Nicholas Stankevich

Press release:

On Monday, businessman Nick Stankevich suspended his grassroots Congressional campaign against Chris Collins.

"Eight months ago, I announced my candidacy to represent our community in Congress," Stankevich said, "standing for issues that put people first has always been the heart and soul of my campaign: healthcare for a healthier society, good education for our children’s future, job creation by investing in rural infrastructure and a renewable economy.

"Growing up in Western New York, learning from this great country, and seeing our communities for what they could be, there is a need to push for a new direction with fresh ideas. I ran for Congress out of an obligation to give back to a community that gave me so much. I have been the beneficiary of some of the hardest working people in Western New York and thank them for the time and effort they put into this campaign.

"My family, friends and everyone who supported me have shown me, once again, that we live in a unique place. Having traveled throughout our rural towns to meet with farmers, veterans and small business owners, I am reminded that we live in a place where it does not matter where you have been, what you look like, or how much money you make. It only matters that the contents of your character are pure and that you long for a future where our children are better off than we are.

“After careful consideration and with a heavy heart, I am suspending my campaign for Congress. I’m proud of the campaign I ran and proud of my team. I will take the lessons learned and the warmth from our neighbors who yearn for a better tomorrow, to continue fighting to make our community better. As always, I encourage every decision you make to have people at the heart of it, along with humility, compassion and kindness. The people of Western New York deserve that in their representative.

“I want to remind everyone, Republican or Democrat, of the strength that you hold in your hands. Your vote won’t just affect change for two years, but it will be a symbol of hope for generations to come. The promise of America is not only that your vote will count, but also that it will mean something. It assures you that we are a part of something bigger than right now.

"Our decision at the ballot box will be judged in the history books, and our children and grandchildren count on us to give them a better future than we could ever imagine. May God bless the United States of America."

Nicholas Stankevich, candidate for the NY-27 congressional district, hosted an open house Thursday night to announce the opening of his campaign office at 56 Harvester Ave., in the Harvester Center.

Press release:

As the volunteer lists keep growing, Progressive Democratic Congressional candidate Nicholas Stankevich has opened his first district office. The work space is located at 56 Harvester Ave. in Batavia, Genesee County. Renovated from a former industrial work space, the Stankevich campaign has scheduled an Open House and the official opening to be Thursday, Dec. 21st, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.

“Our intention is to provide a great place for our volunteers to work on our campaign as we begin the important process of taking back the 27th Congressional District,” Stankevich said. “We will win this election only with the hard work of our volunteers and pressing the important issues that greatly influence the families of this district.”

The office is housed in the old Massey-Harris plant. Designed as a workspace for volunteers, the office will be used on a continual basis to house volunteer activities for the Stankevich campaign.

“This office is really what this campaign is all about,” Stankevich said. “Our district used to be full of manufacturing jobs like those that were housed in this facility. Today, we have to develop 21st century jobs, educate our young people, train them in new technologies and opportunities that provide a strong livable wage. That is how we will bring back our communities in Western New York.”

Office Hours are daily, but dependent on the volunteer schedule. The Open House is a great way to grab a cup of coffee with the candidate to discuss the issues of the 27th Congressional District.

With a promise to focus on people and jobs, a Mumford resident, Nicholas Stankevich, stepped behind a lectern placed in front of the entrance of Batavia High School yesterday and announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the 27th Congressional District.

Stankevich has just finished a tour of the school led by Pat Burk, chairman of the Batavia City Schools District trustees.

Burk said he was endorsing Stankevich because the candidate would support education and favor policies that continued the flow of funds from the federal Department of Education to local school districts.

"Districts require a certain level of cooperation and funding from the federal government in order to provide for many of our neediest students," Burk said. "Programs that are called upon daily to aid and assist our children are in jeopardy under current conditions and this administration."

Burk then discussed some of the programs that assist students and educators that are threatened, including Medicaid, nutrition programs and programs to promote new technology and training.

"Nick Stankevich will work with our local educational leaders to understand the needs of our students and the families that we serve," Burk said. "He will work to maintain a high level of funding that is needed to provide for our neediest children."

When asked for specifics on his education policy, Stankevich said that's a work in progress.

"There is this is a lot of work to be done," Stankevich said. "It's holding people accountable. And like I said before, as the campaign goes on we'll get into more specifics on legislation."

As he said before, he doesn't yet have specifics on his "people and jobs" platform.

"As we unfold more and as the campaign goes along we will be releasing specific policies and specifically to jobs," he said.

A lifelong resident of Western New York, Stankevich described himself as both an educator and small businessman. His first business, of five, was a swim school, which he said he ran successfully for 12 years. Currently, he is in charge of marketing for his parents' bed and breakfast in Mumford. He holds an MBA from the Pepperdine Graziadio School of Business and Management in Los Angeles. On his LinkedIn profile, he also lists himself as cofounder (with his brother Jason) and CEO of a startup technology company based in Los Angeles, Instrekt. The company describes itself on Crunchbase as,"... an Airbnb style, trusted community-driven marketplace for people to list, discover, and book activity-based lessons around the world."

His experience, he said, prepares him to focus on jobs, jobs for people.

"There are many different ways to do economic development and mine would be more of a people-first approach that helps the community," he said.

He said he decided to run because he sees so many problems around us.

"Just stepping outside your door, looking down the street," Stankevich said. "You know there's there's a lot to be done in all of our communities and I believe that we need new leadership and we need a new direction."