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Wallkill Valley Times , Wednesday , October 26 , 2016

PUBLIC AGENDA

WEDNESDAY , OCTOBER 26 Crawford Planning Board , 7 p . m . Town Hall , 121 Route 302 , Pine Bush . Village of Montgomery Planning Board , 7:30 p . m ., Village Hall , 133 Clinton Street .

MONDAY , OCTOBER 31 Town of Montgomery Planning Board , 7:30 p . m . Town Government Center , 110 Bracken Road , Montgomery .

TUESDAY , NOVEMBER 1 Walden Village Board of Trustees , 6:30 p . m . Village Hall , 1 Municipal Square . Town of Shawangunk Planning Board , 7 p . m . Town Hall , 14 Central Ave ., Wallkill Montgomery Village Board , 7:30 p . m ., Village Hall , 133 Clinton Street .

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The Wallkill Valley Times , ( USPS 699-490 ) is a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday at Newburgh , N . Y . 12550 , with offices at 300 Stony Brook Court , Newburgh , N . Y . Single copy : $ 1 at newsstand . By mail in Orange , Ulster or Sullivan Counties : $ 40 annually , $ 44 out of county . Periodicals permit at Newburgh , N . Y . POSTMASTER : Send address changes to Wallkill Valley Times , 300 Stony Brook Court , Newburgh , N . Y . 12550

Two candidates are on the ballot to represent the 101st Assembly District in Albany . The 101st Assembly District is a long , narrow district that stretches from Oneida to Orange County and locally includes the towns of Montgomery and Shawangunk . Incumbent Caludia Tenney , a Republican , is vacating the seat in favor of a run for the state ’ s 22nd congressional district .

Oneida County Legislator Brian Miller , a Republican and Democrat Arlene Feldmeier of Little Falls are the candidates are running in the Nov . 8 election .

Brian Miller

Unfunded state mandates , overregulation and the gun control SAFE Act will be targets of Brian Miller ’ s activity , he says , if he succeeds in winning the 101st District Assembly seat .

“ Probably everyone says that , but finds there ’ s too much infighting ,” he says . “ But I bring town and county experience with changing mandates and government programs .”

He has been an Oneida County legislator since 2000 and was previously township supervisor in Bridgewater .

“ I ’ ll get cooperation on both sides of the aisle like I do in my district , though I understand I ’ ll be in the minority ,” he said .

Asked why he would want to change the gun control law that bans assault weapons and requires universal background checks , he says , “ I don ’ t believe it has made New York State safer . It puts an undue burden on the County Pistol Permit Offices as an unfunded mandate . It puts good paying jobs in jeopardy , such as those at Remington Arms .”

As for what he has accomplished as county legislator , he said he helped get a 1.4 % tax cut by cutting programs and shifting money from one place to another . He said he also worked to set up a volunteer firefighter scholarship by finding a workable model in Pittsburgh County . Funded through county government , it provided a scholarship to a community college for volunteers who stayed with the fire department during their education and for three years afterward .

“ I ’ d like to bring the program to the state ,” he said .

Miller acknowledges the 101st district ’ s pervasive problems .

“ The 101st District is the district that has lost the most population in the state ,” he says . He also cites such challenges

Brian Miller

as aging infrastructure , job shortages , declining agriculture , and insufficient school funding .

“ New York is the toughest state for job creation ,” he said , blaming regulations and taxes . “ Industry has changed . It ’ s more technical . Employers need help from the state with job training and capital improvement .”

Miller is a sales engineer at SMC Corporation , having studied mechanical technology at Mohawk Valley Community College . He lives in New Hartford which is two miles from where he grew up , he notes .

As for the Wallkill area with its agritourism , he recalls having been an apple grower .

“ They need more promotion ,” he says , but he also suggests that the area needs more light industry .

In his county legislature work , Miller says he is most active on the Public Works Committee , where he attends to 620 miles of county roads . Since the price of both oil and blacktop is down and infrastructure is “ crumbling ,” he said , he is involved in trying to upgrade roads .

“ At the county level , we ’ re influenced by state mandates too ,” he said . What the state mandates , they should fund , he said .

He will also be gunning for burdensome regulations , which is what he considers the SAFE act gun control law to be . The law mandates universal background checks for gun sales , bans assault weapons , and increases penalties for using illegal weapons .

Arlene Feldmeier

Arlene Feldmeier

As Arlene Feldmeier drove through New York ’ s 101st Assembly District with her husband , putting up campaign signs , she explained why she is running as the Democratic candidate to represent it .

“ No Democrats ran for two election seasons for two posts ,” she said . “ And there were issues that bothered me .”

Most troubling , she said , is the district ’ s “ shrinking population .”

“ Businesses and young people are leaving the district ,” she said . “ But there ’ s an opportunity to turn things around . It ’ s still affordable here and expensive elsewhere . There ’ s an abundance of affordable commercial space and housing ..”

Further , she reasons , “ If people come back , more property will be on tax rolls . Taxes will go down , which will attract businesses who will provide jobs for young people .”

Feldmeier also intends to pursue better communications technology for the district , more broadband and high-speed internet , that would appeal to businesses and residents . And she aims for better environmental protections and more use of solar , wind , and hydro-power .

“ We have elevation and good water in the area ,” she says . “ If I ’ m in the majority party in the Assembly , we can do it .”

She is a social security disability attorney in practice with her husband in Little Falls . They met attending Columbia University as undergraduates and moved to Little Falls in 2001 . Before attending

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