99th Assembly candidates clash on issues

Times Herald-Record (Middletown, NY)

Oct. 19--The Republican candidate for the Assembly seat James Skoufis is vacating is Colin Schmitt, a former state Senate aide who has worked for the New Windsor town government since last December and who also ran for the 99th Assembly District seat in 2012 and 2016.

The Democrat is Matt Rettig, a commercial airline pilot making his first run for elected office. He first got involved in politics less than two years ago by helping organize the group Progessive Cornwall after the 2016 elections, and says Skoufis recruited him to run after the third-term assemblyman launched his campaign for state Senate.

The two candidates offer clear differences in backgrounds, ideology and how they would approach the Assembly job.

Schmitt vowed to quit his town job and be a full-time legislator if elected on Nov. 6. Rettig said he'd continue working as a pilot and touted his private-sector career as a welcome alternative to "career politicians." He said his flying schedule is flexible enough to accommodate the legislative session in Albany, which is two to four days a week from January to June and has three weeks off during that time.

Rettig criticized Schmitt's newly created position as chief of staff in New Windsor as a "patronage job" for a Republican insider.

Schmitt countered by listing what he said were his "amazing accomplishments" so far in that post, including a playground just built at Kristi Babcock Memorial Park that has equipment that children with disabilities can use. The "inclusive" playground cost $600,000 and was paid for with accumulated parkland fees the town has charged developers.

"This is the good stuff that I've been able to achieve," Schmitt said.

The two candidates had different ideas for curbing corruption in Albany.

Rettig supports closing a campaign finance loophole that lets big donors use limited-liability companies to bypass contribution limits; limiting how much outside income state lawmakers can earn in the private sector (even if that means lowering his pilot's pay); and establishing a fully independent, permanent ethics commission.

Schmitt was skeptical about restricting lawmakers' outside income, arguing that centralization of the power is the true source of corruption in state government. He advocated instead term limits for legislators, their party leaders and committee chairmen, and appointed staff members, whom he described as a hidden and unchecked force in Albany.

"They are the secret power that is never held accountable by voters," Schmitt said.

The candidates have familiar party-line differences.

Rettig supports the Reproductive Health Act, a bill that would codify the Roe v. Wade abortion rights' decision in state law, and the New York Health Act, a longstanding proposal that would create a single-payer, public health insurance system in New York. Schmitt opposes both bills, which the Democratic-controlled Assembly has passed and the Republican-controlled Senate has blocked, and which will likely come up again.

Both candidates said property taxes were driving New Yorkers to other states but offered different forms of relief. Schmitt wants to freeze property taxes for homeowners 62 and older. Rettig supports an Assembly proposal to add a tax surcharge on annual income more than $5 million, and would send the revenue to school districts so they could lower property taxes.

"It's either the super rich pay, or the middle class pays," Rettig said. "We need to fund our schools."

The 99th Assembly District consists of the Orange County towns of Wawayanda, Goshen, Hamptonburgh, Chester, Blooming Grove, New Windsor, Cornwall, Woodbury, and Highlands; and Stony Point in Rockland County. It has a roughly even split of Republican and Democratic voters.