3-term lawmaker faces newcomer in November race
Political novice Andrew Zink is taking on incumbent Craig Lopez in a race for the Ulster County Legislature District 14 seat.
District 14 comprises parts of the towns of Shawangunk and Wawarsing. The winner will serve a two-year term starting in January.
Zink, 21, is a 2015 graduate of Pine Bush High School who currently is a junior at Marist College working toward a degree in history and political science with a minor in Hudson Valley regional studies.
He worked at the Marist Institute of Public Opinion before taking a leave of absence to run full time for a Legislature seat.
Zink said he wants to reduce county spending and would begin with ending the lifetime health coverage for county legislators and their spouses that’s given to lawmakers who have served in the Legislature for 10 years or more.
“I do not believe our tax dollars should be used to give legislators health coverage for life while the rest of us have to fend for ourselves,” he said.
A registered Democrat, Zink will be on the Democratic, Working Families, Women’s Equality and Green lines on the Nov. 7 ballot.
He is a member of the Ulster People for Justice and Democracy and worked on Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign amd former state Sen. Terry Gibson’s campaign and was the campus organizer for Democracy Matters.
Lopez, 41, is a three-term incumbent who is chairman of the Legislature’s Public Health and Social Services Committee. He additionally sits on the Legislative Programs, Education and Community Services Committee and the Laws and Rules, Governmental Services Committee.
Lopez said job creation will continue to be a top priority for him if he is reelected.
“It’s important to continue cutting red tape and overregulation and allow our entrepreneurs and the free market to drive our local economy,” he said.
Lopez said he also will continue to support efforts to make county government more efficient and effective.
“[It is] essential to continue making Ulster County an affordable place to work and raise a family,” he said, adding he will support spending money for the maintaining and repairing the county’s infrastructure.
A self-employed graphic artist, Lopez holds an associate’s degree from Orange County Community College and a bachelor’s degree from Ashworth University.
A Pine Bush resident, Lopez is a member of the Sons of the American Legion and of the HHH Peer Mentor program.
He is a registered Republican who will hold the GOP, Conservative, Independence and Reform party lines on the ballot.