Kenny Belvin graduated from Oswego State fall semester 2017 and now, at the age of 24 going on 25, decided to help solve the issues in the U.S. by running for Congress next year.

Belvin, a Democrat from New Rochelle, has put his name in the race for NY-16 U.S. House of Representatives against long-time incumbent Eliot Engel. 

Some of the most important issues for Belvin are climate change, the $1.5 trillion student debt and the large income gap of people in the U.S. 

“Climate change is definitely, I would say, the biggest issue that faces us right now,” Belvin said. “The intergovernmental panel on climate change says that we have now 11 years left to solve the problem before we do irreparable damage to the planet. … Anyone who runs for any office and doesn’t take that seriously is doing a disservice to their constituents.”

In regards to the massive student debt that affects 45 million Americans, Belvin said it is necessary to have bold ideas to solve the problem. He proposes to cancel student debt altogether. He said reports say if that is done, it will generate up to $100 billion in economic activity every year, paying for itself within 15 years. This plan would release generations of young people from needing to live with relatives because they cannot afford to live on their own, according to Belvin.

Belvin also does not agree with the current income inequality present in the U.S.

“There are so few people at the top who have almost all of the money,” Belvin said. “No one could ever spend $1 billion in their lifetime, and we have up to half a million people sleeping homeless on our streets every night. That doesn’t make sense to me, and in the wealthiest country in the history of mankind, we can do better than that.”

Belvin said 27 percent of people who vote are millennials, but only 6 percent of Congress is from that same generation. The minimum age to run for the House of Representatives is 25, which is how old Belvin will be by the time he would enter office should he win, and the minimum age for the Senate is 30. 

“I think we lose perspective when we have a gap so severe,” Belvin said. “Decisions that are made now in Washington are ones that I’m going to have to live with and [my generation is] going to have to live with basically forever, so I think we need to give ourselves a seat at the table. Running for Congress is a way to do that.”

Given his young age in comparison to much of the government, Belvin said he wants to break through the challenging stigma of being young in Congress.

“It almost puts a bit of a weight on young people across the country, and while I don’t ever want to claim myself to be a standard bearer of millennials, I think it’s time for us to step up,” Belvin said. 

Belvin said Eliot Engel has been in office for 30 years and that can cause detachment from “people on the ground.” Should he win, Belvin said he will be able to provide a fresh perspective and a proper representation for a very diverse district.

NY-16 is a largely Democratic district, but Belvin said 220,000 registered Democrats, which is 90 percent, did not vote in the last election.

“Giving people a choice on the ballot so that there can be a free exchange of ideas is definitely necessary in my district,” Belvin said. 

When Belvin attended Oswego State, he worked in the admissions office all four years of his undergrad and changed his major four times before he landed on political science. He said his internships for campaigns in Oswego and Westchester, and the work his professors and other students did to help him, was instrumental in his path to running for office.

“I got to see the best of what this campus has to offer and I think it shaped my view on a lot of things in life,” Belvin said. “When I made the decision to run, I thought about [Oswego] a lot. It’s so far from where I live, but it was such a fundamental part of me becoming who I am. The students I met here, the faculty that I know – I think part of me is doing this for them.”

Belvin said at graduation, students hear encouragements, such as they can do anything, and he wants to show professors and students that it is true.

“The sky is the limit,” Belvin said.

Photo provided by Kenny Belvin