State Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, R-Jamestown, is seeking his fourth consecutive term. Opposing Goodell is Jason Perdue, a Brocton native endorsed by the Democratic Party. To say the two have opposing views on state policy matters would be an understatement.

In a recent debate hosted by The Post-Journal and OBSERVER, Goodell reiterated his opposition of statewide minimum wage increases while Perdue stated his support for increasing the minimum wage. The sides disagree on the best way to treat drug addiction, on the cause of the state’s government corruption problems and the best proposals to finally bring an end to the state’s seemingly endless ethics scandals and how to decrease New York’s tax burden to make the state more competitive with its neighbors.

We know already of businesses that have had to change hours to meet the state’s increasing minimum wage. While Perdue said he would not push to increase the wage further, his backing of costly initiatives like single-payer health care and publicly funded campaigns pushed often by New York City Democrats make us wonder if he would have fought as hard as Goodell and state Sen. Catharine Young fought to find a middle ground on the minimum wage increase, which was cut from $15 to $12.50 per hour upstate.

Similarly, Perdue’s desire to eliminate all outside income for state legislature and make legislators full time would be a costly proposal for taxpayers, particularly when outside income has been less of a problem in creating corruption than have the previously unchecked abuses in the state’s procurement policies and loopholes in political donations that allow a pay-to-play culture to be taken advantage of by legislators with no scruples.

Goodell has fought the good fight on ethics and budgetary matters during his three terms in the state Assembly while working with state Sen. Catharine Young, R-Olean, to secure meaningful investment for Chautauqua County in the state budget. It would be a shame to split up a team that has proven it works well together to benefit Chautauqua County residents.

Don’t forget, Young’s power in the state Senate is greatly diminished without Goodell working in the Assembly to make sure there is support for Chautauqua County initiatives in a legislative chamber that is often diametrically opposed to Chautauqua County’s policy needs.

Andy Goodell’s opposition to the minimum wage, multi-pronged approach to treating drug addiction and ethics violations, and his common-sense thinking on the taxes and spending make him the best choice for the Assembly’s 150th District position.