GOP incumbent faces Democratic challenger
Political newcomer Karen Smythe is taking on incumbent Sue Serino in the race for the state’s 41st Senate District seat.
Serino, a Republican, is serving her second two-year term and will appear on the GOP, Conservative, Independence and Reform lines on the Nov. 6 ballot. Smythe, a Red Hook resident, is a Democrat who also has the Working Families and Women’s Equality lines.
The 41st Senate District comprises all of Dutchess County, except the towns of Pawling and Beekman; and the Putnam County towns of Kent, Philipstown and Putnam Valley.
Each of the candidates has small business experience and both have made attracting jobs and controlling taxes a platform of their candidacies, according to their websites.
The owner of Serino Realty in Hyde Park, Serino’s says she supported the extension of the state’s property tax cap and unfunded mandate relief and called for the state to reduce business regulations and taxes that she says are forcing companies to flee the state.
“We need leaders who know when government needs to step out of the way and let businesses do what they do what they do best,” her website states.
Smythe is the former president of C.B. Strain, a family-owned mechanical contracting business that since has been sold.
On her website, Smythe said she understands the importance of middle-class jobs that pay a living wage and that she will, if elected, work to expand economic opportunities and bring diverse, well-paying jobs to the area while pushing for middle-class tax relief.
Smythe has criticized Serino as voting in lock-step with Republicans and has said she will offer a fresh approach to state government.
“We need new representation in Albany — someone who will work nonstop for all the families and taxpayers of this community,” she said on her Facebook page.
Smythe also said she would support the creation of a universal, single-payer health plan in New York as well as legislation that would protect state residents against attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
She said she also supports “common-sense gun safety laws, like banning bump stocks, strengthening background checks and implementing ‘extreme risk protection orders’ to keep guns out of the hands of individuals deemed to be a threat to themselves or others.”
Serino said on her website that she opposes New York’s Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act and has cosponsored bills to repeal or “chip away” at the law.
Serino has been at the forefront in efforts to bring attention to Lyme disease, and as chairwoman of the Senate’s Task Force on Lyme and Tick Borne diseases has hosted numerous forums on the issue. She also has provided educational materials to schools and libraries, developed a comprehensive online resource center, sponsored bills and secured funding for education and research of the disease.
She also has pushed for funding to fight the opioid epidemic, opposes the Common Core education standards and supports urban revitalization efforts in the city of Poughkeepsie.
Both vowed to fight corruption in state government: Serino has been vocal in her support of term limits and stripping the pensions from officials convicted of corruption; Smythe also supports term limits and has called for campaign finance reform, including public campaign financing.