Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor
Democrat Carrie Woerner, seeking her fifth two-year term in the State Assembly, is again being challenged by Republican Dave Catalfamo.
The boundaries of the 113th district have changed. It now includes the City of Glens Falls; rural Washington County towns like Argyle and Salem were moved into the 114th District for which incumbent Matt Simpson is running unoppposed.
The state’s Assembly districts have been challenged, so it’s likely they’ll change, again, for the 2024 election.
Ms. Woerner, 60, of Round Lake, first won the seat in 2014, after a losing bid in 2012.
Of her success in a largely Republican region, Ms. Woerner says, “I think what is even more prevalent than party in this region is we value practical solutions, hard work and community. Solutions come from listening to people. That builds communities up, and that’s the role people want to see in government, solutions that raise up the community.”
“My belief is you bloom where you’re planted,” Ms. Woerner says. “I have bloomed because I listen to people, work hard and focus on solutions.”
She says her experience working in software and services with IBM for 30 years led her “to look at a problem from a 360-degree perspective, to ask what are the root causes…and to find solutions based in systems. It’s not a standard public policy approach.
“I was used to asking, if you move a lever, what happens down the way? What will the consequences be and do we want them, or do we change another lever, to get the outcome that we want?”
Mr. Catalfamo, 47, of Wilton, is originally from Columbia County.
“I was Pataki’s political director in 1994,” in his bid to unseat Governor Mario Cuomo. “We won, which was quite the surprise to a lot of people.”
Mr. Catalfamo said he was appointed to the Empire State Development Corporation, among other positions, leading business recovery efforts after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and helping to bring Global Foundries to Malta.
He said he left politics, formed and then sold a consulting business, and “I’m currently doing economic development for Oneida County.”
Why is he running in this election?
“I saw criminal justice changes in the bail and discovery laws, and I could see what was going to happen. I could see the state’s criminal justice policy reverse priority from law abiding citizens to criminals. If that had been fixed, I probably wouldn’t be running today. The number one thing state government provides is for the safety of its citizens,” said Mr. Catalfamo. On every measure, our state is less and less safe and continues to lean more to the left.”
Mr. Catalfamo says, “My opponent participates 94 percent of the time” with her fellow Democrats. “Her claim to fame, she says she has a seat at the table, but I’m not sure for what. The Farm Labor Law she said she opposed, but couldn’t change it.”
Ms. Woerner says of the law that lowers the overtime threshold for farm workers from 60 to 40 hours a week, “It was particularly frustrating…I’m not the only Democrat who has opposed this from the beginning. It became very ideological, and people stopped listening to what was practical. They’ve made it more complex for the people doing the work, more expensive for the farmers that employ them, and what have we achieved? It is not a sensible change.”
She said she still hopes the Governor will at least delay the bill.
On guns, Ms Woerner said she voted against the Governor Hochul’s Concealed Carry Law because “It didn’t meet the standard the Supreme Court set.”
She says, “The Supreme Court laid out a framework I believe is right, with the Second Amendment restricted if there is a historic basis for that restriction,” such as “schools, government buildings and hospitals,” she says.
She said she supports red flag laws.
“We have to create laws that are respectful of legal gun owners, and we need to focus on doing a better job of getting illegal guns off the streets.”
Ms. Woerner cites statistics that show, “We are already doing a great job,” regulating gun purchases in New York.
Mr. Catalfamo said, “The Hochul Concealed Carry Law is nothing more than political theater that made criminals out of law abiding citizens, again.
“My opponent claims she has a seat at the table to address these issues and sadly these are the results. New York has the toughest gun laws in America, we don’t need more.”
Mr. Catalfamo says, “We can’t afford Carrie Woerner, from a safety point of view, from our pocketbooks and from policies that are responsive to upstate New York and our way of life.”
He says, “I’m passionate about public policy and preserving the quality of life we have up here. We need to get the criminal justice system in the right direction. Reduce the cost of living in our area.
“Not only is the country facing historic inflation, but we have the additional kicker of the highest taxes in the country, 49th or 50th. People tell me all the time, as soon as they retire or their kids are out of school they’re leaving New York. They can’t afford it anymore.”
Mr. Catalfamo contends, “Private companies create jobs. The government can help, but you don’t do the creating. It’s the third leg of what I bring to the table.”
Ms. Woerner said: “I continue to advocate for reform to the Bail Reform bill. The pendulum swung pretty hard on that one. We need a law that is fair and functional.”
She says she’s focused Rural Broadband and removing regulatory and tax barriers to improving it; health care laws involving administering certain services while in ambulances and air ambulances; access to prenatal, maternity and home health care in rural communities.
She said she is looking to address inflation in the budget process, by continuing the state’s gas tax holiday, for example, and reducing state surcharges on energy.
Glens Falls, now in 113th Assembly Dist.
The 113th New York State Assembly District — for which incumbent Carrie Woerner and Dave Catalfamo are vying — now includes:
• In Warren County, the City of Glens Falls.
• In Washington County: Fort Edward, Town of Greenwich, the Village of Hudson Falls (not the Town of Kingsbury).
• In Saratoga County: Town of Saratoga including Saratoga Springs, Moreau including South Glens Falls, Wilton, Northumberland, Malta, Stillwater and the City of Mechanicville.
Eliminated from the 113th and added to the 114th are the Washington County Towns of Kingsbury, Argyle, Hartford, Salem, Easton or Jackson.
Matt Simpson, who is running for reelection unopposed, picks up those towns in his 114th District that also includes all of Warren County except the City of Glens Falls.
The redistricting is under challenge.
Catalfamo raised ethics concern; Woerner denies it
Dave Catalfamo, Republican candidate for the State Assembly 113th district, filed a complaint with the state Commission on Ethics and Lobbying, accusing Democrat Carrie Woerner, of inappropriate involvement in the redisricting process.
“It is absolute and clear that she advanced the idea of putting Glens Falls in her district,” Mr. Catalfamo told The Chronicle. “I’m not an expert on gerrymandering, but this was simply done in a way to change voter enrollment to what was favorable to her.”
Mr. Catalfamo says the 2014 constitutional amendment makes such practices that were previously “legal but unsavory” now against the law.”
Ms. Woerner tells The Chronicle, “I did not personally get involved in the process.” She says. “Did I have an opinion? Everyone has an opinion.”
She said, “The truth is, it’s still a Republican enrollment advantage. Frankly, I won in a Republican-advantage district. He still has the enrollment advantage.”
Mr. Catalfamo says, “She’s good at saying ‘I care about farming and rural issues,’ but at the first chance she threw out every farmer, Easton, Argyle, all areas that are more rural, for the City of Glens Falls.”
She said, “My view is, whatever the makeup of your district is, you have to pay attention to the district, the people and their priorities and use the tools at your disposal. It’s not about your personal views.”
Of her current district she says, “I love these towns. I have built deep relationships there.”
She says she brought Republican Matt Simpson to visit Salem, Argyle and other towns she formerly represents in the 113th Assembly District that will now be in Mr. Simpson’s 114th. He’s running unopposed.
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