Republican Ken Blankenbush, chair of the Jefferson County Board of Legislators and candidate to replace the retiring Dede Scozzafava as the 122nd Assembly District representative, is hearing frustration over spending from voters.

In a statement this week, Blankenbush said change in Albany is necessary in order to get spending and taxation under control.

In the contest, Blankenbush, who will have the Republican and Conservative Party lines on the ballot in November, will face Democrat Brian McGrath of Martinsburg.

His statement follows:

When I announced my campaign for Assembly, I felt the 122nd Assembly District needed someone to step up and advocate for real change both in Albany and in the North Country. Far too long, we’ve heard candidates say they’re going to bring fresh, new ideas to our politics only to be corrupted along the way.

I’ve spent my entire life in the North Country. I’ve owned a successful small business for twenty-four years. I’ve raised my family here and I’ve served my community in the Jefferson County legislature for the past seven years, spending the last several as Chairman. It is that experience, that understanding of the North Country way of life that inspired me to run for State Assembly. I believe I understand what this district needs, what its message is, and I’m asking voters for the ability to carry that message to Albany.

What is that message? That message is that we are tired of the runaway spending in Albany, we’re tired of the unfunded mandates, and we’re tired of the politics as usual that resulted in a budget being passed 125 days late. Northern New Yorkers can’t spend beyond their means, they can’t ask their neighbors to pick up the tab; and they certainly can’t wait a single day, let alone four months, without balancing their household budget.

The message of frustration is an important one and one that I’ve heard numerous times on the campaign trail. Family after family has expressed that they feel New York State government isn’t listening to them and doesn’t understand the burdensome taxes passed onto their checking accounts. As summer winds down, parents getting ready for their children to go back to school will be faced with a new tax on shoes and clothing that will only burden young families even more. The second latest budget in State history also put additional burdens on our local businesses by increasing regulations and taxes at a time when doing business in New York State is at its most difficult.

That frustration needs to be heard in Albany and I’ve heard it loud and clear.

Albany needs Northern New York. It needs our common sense. It needs our message of fiscal discipline and real leadership on ethics reforms, taxation and government corruption. But most importantly it needs our message of frustration. I am proud to be joined in this campaign by Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Union members, Tea Party Members, all kinds of Northern New Yorkers. We must together face down our demons and reign in the special interests that have bankrupted our state. We can only do it together, as one united Northern New York.

That is the message I will carry to Albany and advocate for as the elected representative of the 122nd Assembly District. We don’t need political spin machines; we don’t need Manhattan style campaign tactics. We just need North Country common sense.