40th NY Senate: Harckham's 1st Priority Is Health

Democrat Pete Harckham beat out Robert Kesten for the chance to challenge incumbent Republican Terrence Murphy for the 40th State Senate District seat. Harckham was a four-term Westchester County legislator. He resigned in 2015 to take a job with the administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. He is a life-long Hudson Valley resident.

New York's 40th District includes the towns of Beekman, Pawling and the village of Pawling in Dutchess County, the towns of Carmel, Patterson and Southeast, and the village of Brewster in Putnam County, and the city of Peekskill, the towns of Cortlandt, Lewisboro, Mount Pleasant, New Castle, North Salem, Pound Ridge, Somers and Yorktown, the town/village of Mount Kisco, and the villages of Briarcliff Manor, Buchanan, Croton-on-Hudson, Pleasantville and Sleepy Hollow in Westchester County.

Patch sent the same questions to all candidates asking them to respond.

PATCH: What are the biggest issues facing the Hudson River and Hudson Valley that affect your communities?

HARCKHAM: Health Care: We need real health care reform in the Hudson Valley and across NY State, especially with the Affordable Care Act being hollowed out by Trump and his Republican enablers. Healthcare should be a basic right, not a privilege only for those who can afford it. We should take a serious look at establishing a universal health care system for New York, which could also be the best way to address the addiction/Opioids crisis and the lack of parity for mental health treatment.

Property Taxes: See (3) below.

Economic Development: There are too many “space available” signs in our downtown main streets, because our family-owned business can no longer compete with online retailers and big box store chains. If elected, I’ll focus like a laser on revitalizing our downtown main streets, working in partnership with each community to help them with their economic development goals, including infrastructure, streetscapes, lighting, or taking advantage of historic features. We need a proactive plan to make our downtown streets walk able, enjoyable, and thriving again.

Holding Utility Companies Accountable: For too long, this part of the Hudson Valley has suffered extended power outages after major storms, because of the gross incompetence of utility companies, such as NYSEG and Con Ed. Unfortunately, the utility companies refuse to implement badly needed changes to their procedures and infrastructure. They need to build truly resilient grids, including hardened poles, thicker wire, and fortified substations. As state senator, I will make holding utility companies accountable a top priority.

Protecting our fragile drinking water supplies & the Hudson River: I have a long track record of protecting our fragile drinking water supplies and helping municipalities to deal with expensive wastewater and storm water regulations. The Hudson River Valley is one of the most spectacular places on earth. It’s also home to the modern American environmental movement. Recently, the US Army Corps of Engineers unveiled their coastal storm mitigation plan, which would disastrous for the Hudson. It consists of a series of in-water gates that would restrict biodiversity and oxygen flow and do nothing to protect against river rise from climate change. Further, they’ve only given a brief time for public notice. This is not the way good policy is made. The Army Corps should scrap their plans and work from the ground up with the community to develop a plan that protects against coastal storm surges, sea level rise protects the abundant wildlife and eco-diversity of the Hudson River Valley.

Substance abuse & Opioids abuse: Substance abuse continues to plague our communities. In order to seriously move the needle on treatment, we need to have an adult discussion about health care reform and the need for universal, high quality health care coverage for everyone in the state of New York. Lives are dependent upon it.

PATCH: How would you apply the adage ‘think globally, act locally’?

HARCKHAM: There is no bigger global issue affecting the Hudson Valley than climate change. I’m committed to creating a 100% clean renewable based economy through increased investment in wind and solar. New York State is already one of the leaders in solar energy. But we need to be the leader. The Wall Street Journal reports that last year, private sector investments in clean energy were more than double that of oil, gas, and nuclear. We do not need to use natural gas (which has a dangerous infrastructure) as a bridge fuel to a cleaner economy. The technology for solar and wind energy is abundant today and less expensive per kilowatt than gas, oil, coal, or nuclear.

PATCH: Property taxes are an issue for all our communities. What’s your position on the Shared Services projects? How would you bring school districts into that discussion?

HARCKHAM: Yes, we must hold the line on taxes and shared services can help. At the Westchester County Board of Legislators, I was a leader on shared services, facilitating the merger of the Mt. Kisco police department with the Westchester County Police, which saved over $800K. We simply cannot afford to have 42 police departments across the county. In addition, I led the negotiations for shared services for local watershed projects to meet enhanced storm and wastewater regulations, saving municipalities hundreds of thousands of $. School districts could also benefit from shared services. We must apply school funds to students and teachers, not administrative overhead. If elected I will take a proactive approach by bringing school districts to the table to discuss ways to make their operations more efficient. Another government sector that could benefit from shared services would be local courts. We should explore the possibility of establishing of regional courts vs. individual municipal courts. Many small courts are only open 1 or 2 nights a week, so taking advantage of this excess capacity for other municipalities to share facilities and staff on any given night could make sense.

PATCH: What would your first priorities be if elected?

HARCKHAM: If elected, in my first 30 days I’ll work to pass the Reproductive Health Act, the Child Victims Act and the Red Flag bill. In the first term, we will pass the NY Health Act, along with election reform, expedited renewable energy goals and hold the utilities responsible for abysmal storm response. I will focus like a laser on economic revitalization for our downtown main streets and family businesses, and hold the line on taxes.

PATCH: It’s a divisive election season - how would you serve all your constituents?

HARCKHAM: In the same way I developed and passed successful bipartisan legislation while in the county legislature, I will regularly reach across the aisle for the good of the community. To constituents who are tired of the corruption and partisan gridlock, who feel that both Washington and Albany are not listening, I hear you and I will work for all citizens.

Get Patch’s Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts
>> Check Out The Hudson Valley Patches' Facebook Pages