Cultura y noticias hispanas del Valle del Hudson
Who are the Hudson Valley candidates?
Por Gabriela Gómez
October 2024As the weather turns cooler, Hudson Valley residents, along with everyone in the country, are preparing to vote on Election Day, November 5, 2024. While approximately 244 million registered voters (of which more than 36 million are Hispanic or Latino), may vote for the next president of the United States, local state senate, congressional and assembly seats are up for grabs.
Voting in local elections is crucial because these elections directly affect the policies that build our daily lives. Education, public safety, housing, and infrastructure depend on the local officials we elect to keep our neighborhoods functioning. Often, local elections have lower voter turnout than national elections, and higher income voters tend to have a higher turnout, some at 30 to 50 percent.
Hope Delgado, director of training and leadership development at Generation Vote, a youth-led organization fighting for voting rights for all says change starts at the local level. “A lot of people focus on presidential elections,” Delgado says, but equal attention should be paid to local elections, ”these offices are where the fight begins and where people can do their part.”
The Hudson Valley in particular has a diverse history of election results, with some counties swinging between voting blue, Democrat, or red, Republican. This makes getting out to vote even more important for Hudson Valley residents.
As politicians in Hudson Valley counties look for strategies to turn out voters, the “Latino vote” is something they need to win. In Newburgh and Middletown alone, two of the largest population centers in the 18th Congressional District, nearly half of the population identifies as Latino.
As a result, politicians of all parties consider Latino voters crucial and are reaching out to the communities to try to get their vote. In a City and State New York article, Orange County Legislator Genesis Ramos says that most campaigns, despite needing the Latino vote, are not directly targeting Latino voters through events or outreach.
Valdes-Smith has pledged to protect reproductive rights, grow the local economy and preserve the environment. While most politicians lacked bilingual staff, Valdes-Smith has released several campaign materials in Spanish and English, making sure to reach Spanish-speaking voters.
Valdes-Smith's opponent, state Sen. Rob Rolison, won bipartisan support when he took office in 2023. His policies have varied, although as a retired police officer who has served in the Poughkeepsie City Police Department for 26 years, public safety has been a priority for Senator Rolison.
Also in the New York Senate race, for the 41st District, is Democratic Senator Michelle Hinchey, facing off against Republican Pat Sheehan.
Senator Hinchey changed her badge from red (Republican) to blue (Democratic) in the 2023 election, and is the youngest woman elected to represent an upstate district in the state Senate. With 84 of her bills signed into law, on a multitude of issues such as rural housing, healthcare, and combating the ongoing climate crisis, Senator Hinchey's campaign team says Senator Hinchey has been a leading voice for rural and Hudson Valley communities.
Senator Hinchey's campaign team has made sure to hire Spanish-speaking campaign staff, says Bianca Coppola. Campaign materials are also made available to voters in both languages, sharing key points of Senator Hinchey's platform as well as election details.
Her opponent, Pat Sheehan (R), has lived his entire life in the Hudson Valley and says he is “deeply committed” to ensuring everyone in his community, including “the growing Latino and Spanish-speaking populations”, have the opportunities they need to thrive.
Sheehan, with experience working as a Business Development Director in Ulster County as well as a prosecutor in Queens County, says a major issue facing families is housing affordability in New York.
“While Latinos are the fastest-growing group of homeowners nationwide, homeownership in New York remains too low,” Sheehan says. “That’s why I’m fighting for affordable housing solutions,” creating better access to credit for first-time homebuyers and sensible zoning reforms.
Pat Sheehan says he believes in listening to all members of the Senate District 41 community and has translated key campaign materials into Spanish to ensure accessibility to all voters.
So far, many of Esposito's criticisms of the current problems are local. In an interview with City and State, she said that “the immigration crisis is: I walk out of my supermarket and I see migrants begging for money or selling fruit in Middletown.” In most interviews, Esposito frames the “immigration crisis” as a public safety crisis.
Esposito has also attacked Ryan's stance on immigration, saying that Ryan “will stop at nothing to put the needs of illegal immigrants ahead of the needs of the residents of New York's 18th District,” specifically criticizing Ryan's decision as Ulster County executive to sign a “sanctuary county” bill that attempted to limit local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Pat Ryan, in an attempt to relate more closely to the Spanish-speaking communities within the 18th Congressional District, has established a main office in Newburgh on Broadway, which he calls the “largest Latino community center in the district.” Ryan has also hired Spanish-speaking staff and provided Spanish-language materials throughout his campaign.
Within New York's 17th Congressional District, which encompasses all of Rockland County, Putnam County, most of northern Westchester County and part of southern Dutchess County, incumbent Rep. Mike Lawler (R) faces Mondaire Jones (D).
Lawler has stated his position on the sanctuary state and sanctuary city policies promoted by Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams in New York City as a “disaster and a national emergency.” Nonetheless, his website stresses the “importance of legal immigration” and he is running for Congress in an attempt to “once and for all” put an end to the “illegal, inhumane and dangerous system” that is the “immigration crisis.”
Lawler's Democratic opposition, Mondaire Jones, has as her priorities affordability and improving the quality of life for Hudson Valley residents. A key issue for Jones has been raising the minimum wage in Hudson Valley counties, as well as fighting for paid family and medical leave and the introduction of affordable childcare.
Sarahana Shresta's priorities as incumbent Assemblywoman are establishing affordable housing, adequate and equitable health care, and she is a dedicated environmental advocate. In 2022, when she was first elected, Shresta upset expectations with her victory, as incumbency seemed to overcome political differences.
Shresta's opponent, Jack Hayes, is a former state trooper and former Ulster County legislator. In an attempt to defeat Shrestha, Hayes could potentially keep these seats that Democrats have held in the 103rd State Assembly District for more than 20 years.
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COPYRIGHT 2024
La Voz, Cultura y noticias hispanas del Valle de Hudson
Hope Delgado, director of training and leadership development at Generation Vote, a youth-led organization fighting for voting rights for all says change starts at the local level. “A lot of people focus on presidential elections,” Delgado says, but equal attention should be paid to local elections, ”these offices are where the fight begins and where people can do their part.”
The Hudson Valley in particular has a diverse history of election results, with some counties swinging between voting blue, Democrat, or red, Republican. This makes getting out to vote even more important for Hudson Valley residents.
As politicians in Hudson Valley counties look for strategies to turn out voters, the “Latino vote” is something they need to win. In Newburgh and Middletown alone, two of the largest population centers in the 18th Congressional District, nearly half of the population identifies as Latino.
As a result, politicians of all parties consider Latino voters crucial and are reaching out to the communities to try to get their vote. In a City and State New York article, Orange County Legislator Genesis Ramos says that most campaigns, despite needing the Latino vote, are not directly targeting Latino voters through events or outreach.
State Senate Candidates
As far as the upcoming elections are concerned, there are a few to keep an eye on. Dutchess County Legislator Yvette Valdes-Smith (Democrat), who represents the state's 39th Senate District, faces incumbent Republican Senator Rob Rolison. The state's 39th Senate District encompasses most of Orange County and smaller parts of Rockland and Ulster counties. The largest communities that Valdes Smith, who grew up in Puerto Rico, targets are Monroe and Newburgh.Valdes-Smith has pledged to protect reproductive rights, grow the local economy and preserve the environment. While most politicians lacked bilingual staff, Valdes-Smith has released several campaign materials in Spanish and English, making sure to reach Spanish-speaking voters.
Valdes-Smith's opponent, state Sen. Rob Rolison, won bipartisan support when he took office in 2023. His policies have varied, although as a retired police officer who has served in the Poughkeepsie City Police Department for 26 years, public safety has been a priority for Senator Rolison.
Also in the New York Senate race, for the 41st District, is Democratic Senator Michelle Hinchey, facing off against Republican Pat Sheehan.
Senator Hinchey changed her badge from red (Republican) to blue (Democratic) in the 2023 election, and is the youngest woman elected to represent an upstate district in the state Senate. With 84 of her bills signed into law, on a multitude of issues such as rural housing, healthcare, and combating the ongoing climate crisis, Senator Hinchey's campaign team says Senator Hinchey has been a leading voice for rural and Hudson Valley communities.
Senator Hinchey's campaign team has made sure to hire Spanish-speaking campaign staff, says Bianca Coppola. Campaign materials are also made available to voters in both languages, sharing key points of Senator Hinchey's platform as well as election details.
Her opponent, Pat Sheehan (R), has lived his entire life in the Hudson Valley and says he is “deeply committed” to ensuring everyone in his community, including “the growing Latino and Spanish-speaking populations”, have the opportunities they need to thrive.
Sheehan, with experience working as a Business Development Director in Ulster County as well as a prosecutor in Queens County, says a major issue facing families is housing affordability in New York.
“While Latinos are the fastest-growing group of homeowners nationwide, homeownership in New York remains too low,” Sheehan says. “That’s why I’m fighting for affordable housing solutions,” creating better access to credit for first-time homebuyers and sensible zoning reforms.
Pat Sheehan says he believes in listening to all members of the Senate District 41 community and has translated key campaign materials into Spanish to ensure accessibility to all voters.
The Congressional Candidates
Incumbent Congressional candidate Pat Ryan (Democrat) and rival Alison Esposito (Republican) represent the 18th Congressional District, which encompasses all of Orange County and most of Dutchess and Ulster counties. Esposito served as an officer in the New York City Police Department and, later, as deputy inspector and commander of the 70th Precinct.So far, many of Esposito's criticisms of the current problems are local. In an interview with City and State, she said that “the immigration crisis is: I walk out of my supermarket and I see migrants begging for money or selling fruit in Middletown.” In most interviews, Esposito frames the “immigration crisis” as a public safety crisis.
Esposito has also attacked Ryan's stance on immigration, saying that Ryan “will stop at nothing to put the needs of illegal immigrants ahead of the needs of the residents of New York's 18th District,” specifically criticizing Ryan's decision as Ulster County executive to sign a “sanctuary county” bill that attempted to limit local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Pat Ryan, in an attempt to relate more closely to the Spanish-speaking communities within the 18th Congressional District, has established a main office in Newburgh on Broadway, which he calls the “largest Latino community center in the district.” Ryan has also hired Spanish-speaking staff and provided Spanish-language materials throughout his campaign.
Within New York's 17th Congressional District, which encompasses all of Rockland County, Putnam County, most of northern Westchester County and part of southern Dutchess County, incumbent Rep. Mike Lawler (R) faces Mondaire Jones (D).
Lawler has stated his position on the sanctuary state and sanctuary city policies promoted by Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams in New York City as a “disaster and a national emergency.” Nonetheless, his website stresses the “importance of legal immigration” and he is running for Congress in an attempt to “once and for all” put an end to the “illegal, inhumane and dangerous system” that is the “immigration crisis.”
Lawler's Democratic opposition, Mondaire Jones, has as her priorities affordability and improving the quality of life for Hudson Valley residents. A key issue for Jones has been raising the minimum wage in Hudson Valley counties, as well as fighting for paid family and medical leave and the introduction of affordable childcare.
Assembly candidates
On a more local level, the 103rd State Assembly District, which contains most of Ulster County and part of Dutchess County, is considering incumbent Sarahana Shrestha (Democrat) against Republican Jack Hayes.Sarahana Shresta's priorities as incumbent Assemblywoman are establishing affordable housing, adequate and equitable health care, and she is a dedicated environmental advocate. In 2022, when she was first elected, Shresta upset expectations with her victory, as incumbency seemed to overcome political differences.
Shresta's opponent, Jack Hayes, is a former state trooper and former Ulster County legislator. In an attempt to defeat Shrestha, Hayes could potentially keep these seats that Democrats have held in the 103rd State Assembly District for more than 20 years.
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COPYRIGHT 2024
La Voz, Cultura y noticias hispanas del Valle de Hudson
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