Dan Norton

Dan Norton earned a high school diploma from Maine-Endwell Senior High School, a bachelor's degree from the State University of New York, Albany, and a law degree from Cornell Law School. Norton's career experience includes working as an attorney at law.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Dan Norton is a lifelong Broome County resident who has spent his life working, raising a family, and standing up for the community where he grew up. He was born at Wilson Memorial Hospital and raised on Hall Street in Endwell, where he learned early that if something needs fixing, you show up and do the work. That belief has guided him throughout his career and his involvement in the community.

Dan comes from a union family with deep working class roots. His father worked as a corrections officer at the Broome County Jail before becoming a letter carrier and then a postal clerk with the United States Postal Service and a proud member of the American Postal Workers Union. His mother is a social worker who spent her career working primarily with children and their families. Dan's father also served for twenty years on the Maine Endwell School Board, which allowed Dan to see firsthand how local decisions affect students, families, and district residents. From an early age, Dan learned that government should be practical, accountable, and focused on people, not politics.

Dan is running for office because he believes our area deserves steady, practical leadership in Albany. He understands how state decisions affect schools, local governments, nonprofits, small businesses, and families because he has worked alongside them for years.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Housing: Housing is a human right. Everyone deserves a place to call home, whether as a home buyer, a renter or a student. But, right now, we do not have enough apartments or houses in Broome County for everyone to have a decent, affordable place to call home. Decades of underbuilding and underinvestment have left us in crisis.

We must address the housing crisis with the urgency the moment demands. This means leveraging existing grant programs, rehabing existing housing, and repurposing existing structures to serve as housing. The State must work with stakeholders to expand housing supply and ensure that homes and apartments are affordable and accessible. New York must expand funding for the Housing Access Voucher Program.Affordability: Life is getting simply un affordable. Families are working harder than ever, yet falling further behind as housing costs soar, utility bills skyrocket, and childcare remains out of reach. We must build more affordable housing and support first-time homebuyers and renters. We must hold utility companies accountable for exorbitant rate hikes and fight for real relief for working families. And it’s long past time to make universal childcare a reality, so every family can access quality care regardless of their zip code or tax bracket. These are the minimum we must prioritize to make life more affordable.Infrastructure: Here in Broome County, our roads are crumbling, there are places where the water runs brown every day, and our flood mitigation systems are outdated. We need to fix this now. One of the jobs of an Assemblymember is to secure funding for their district to address local issues like roads, water quality, and flood mitigation systems. I will fight to ensure that our community gets its fair share of State resources so that local governments can pave our roads, clean our water, and protect our community from the next possible flood event.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Housing policy... Through working with the Broome County Habitat for Humanity, we have built and renovated properties to ensure families of all income levels are able to purchase a home. Housing is a human right and we must pass legislation that makes housing more affordable, accessible, and safer.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Assemblymember Donna Lupardo, Vestal Supervisor Maria Sexton, Johnson City Mayor Christina Charuk, Binghamton City Councilmember Kinya Middleton, Vestal Town Councilmember Sue Messina, Broome County Legislature Minorty Leader Kim Myers, & County Legislators Suzy Ryan, Mary Kaminsky, and Bob Weslar.