CANISTEO – More than 70 people attended Assemblyman Joe Sempolinski’s town hall meeting Thursday at the Canisteo American Legion Post.

“I want to thank everyone who came out on a beautiful summer night to spend a couple hours with me to talk about their concerns,” Assemblyman Sempolinski said. “This was my third town hall since taking office in January, but it was my first town hall in Steuben County. I wanted to hold it in Canisteo because it’s where I live and where my wife and I are raising our two daughters.”

Many residents raised concerns about finding long-term solutions to prevent flooding. Canisteo was hard hit by flooding from Tropical Storm Debby in August of 2024. Some neighborhoods also flooded during heavy rain this spring as well.

“Every time it rains, people in Canisteo get nervous. My wife and I get nervous,” Assemblyman Sempolinski said. “People need to know that their concerns are being heard and that they matter to their elected representatives. I will never dismiss the concerns of my constituents. Everyone deserves our time and respect.”

Assemblyman Sempolinski said he is working with Canisteo Village Mayor Rick McInroy, Town Supervisor Joe Harrington, state Sen. Tom O’Mara, Congressman Nick Langworthy and Steuben County officials to ensure state and federal agencies work together to help Canisteo and other Steuben County communities affected by flooding.

“One of my jobs as Canisteo’s representative in the Assembly is to make sure the state and federal governments full fill their obligations to help the town and village recover from the flooding and take steps to mitigate, to the extent possible, any future flooding,” Assemblyman Sempolinski said. “Mayor McInroy and Supervisor Harrington have a direct line to me and my office. They know they can call me anytime. Government is a team sport, and we all need to work together to help the people we serve.”

Mayor McInroy and Supervisor Harrington attended the town hall and helped answer residents’ questions about the ongoing flood response.

Other issues residents asked about include rising crime, the state’s no-cash bail laws which were adopted in 2019 by the Democrat majority in Albany and the recent quarter-trillion state budget, which Assemblyman Sempolinski voted against.

“New York state has a lot of problems. We are overtaxed and overregulated. Those problems weren’t caused by the people in Canisteo,” Assemblyman Sempolinski said. “There is a lot more common sense in Canisteo and across the 148^th District than there is in Albany, which is why I am so glad to be back in the district, talking to the people I represent.