Diana Kastenbaum: I Have the Knowledge, Wisdom & Experience to Start on Day One for NY24
Diana Kastenbaum [https://dianaforny24.com/] lives in Batavia in Genesee County. For 25 years she owned a small IT Tech Company that worked with law firms. She returned home where her family owned a tool & die casting business and became the CEO. Her mission was to bring the company up to date and create a legacy plan so when the company was eventually sold, the vendors, customers and the employees who had faithfully worked with the company for years would continue to have jobs & accounts. While there she wore many hats: truck driver, purchasing agent, improvised sitter, healthcare manager, etc.
Her father, a veteran, and her husband both became ill around the same time. She became very familiar navigating both healthcare systems and greatly admires those who provided the care. Crossroads House [https://www.crossroadshouse.com/]
Diana has one daughter of whom she is very proud!
Not to disparage Claudia Tenney, but she is not accessible to her constituents. Last year, right after Sackets Harbor [https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/mother-three-children-arrested-ice-sackets-harbor-released-rcna200073], Diana formed Concerned Citizens of NY24 [https://www.facebook.com/p/Concerned-Citizens-of-NY24-61574092981706/] with Scott Comegys. It was created because people wanted to talk about all the deportations & executive orders. Tenney was invited to several Town Halls and available for none. Diana visited that (Sackets Harbor) farm afterwards and spoke to the owners at length. ‘I like to go myself and find out what’s happening in the district.’
Regarding the current immigration policy, Diana says this district is huge, encompassing 14 counties, so what happens in Niagara may not happen in Jefferson. There are many issues in this red, gerrymandered district. "The NY24 Representative must be facile, adaptive and be willing to travel!" Even if all the democrats came out [to vote] we couldn’t win. Hopefully the non-affiliated will come on board. Winning will not be possible without republicans. Many may stay home, but hopefully they are so disgusted with what is happening that they come out and vote.
Farming is the economic driver in NY24. There are orchards, vineyards, crop farmers and dairy farmers that go all through this district. Diana has been on a farm tour throughout. Most of the owners are republican. She’s sitting down with them for 2 ½ hours or more and asking questions.
The farmers are very upset with the tariffs. The farmers are paying tariffs on new machinery AND they are also paying tariffs on parts for existing equipment. The input costs just on equipment is huge. Getting fertilizer for the smaller farms has been difficult with the issues in Iran. The cost of off road diesel fuel has gone up too.
Deportations – ICE has come in and taken the farm’s workers – the farmers are very concerned because the workers are like family to them. The farmers are the stewards of the land. Their succession plan is their family, something Diana can relate to.
The other thing affecting the farmers is the reduction of their markets. Programs like USAID [https://www.usglc.org/media/2025/03/Assistance-Cuts-Hurt-Our-Economy.pdf] and SNAP [https://democrats-agriculture.house.gov/uploadedfiles/250409_-_ag_dems_-_snap_facts.pdf] have been eliminated or severely curtailed. These were supplemental income that farmers had, but now those markets are gone.
NY24 is also right near Cornell Land Grant Institution. Many of NY’s farmers have gone to school and gotten their degrees in the Agriculture Department. With federal funding being taken away from institutions like Cornell, research is not progressing and the next new molecule is left undiscovered.
Showing up and talking to the farmers, being familiar with their struggles, hearing what the people of NY24 have to say and marching with them in protests may be reasons people will vote for Kastenbaum over Claudia Tenney [https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/claudia_tenney/412720].
What farmers are looking for their representative to do once on The Hill: 1-Be on the Agricultural Committee; 2-Be on the Appropriations Committee; 3-Have an Advisory Board that can reach out to NY24 Constituents and stay current with the district’s needs and keep the dialog open
Diana is not against ICE as it was originally created, in the Department of Immigration and Naturalization Services under the Department of Homeland Security, with vetted agents who have been trained to do their job. There must be better training, absolutely no masks, and judicial warrants must be in place. The unqualified agents need to go. The brutality needs to stop. It needs to return to its original intent and correct some things that weren’t done right the first time.
Kastenbaum fears that if they start picking up migrants, what’s to say they don’t start picking up someone who is Muslim or Jewish or autistic, or gay or lesbian or trans? When do we say it’s enough? So, it’s important that we stand up and fight against this kind of authoritarianism and make sure it does not happen here.
Diana agrees with Gov. Hochul’s provision in the 2027 budget that prohibits local law enforcement agencies from working with ICE agents to identify, detain and process suspected illegal aliens. She is also encouraging anyone who lives in a county in NY24 that currently does not have a resolution on the books that prohibits local law enforcement from colluding with ICE, to reach out to your County Legislators. YOUR VOICE DOES MATTER!
Kastenbaum believes term limits for Congress should be 3 terms, 6 years. Senate should be 2 terms, 12 years, no grandfather clause. She has signed a pledge for US Term Limits. Tenney did not.
Diana says the US Supreme Court used to be one of the last bastions of our balance of power. Now it’s not. There should be more than 9 Supreme Court justices, and an age limit with a retirement age in the mid-80’s.
Regarding women’s healthcare, Kastenbaum has always been for a woman’s right to choose. New York is great, but what about the people in Texas or Tennessee? What if you have a high-risk pregnancy? What if you miscarry and need further medical intervention? The difference between life and death is a matter of a few hours, sometimes minutes.
Life experience creates empathy with people and that’s what I think is lacking with candidates. You can say good things but unless you can come to the table having lived a full life and gained wisdom and experience, you’re not going to be able to serve them that well.
Please give us your thoughts on Israel and Iran – and, if you think Cuba is next:
Diana is Jewish. She believes this is a difficult question for Jewish people and that the Middle East is complicated. She is for a 2 state solution. She believes that October 7th was an atrocity and she does not support Netanyahu at all. She doesn’t support Hamas or Hezbollah, or the Muslim Brotherhood in Iran. The Palestinians and the Israelis want peace. That’s why we need a 2 state solution.
Diana is against insider trading.
She feels The Epstein files need to be released. This is an abomination.
Kastenbaum’s top goals for bettering the 24th District if she is elected all have to do with affordability: 1) Healthcare – every year prices go up and coverage goes down; 2) Tariffs make commodities higher; 3) Educational costs; 4) Energy costs
Diana was asked what makes her different from her democratic opponent (Alissa Ellman)?
Diana's Response: Ask yourself a question: You need to come to the table with some knowledge, some expertise, the wisdom, the experience to start on Day 1. Who is better suited for the job?
Diana Kastenbaum for NY24: dianaforny24 [https://dianaforny24.com/]
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