Hein tells Ulster business people he is not running for Congress
KINGSTON – Ulster County Executive Michael Hein explained why he’s
not running for Congress this year, while speaking Thursday morning at
the Ulster County Regional Chamber of Commerce. It s the same reason he
declined to run for Congress two years ago.
“I love Ulster County. I care very deeply about the people of Ulster
County. And I’m going to build a team, that makes Ulster County
a model across this entre state, and if we need to, the whole country,”
he explained, recalling his thoughts on a train ride back from Washington,
DC two years ago.
In 2016, Hein wound up endorsing Zephyr Teachout for Congress in the NY-19
District, who eventually lost to John Faso. This year, six new Democrats
are competing for the chance to challenge Faso in November for re-election.
“Last month, you had Congressman Faso here [speaking at the Chamber].
He spoke to you about the issues of the day. And I will say one thing
about John. He has been able to muster up hundreds of people running against
him, I’m not sure what the exact number is,” Hein joked.
Hein recalled being asked by county chairs to run for Congress against
Faso during the previous election cycle, and deciding against that strategy
because the demanding fundraising process compromises his values.
“I can’t fix what happens on the national level, God knows
I wish I could. I can’t even fix what happens on the state level,
where you can be a committee chair, and get funded by the very people
you are overseeing,” Hein added.
“But I can do something that will make a difference locally,”
Hein noted. He said he went out and got the best good government groups
in the entire state, and crafted comprehensive campaign finance reform.
“They wrote it, and we have it, and were going to present it to
the legislature, and I’m going to implore them to pass it,”
Hein said.
Other topics discussed include the film tax credit; road infrastructure
improvements; Family Court moving to Town of Ulster; the new Restorative
Justice Center; veterans programs like the Patriots Project; and drug
policy reform to combat the opioid epidemic.
Hein speaks at the Chamber every February, shortly after his annual State
of the County address, in a speech to local business leaders, which serves
as an abbreviated, less formal recap of that longer formal presentation
made several weeks earlier.
