Overview
Jeremy Cooney flipped a long-held Republican seat in 2020 and was up for re-election in 2022. His opponent, a beloved local police chief, leaned heavily on crime as his top issue. In a year where public safety and inflation were the top two concerns among voters, Parkside knew the Senator would have to assure residents in his newly drawn district that he was the right leader to represent Rochester.

Our Approach
Parkside knew Cooney needed to clearly demonstrate that he was not only a strong advocate for the long-neglected City of Rochester but that, as a lifelong Rochester resident, had first-hand experience and understanding of just how overlooked this working-class community had been. We believed the best way to achieve this goal was through validators and Cooney’s own history as a public school student in Rochester. By honing in on Cooney’s roots in his community and lifting up his accomplishments as a State Senator, Parkside made Cooney the homegrown neighbor Rochester residents wanted to vote for.

The Results
In a year where crime dominated New York politics, Senator Cooney was able to successfully win his campaign against a well-liked, highly respected chief of police. Parkside’s ability to weave Cooney’s personal narrative into the issues that voters cared about and use opposition research to delegitimize Cooney’s opponent was a key part of securing Cooney’s victory.