Embracing the Issues

Fighting for Government Accountability

As a County Legislator Justin drafted legislation calling for an investigation into the multi million dollar bid rigging scandal involving local development corporations and politically connected individuals. Unclear on why the county was spending millions of taxpayer dollars on a law firm to provide legal representation to comply with the Attorney Generals investigation into corruption, Justin also repeatedly called on the County to release the true nature of the relationship and expenditures being made.

At a time when COMIDA tax break deals for malls in Irondequoit and Henrietta raised serious questions about how decisions were being made in the interest of developers and at the expense of taxpayers, Justin called on COMIDA to have school district representation on the board. Justin requested that COMIDA have one person on their board recommended by the Monroe County School Boards Association.

Justin also initiated a review of the County’s outdated ethics laws which still allowed legislators to receive gifts. Justin proposed revised language which resulted in an update to the County’s antiquated ethics laws.

Protecting Children

Justin’s proposal to stop sex offenders from living near schools, daycare centers, and playgrounds is one of the few to receive unanimous bipartisan support for co-sponsorship.

Through his actions, Justin was able to successfully get a contract tabled with the youth detention center after allegations of sexual abuse. He also led the effort to reform the county’s Child Protective Services after the death of 3 year-old Brook Stagles.

Justin has also sponsored legislation to regulate vaping products so they can’t be sold to minors, and has called for greater investments in childcare and early intervention programs.

Safeguarding the Environment

In order to protect our environment from the harmful chemicals found in hydrofracking wastewater, Justin worked with local environmental advocates and introduced legislation to prohibit hydrofracking wastewater from being treated at Monroe County Pure Waters.

As the Federal government walked away from its commitment to a greener future, Justin worked with advocates and the Rochester Youth Climate leaders to draft legislation creating a plan for local action. After drafting the initial legislation, Justin worked with County Executive Adam Bello and his Republican counterparts and passed a historic bipartisan proposal establishing a climate action plan advisory board for Monroe County.

A Leader on Healthcare

As legislative director for Assemblyman Morelle, Justin was instrumental in drafting legislation aimed at increasing medical insurance coverage for New Yorkers and protecting women’s health. That included working on a bill requiring that that women undergoing mammograms be informed when they had dense breast tissue, a condition which may mask the early signs of breast cancer under standard diagnostic conditions.

Advocating for Our Seniors

Justin was the first elected official to question the actions of the Executive Director of Monroe Community Hospital after reports of abuse and neglect. He called for the Executive Director to step down and publicly criticized the administration for allowing the hospital’s oversight board to dissolve.

Fighting for Main Street

In the midst of the 2008 financial crisis, Justin worked with Assemblyman Morelle on national model legislation that would have reined in the Wall Street firms most responsible for the worst economy since the Great Depression. Justin worked with Morelle to hold hearings in Albany and New York City to address the dangers of a derivatives market worth tens of trillions of dollars operating with little or no public oversight, and called for reforms to prevent future episodes that could cost millions of Americans their homes and life savings.

Standing up for Working Families

Justin pushed back against the county’s tactics when public safety union contract negotiations were stalled, fought to protect promised health care benefits for county retirees, and took to the floor of the legislature to stop an unfair home foreclosure.