Patrick J. Becher (pronounced Besh-er), the Republican and Conservative candidate for the 128th District of the New York State Assembly, will hold a media availability event on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at 10:00 AM at the headquarters of the Onondaga County Republican Committee, 717 North Townsend Street in Syracuse. Becher will announce his campaign and unveil the first in a series of proposals aimed at making New York more affordable for working families.
"The State Assembly has been under one-party control since 1975 - more than fifty years - and the results have been devastating. New York State has suffered a net loss of more than one million people during the past five years, and it's not because of the weather. It's time to change direction and restore common sense."
Becher said the cost of energy is skyrocketing and argued that New York's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, passed in 2019, is driving up the cost of energy, housing, and transportation while limiting consumer choice.
One provision of the law would require that 68% of light-duty vehicle sales in New York be electric vehicles within three years and would end the sale of conventional combustion-powered light-duty vehicles within seven years.
Becher said those mandates would place reliable transportation out of reach for many working people, push consumers to neighboring states if they want to continue driving gasoline or diesel-powered vehicles, and hurt Central New York dealerships.
To protect consumers from rising automobile prices and to protect local dealerships, Becher is proposing that the state's 4% sales tax on motor vehicles be eliminated on the sale of used vehicles. The proposal would not apply to county sales tax levies.
"A used vehicle already generated sales tax on the full sticker price when it was sold as new. Why should it be taxed multiple times if it is later traded in and resold? Buyers are typically forced to build the sales tax into the loan and inflate their monthly payment."
The campaign said a reliable used vehicle priced at $30,000 currently carries an additional $1,200 in state sales tax, a cost Becher says adds unnecessary pressure to household budgets.
Becher described the used-vehicle tax proposal as an initial step rather than a complete solution, saying the larger problem is the state's broader climate and energy policy agenda.
"The CLCPA must be overturned, and I'll be exposing its radical details even more in the months ahead."
View Photos