Carrie Woerner named chair of Assembly Small Biz Committee

By Maury Thompson, Special to The Chronicle

State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, has appointed Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-Round Lake, to chair the Small Business Committee. She previously was a member of the committee.

The announcement was made Jan. 8

“Small businesses provide about 90% of the employment across the state,” Assemblywoman Woerner told The Chronicle. “So, I have a platform to bring attention to the challenges.”

Assemblyman Matt Simpson, R-Horicon, praised the appointment. “Carrie Woerner is a great person. She’s awesome to work with,” he said. “She is well qualified and will do a great job.”

As chairwoman, Ms. Woerner will coordinate the flow of small business legislation in the Assembly, schedule and lead public hearings, and have input on the drafting of legislation.

Committee chairs typically have the clout to either advance or prevent legislation the committee reviews from moving to a vote of the full Assembly.

She also will be responsible for gathering information about small business issues from across the state.

Assemblywoman Woerner said an initial priority will be exploring ways to encourage small energy-related start-up companies to locate in New York.

“I want to try and find my way through it,” she said.

Another immediate priority will be researching state Department of Labor statistics to identify industry trends.

Committee chairmanships usually go only to members of the majority party.

Not all Assembly Democrats have chairmanships, as there are more Democrat members than there are committees.

Assemblywoman Woerner, first elected in 2014, received her first appointment in 2023 as chair of the Assembly Libraries and Education Technology Committee.

She said her experience in small business has provided her with insight for her new chairmanship. Before serving in the Assembly, she was vice president and manager of MeetMax Conference Software, a division of The Wall Street Transcript. Ms. Woerner established the software division in Saratoga Springs.

Warren County Democratic Chairwoman Lynne Boecher said the Assemblywoman supports small business with her purchases, not just with legislation.

Mrs. Boecher said she recently complimented the Assemblywoman on a jacket she was wearing, and Ms. Woerner said it was a collaborative effort of local entrepreneurs — wool bought from Crazy Legs Farm in Fort Edward, processed and spun into yarn at Battenkill Fiber in Greenwich. Lillie Marsh of Queensbury wove it into fabric. A clothing designer in Saratoga Springs made the jacket.

Copyright © 2024 Lone Oak Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved