Metzger stands by record as opponent hits early
KINGSTON, N.Y. >> The Republican candidate in New York’s 42nd Senate District race says his opponent, incumbent Democrat Jen Metzger, is a “far-left” politician who walks in lockstep with New York City liberals.
“The common theme I hear as I travel the district is that people feel New York state is headed in the wrong direction and that our current state senator is part of the problem,” Michael Martucci, an Orange County businessman, said in a prepared statement Thursday. “Senator Metzger continuously votes with New York City politicians and has voted for far-left laws that eliminated bail for criminals, provide free college for illegal immigrants and forced taxpayers to fund political campaigns instead of helping the hard-working people of the 42nd Senate district.”
Metzger, D-Rosendale, said she stands by her accomplishments.
“I am proud that last year, 21 of my bills were signed into law, every single one with bipartisan support,” the freshman senator said in an email. “My many years of local government experience have taught me to be an accessible resource for everyone, and work hard to represent all of my constituents. I’m not interested in partisan fights. My job is to get things done for the people I represent.”
Metzger was a member of the Rosendale Town Board before being elected to the state Senate in 2018. She’s seeking a second term this fall; Martucci so far is the only declared GOP candidate.
Metzger said she looks “forward to continuing the good work we’ve accomplished to support so many family farms and local projects, and building on the great progress we’ve made through legislation like the Child Victims Act, Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, and initiatives to solve the opioid crisis, among others.”
Martucci, who declared his candidacy Jan. 16, took particular aim at Metzger’s support of the state’s new bail reforms.
“Unfortunately, we see it in the news every day now, criminals committing crimes and then being set free without bail,” Martucci said. “This is due to a frightening new law that Senator Metzger voted for that eliminates bail for a number of horrible crimes against children, families and even animals.”
The law, which mandates pretrial release, without bail, in most misdemeanor and nonviolent felony cases, has come under withering criticism during the brief time it’s been in effect, and Metzger is among Democratic state legislators who are calling for revisions.
“The bail reform law passed last year sought to fix a system that everyone, including DAs (district attorneys) and law enforcement, agreed was flawed, but the new law needs some changes, which we are actively working on,” Metzger said Thursday. “Our courts
need the tools to protect public safety, but nobody should be able to buy their way out of jail.”
Martucci’s campaign says that as a member of the New York School Bus Contractors Association board and a citizen advocate, he worked with Democrats and Republicans to pass a law that protects children and families from criminals.
“The legislation (S05086), which was signed into law by Governor Cuomo in 2011, disqualifies a person from driving a school bus if he or she was convicted of aggravated assault or promoting a sexual performance of a child, among other crimes,” the campaign said in a prepared statement.
Martucci, a former school bus company owner and now a part-time farmer, also said Metzger “championed, as chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, [legislation] opposed by many local farmers and the New York State Farm Bureau that places additional burdens on our already stressed family farms.”
“She should have stood up to her far-left political bosses and worked to amend the legislation so that it addressed the needs and concerns of our local farmers,” Martucci said. “Instead, she failed to fight for our district and bowed to the radicals in the senate once again.”
Metzger said her support of farmers is clear.
“As Senate Agriculture chair, I was a strong advocate for farms during the process of drafting the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act, which balances basic fairness toward workers with the economic realities facing small farms in our region,” Metzger said. “I am proud of the work I have done to support local farming and agriculture, including my bill to double the farm workforce retention tax credit, and several measures to preserve local farms and support new farmers.”
The 42nd Senate District comprises parts of Delaware, Sullivan, Orange and Ulster counties. In Ulster County, it includes the towns of Rosendale, New Paltz, Gardiner, Shawangunk, Wawarsing and Denning.