Ambulance paramedic, veteran and longtime Danby, New York, resident Matt Sullivan is pursuing a seat on the Tompkins County Legislature in District 13, encompassing Danby and Caroline.
Sullivan has not held elected office previously. Irene Weiser and Kyle Erickson are also running for the Democratic nomination for the District 13 seat.
Sullivan’s campaign prioritizes improving rural access to emergency services, expanding accessible childcare and strengthening workforce and economic development, according to a press release.
Raised in Danby, Sullivan attended Ithaca High School. He joined the 204th Engineer Battalion of the New York Army National Guard and later worked as an Army Medic in Iraq and Kuwait. He was promoted to Sergeant and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal.
After working as a paramedic in Rochester, Sullivan and his wife moved back to Danby in 2020, where he joined Bangs Ambulance as a paramedic.
With a strong background in support of unions, Sullivan believes that unions sustain the local economy while also increasing high-paying, long-term jobs, according to the press release. He co-founded Bangs Ambulance Workers United, a union under the Civil Service Employees Association, where he became the first president.
Recognized for his support of union members, Sullivan was appointed to the Regional EMS Council in 2023. If elected, he said he will advocate for the expansion of pathways to union training and jobs nationwide by reforming the Tompkins County Workforce Development Board and looking into tax incentives for small, local businesses that hire Tompkins County residents.
Sullivan is embarking on his first campaign for public office in Tompkins County, drawing on his leadership and advocacy experience to improve rural access to emergency services, expand accessible childcare and strengthen workforce and economic development.
In an interview with The Ithaca Voice, Sullivan noted that his experience as a paramedic would bring unique and necessary expertise to the issue, noting that Danby and Caroline are “probably some of the worst covered districts” for EMS services.
“The problem with trying to reform an EMS system without someone who understands EMS and works in EMS is that there’s a lot of things that might sound like a really good idea, but people very rarely truly understand the intricacies of EMS,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan will also prioritize expanding childcare options and increasing resources, like funding from Governor Hochul’s $110 million Childcare Construction Fund to build new facilities and improve existing ones.
Many local residents raised concerns at the Wednesday forum about rising rates of property taxes in recent years, something Sullivan said he has heard about consistently during his campaign. At a League of Women Voters forum on Wednesday evening, Sullivan emphasized the importance of allocating money to Tompkins County’s most valuable services. In response to rising property taxes, he suggested New York State School Tax Relief rebate taxes, which provides property tax relief to eligible homeowners.
“The county does have a say in how high people’s taxes are and we have to be very cognizant of what services we’re providing,” Sullivan said.
As a Tompkins County Legislator, Sullivan would like to bring work with unions to the county level.
“There’s only so much you can do through a workers’ union for an entire county’s EMS structure. And I’d like to continue what I started with the union at the county level,” Sullivan said.
On April 30, President Trump issued an executive order threatening federal funding cuts to sanctuary jurisdictions like Ithaca and Tompkins County, potentially jeopardizing $50 million in annual aid. In response to the administration’s threats, Sullivan noted, “We have to insulate ourselves and not lose our value structure because of an outside, federal threat.”
At the Wednesday forum, Sullivan emphasized the importance of maintaining engagement with residents of both Danby and Carolina through office hours, regular town halls and utilizing his connections with local leaders and organizations to ensure that his constituents’ voices are heard.
“Listening to my friends and neighbors is probably going to impact my policy quite a bit,” Sullivan said. “I’m not trying to come in with a revolutionary hard charge to cram down everyone’s throat, but I want to make everyone’s lives better.”
The Democratic primary will be held on June 24.
Cereese Qusba is a News Editor from The Cornell Daily Sun working on The Sun’s summer fellowship at The Ithaca Voice. This article was previously published in The Ithaca Voice.
Cereese Qusba is a member of the Class of 2027 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a news editor for the 143rd Editorial Board. She can be reached at cqusba@cornellsun.com.
