Pete Harckham Announces Bid for NY State Senate District 40
MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. (PRWEB) May 21, 2018 -- Former Westchester County Legislature Majority Leader Pete Harckham today announced his campaign for the 40th New York State Senate District from the plaza in front of Mount Kisco Village Hall. Harckham was joined by members of his family, local officials, community leaders, emergency first responders and members of the public.
“Today I am proud to announce that I am a candidate for NY State Senate in the 40th District,” Harckham told the crowd. “We are living in turbulent times. President Trump and his extreme conservative allies have declared war on New York State and its property taxpayers by eliminating much of the deduction for state and local property taxes, while health care costs for New Yorkers will rise as ideologues chip away the Affordable Care Act, climate change deniers assault the environment and long fought-for protections for women, unions, the disabled and communities of color are under assault.”
“We need a progressive senator who will fight for Hudson Valley values, not Donald Trump’s values,” Harckham said. “As state senator, I will fight full time to protect NY’s taxpayers, see that every New Yorker has access to high quality healthcare, including opioid treatment, guard our fragile drinking water supply, ensure that every child in the Hudson Valley receives a quality education and force area electric utilities to finally provide a storm resilient power supply.” Harckham added he would also dedicate himself to protecting area families and schools by making sure that the SAFE Act is not repealed.
Harckham also said he will “focus like a laser” on infrastructure and downtown Main Streets where storefronts lie vacant and family businesses are decimated by big box chains and online retailers. He will also partner with the communities around Indian Point to build a strong and sustainable economic foundation for those towns and villages impacted by the plant’s closure.
Harckham emphasized he will fight to open the log-jam of progressive legislation that has been bottled up in the Republican-led State Senate, noting that it is “unconscionable” that the Child Victims Act has languished. In addition, Harckham vowed to focus on election reform, renewable energy, as well as improved healthcare and other essential policies, calling for a unified state government, “not one that works to undermine progress and opportunity.”
“We have a unique opportunity to win the NY State Senate by defeating Terrence Murphy, whose extreme positions on election reform, school safety, victim’s rights and women’s healthcare are out of touch with the values of the majority of the voters in this district,” said Harckham.
Harckham emphasized that his experience and proven record of accomplishments as a Westchester County Legislator for four terms (two terms as Democratic Majority Leader) and three years as a member of the Cuomo Administration make him especially qualified to serve in the New York State Senate.
As a fiscally responsible Westchester county legislator, Harckham had a record of holding the line on taxes and streamlining government. His legislative accomplishments included directing tens of millions of dollars in grants to watershed communities to assist with wastewater and phosphorus reduction mandates. He also passed legislation granting property tax breaks to volunteer first responders and veterans, building hundreds of units of affordable housing and helping area families stave off foreclosure and eviction from rentals, protecting the air from unnecessary vehicle idling, banning fracking, waste from sewage treatment plants, expanding plastics recycling, creating a countywide program for home energy audits and advancing renewable clean energy policies.
New York State Senate District 40 includes parts of Northern Westchester (Briarcliff Manor, Buchanan, Cortlandt, Croton-on-Hudson, Lewisboro, Mount Kisco, Mount Pleasant, New Castle, North Salem, Peekskill, Pleasantville, Pound Ridge, Sleepy Hollow, Somers, Yorktown) Putnam (Brewster, Carmel, Patterson, Southeast) and Dutchess (Beekman, Pawling) counties.
District residents interested in Pete Harckham’s NY State Senate District 40 campaign can visit PeteForNY.com on the web or http://www.facebook.com/PeteforNY and @PeteforNY on Twitter and Instagram to learn more, volunteer or contribute.
Lloyd Trufelman, Harckham for Senate, http://www.PeteForNY.com, +1 917 856 6543, [email protected]
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