Woman enters Assembly race against Molinaro

COLUMBIA/DUTCHESS COUNTIES — “I truly believe I can make a difference.” These were Anne Rubin’s words to the Register-Star Thursday, as she discussed why she decided to make a last-minute push for the 103rd District Assembly seat currently held by Marc Molinaro, R,I,C-Tivoli.

Rubin is a registered member of the Green Party and is running on the Democratic Party line. She’s hoping to increase her presence throughout the district, which is comprised of 22 cities and towns from Columbia and Dutchess counties. “I’m going to be attending events and meeting with as many people across the entire district as possible.”

Everyone throughout the district needs to be represented, Rubin explained, not just the special interest groups.

Property tax reform and the environment are the main issues that concern Rubin. “I think the basis of what I want to do is create economic engines all over the district.”

According to Rubin, “families in distress are being crushed by unfair property taxes.” She also seeks to strengthen the foundations of local communities and their economies by supporting local farms and businesses.

Rubin feels that people of the 103rd District want to see property tax reform, the stimulation of the local economy, and the creation of jobs. “A lot of working families are struggling to make ends meet.”

She also noted the lack of jobs in the area.

“I’m seeing it everywhere,” Rubin said. “It’s a sign to me that local businesses need our support.”

Creating support for local businesses and farms will benefit all families in the district, because they won’t have to travel so far to get what they need. “That becomes more and more important with rising fuel prices.”

For Rubin, the environment is also key.

“Albany needs to be doing more to create infrastructure for innovative ways of doing business,” she said. “We need to step back from the old ways of doing business and create new kinds of business.”

She said the so-called innovative businesses strive towards many goals, including reducing our carbon footprint, stimulating the economy, and creating environmental savings.

Rubin feels that there needs to be better opportunities to save money by helping the environment. “More needs to be done at the state level so there are incentives for that.”

One of Rubin’s goals is to work with the existing community base to make the 103rd District — as well as the entire state of New York — a place that not only attracts green businesses but also provides education for the green-collar sector at local colleges and universities.

Rubin currently resides in the village of Red Hook with her husband and two children. She serves as a member of Red Hook’s Conservation Advisory Council (CAC), as well as the Zoning Review Committee, where she works on zoning issues as they arise.

As a member of the CAC, Rubin has been researching Red Hook’s water resources, including a study of the ground and surface water in the area. “I’ve been doing it with the goal of having our town adopt the Dutchess County Model Water Ordinance.”

Within the last year, the Dutchess County Water and Waste Authority developed the ordinance, which Rubin explained provides more regulation of land use and is meant to be adopted by towns in the county. The town of Amenia is so far the only one that has adopted it.

Rubin has done research on the town’s aquifer, met with multiple watershed groups, and has also attended various conferences on the topic. “I have been working very diligently to get this model water ordinance adopted in Red Hook.”

These are issues that Rubin hopes to bring to Albany. “I’d like to see the state being supportive of these air and water quality initiatives,” she said.

“Anne Rubin’s grasp of the issues that people are concerned about in the Hudson Valley is phenomenal. Her energy and deep understanding of the environmental and economic issues we face will make her a great advocate for us in the Assembly,” said Victor Mendolia, Chairman of the Hudson City Democratic Committee, in a prepared statement.

Candidates’ petitions were due Thursday, and Rubin decided only last week to throw her name into the ring. In just nine days, she collected 1,072 signatures — more than double the 500 that are required by state election law.

She’d been mulling over the possibility of running for the Assembly seat, but initially held off because there were other candidates in the race.

“I didn’t want to put the Democratic party through a difficult primary,” she said. Once it appeared as though Molinaro would not have an opponent, Rubin decided to move forward with her campaign.

In a prepared statement, Columbia County Democratic Committee Chair Christopher Nolan said, “Anne has really hit the ground running. In just a little over a week, she has been able to gather the hundreds of signatures to get on the ballot. We are very impressed with her energy and commitment to doing the job.”

Rubin is equally impressed with the efforts of those who assisted her.

“It was really astounding the number of people who came out and got involved in order to make this happen,” she said. She was surprised at the number of signatures she was able to collect, only because candidates generally have a month to do what she did in just over a week.

Rubin herself also put in a lot of work gathering the necessary signatures. “I was out for five to nine hours every day.”

Overall, Rubin believes that the entire country is facing a crucial time, Rubin said. “We need to think about the ways we’re doing things and look at ways of doing things that will help make this region more affordable for families and allow people to remain.”

“The Hudson Valley is a wonderful place to be; I love the Hudson Valley,” Rubin said. “I want everyone in the district to be able to remain here.”

For more information on Anne Rubin, visit www.annerubin.net, or send her an e-mail at anne@annerubin.net.

To reach reporter Christine D’Agostino, please call 518-828-1616, ext. 2266, or e-mail cdagostino@registerstar.com.