happy with what they characterized as a "lecture" or a "scolding" from the governor. 

But Assemblyman Sean Ryan, who was recently elected to the State Senate, told Capital Tonight that the governor’s comments may have seemed "inartful," but that they were necessary.

Ryan, who won the Senate seat formerly occupied by now Congressman Chris Jacobs, also discussed what he called the two biggest issues in Western New York, jobs, and the economy, and whether he would be interested in forming an upstate caucus.