Home Issue Hospitals Downtown FAQs Resources
Position Paper E-mail Us Attend Meetings Sign Petition

Jump to:
2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021

Heath Phillips

Below is a brief bio of Heath Phillips, your Democratic Write-in Candidate for Congress on Tuesday, November 6, 2018!

[ Click Here: Anthony Brindisi Is Not Worthy Of Your Vote! ]

VOTE: Heath Phillips in the 22nd Congressional District

47-year-old Heath Phillips served as the Cortland Democratic Town Chairman from December of 2015 until April of 2017, when he resigned to Throw his hat into the Democratic primary race for New York State’s 22nd congressional seat.

He is a Navy veteran and a nationally known advocate for veterans and human rights. He’s been featured in various national media, including being interviewed for Time Magazine and an appearance, earlier this year, on NBC’s The Today Show.

Mr. Phillips is a proud father and grandfather who refreshingly admits to a “bit of a checkered past.” He says his run for Congress was “because the American dream is worth fighting for. Because we’re all worth fighting for. It’s time to clean up Washington and restore America's basic bargain to our district.“ Adding, "America thrives best when everyone thrives. People are just plain tired of career politicians and, frankly, I’m just as tired as they are."

According to Mr. Phillips, his work in Washington DC as an advocate for human rights and sexual assault reform legislation has provided him more legislative experience than Anthony Brindisi and Claudia Tenney combined.“ Experience that he says he looks forward to “putting to work for the 22nd Congressional District.”

Mr. Phillips Withdrew from the Democratic primary in September of 2017. “The amount of money needed to run a competitive race against an establishment candidate like Anthony Brindisi is mind-boggling,” explains Mr. Phillips. "Basically, Mr. Brindisi had every county committee working his corner. The chances of anyone mounting a successful primary campaign against him were nearly non-existent,” he lamented. “I’d be excluded from virtually every important Democratic event, while Mr. Brindisi, on the other hand, would be given featured speaker status. It was truly eye-opening to see just how difficult the establishment can make it to run against their preordained candidate.” He also took a jab at many in the local media, “They didn’t even attempt to hide their bias,” he says.

Before withdrawing from the primary race, Mr. Phillips had several endorsements lined up. Among them were Veterans, Human Rights, and Environmental PACS, as well as plans for several members of Congress and the Senate to publicly declare their support.

[continues below tweet]

Regarding the proposed downtown Utica hospital debacle, Mr. Phillips decried the politics responsible...

"You would think, and hope, that given the level of transparency that we all supposedly thrive for in government nowadays, that that kind of shady and corrupt backroom wheeling and dealing style of politics was a thing of the past. To simply dismiss some 40 downtown businesses and nonprofits as expendable is unthinkable.”

At the time of this writing, Mr. Phillips received a phone call offering him a position on the DNC Veterans Advisory Committee.

Email Heath Phillips at: Heath Phillips

[Note: Continue reading below, Heath visited Utica multiple times, as he cared about property owners, Utica residents, and our regional healthcare...]

From July to September of 2017.. Heath Phillips was visiting the 22nd Congressional District. Heath stopped into Utica often, he was concerned about the hospital concept. We supported Heath, but Heath eventually had to step aside, Democrat Heath Phillips drops bid for Congress, won't challenge Brindisi. Below are our old posts and information on Heath...

Phillips Seeking 22nd Congressional District

Heath grew up in Cortland and Oneida Counties of New York with his mother, a registered nurse, and father, an Army veteran and owner of a manufacturing business. At the age of 16, he decided to follow in the footsteps of his father and other family members by passing the GED and enlisted in the US Navy.

While at his first duty station, at age 17, he was sexually assaulted by six shipmates spanning ten months. Six weeks into the intensifying sexual assaults and lack of accountability by his superiors, Heath left his duty station to seek the protection of his family. Shortly afterward, he returned to be offered a punishment of six months confinement to the ship, where the assaults occurred. Consequently, he declined this punishment and was discharged from the Navy.

After his ‘other than honorable’ discharge, Heath self-medicated with drugs and alcohol leading to legal issues. After 20 years and a failed suicide attempt, Heath decided he wanted to make a difference so he worked hard, became sober, and took on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to receive his veterans benefits. Without an attorney, he won the landmark case after five years.

Looking to prevent what happened to him from happening to others, Heath, in 2010, sought state and federal officials to work on legislation to ensure the most vulnerable in our military were protected. After initial legislation failed to pass, he collaborated with other survivors and organizations to produce a documentary about Military Sexual Assaults (MST). This gained attention from national media outlets like GQ Magazine, TIME Magazine, as well as the attention of Senator Gillibrand (D-NY), Rep. Speier (D-CA) and others in Congress leading to a critical role in development of the STOP ACT. After the STOP Act, Heath fought for the Fairness for Veterans Act of 2016 which was signed into law last November. Then he joined the fight for veterans health care with the Choice Act leading to its extension for another year.

Today, Heath provides motivational speaking and sexual assault prevention training for private and government organizations. He also led the Cortland County Town Democratic Committee as Town Chair, and holds the distinguished honor of being the first and only non-attorney member of the Lawyers Coalition for his sexual assault case victory against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Quick Facts:

1. Heath grew up between Oneida County and Cortland County, splitting time between his parents.

2. Mom was a registered nurse. Dad was an Army Veteran and Union Boilermaker with a small business in Utica.

3. While at my first duty station, he was sexually assaulted by six shipmates over a period of 10 months. To numb the pain and shame he felt, he self-medicated with drugs and alcohol which ruined relationships with his wife and kids, placing himself in constant isolation which led to being discharged with an “other than honorable” from the Navy, and legal issues.

4. After 20 years and a failed suicide attempt, Heath became sober and took on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to receive his veterans benefits. Without an attorney, he won the landmark case after five years.

5. In 2010, sought state and federal officials to work on legislation to ensure the most vulnerable in our military were protected. Initial legislation attempts failed.

6. Collaborated with other survivors and organizations to produce a documentary about Military Sexual Assaults (MST). This gained attention from national media outlets like GQ Magazine, TIME Magazine, as well as the attention of Senator Gillibrand (D-NY), Rep. Speier (D-CA) and others in Congress leading to a critical role in development of the STOP ACT.

7. Advocated on the Fairness for Veterans Act of 2016 which was signed into law last November.

8. He continued by joining the fight for veterans health care with the Choice Act leading to its extension for another year.

9. Heath is a motivational speaker and sexual assault prevention trainer for private and government organizations.

10. Led the Cortland County Town Democratic Committee as Town Chair.

11. First and only non-attorney member of the Lawyers Coalition for his sexual assault case victory against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

September 1, 2017 - Utica Mayor suggests his regional congressional hopeful should call him first, so to "... Give me the opportunity to be able to show him where he may be wrong or I may be right..."

August 29, 2017 - A candidate for the 22nd Congressional District will visit Utica ... Read More

August 26, 2017 - Phillips receives endorsement on his candidacy for Congress...

August 4, 2017 - We are glad to start hearing about Heath Phillips, Utica needs an alternative to Assemblyman Brindisi...

Utica, Oneida County and Congress deserves better, read how Anthony Brindisi Called His Constituents Idiots


No Studies, No Reports, thus we remain #NoHospitalDowntown

Our research is ongoing, please check back. Our research is ongoing, please check back.