Woodstock Library president unopposed in Legislature race
Voters in the Ulster County Legislature’s District 23 will elect Jeff Collins to represent them in county government in the upcoming election.
Collins, 62, is a registered Democrat running for the seat now held by Democrat Jonathan Heppner. Heppner is not running for election to a fifth two-year term on the Legislature.
A Democrat who now serves as president of the Woodstock Library Board of Directors, Collins said that addressing the housing crisis —both shortterm through the creation of emergency housing and long-term by encouraging the development of more affordable housing — will be among his priorities as a county lawmaker.
Collins said he supports the county’s creation of a Housing Action Fund and called for the continuation of funding to that program. Beyond that, he said, the county should work with municipalities to “identify opportunities” for the development of affordable housing.
He also called for the county to provide resources to assist municipalities struggling to enforce regulations governing short-term rentals, which he said are among the contributing factors to the local housing crisis.
Collins also said the county needs to move away from using hotels and motels as emergency housing and called for the county to look at creating and operating temporary housing.
“This will require a significant upfront investment but will result in long-term savings and will provide the unhoused with higher quality and more stable temporary housing,” said Collins.
In addition to working to address the county’s housing needs, Collins said the county needs to do more to address the ongoing opioid crisis.
As a county legislator, Collins said he would advocate for the creation of more “medically assisted
treatment facilities, which he said have been shown to be “one of the most effective methods of addressing the opioid crisis. “It allows those addicted to opioids to address the underlying causes of their addiction while they work to permanently end their addiction,” he said.
A 24-year resident of Ulster County, Collins graduated from Lansing Central School in 1979 and earned a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in 1983.
In 2018 and again in 2019, Collins announced bids for the state Senate but ultimately stepped aside in favor of other Democrats who emerged as candidates for the seat.
In addition to serving as president of the Woodstock Library Board of Trustees, Collins is a member of the board of Family of Woodstock, president of the board of the Woodstock Housing Alliance, a member of the Woodstock Zoning Review Committee and a member of the Woodstock Housing Oversight Task Force. He is a founder of the former of the Hudson Valley Sudbury School.
He and his wife, Lisa Montanus, live on Cardinal Court.
District 23 comprises all of the town of Woodstock as well as the northern portion of the town of Hurley.
Early voting begins Oct. 28. Election Day is Nov. 7.