Assemblyman Schmitt ‘deserves admiration and respect, not empty criticism that fails to be rooted in fact’

I write to counter a recent opinion by a Goshen Town Councilman that criticized the leadership of Assemblyman Colin Schmitt.

Here are some examples of the important legislative work that Assemblyman Schmitt has done on our behalf:

As a member of the Assembly Minority Task Force on Water Quality, Assemblyman Schmitt has secured more than $2 million in grants for municipalities in his district to improve water quality and protect public health.

As a result, Assemblyman Schmitt received a 100 percent rating on the 2020 New York State Environmental Scorecard.

Moreover, Assemblyman Schmitt co-sponsored legislation that increased accessibility to healthcare for women (A.02836A). That legislation was passed.

And finally, the belief that Assemblyman Schmitt is incapable of working across the aisle is simply a partisan lie.

Governor Cuomo recently signed a bill that makes Juneteenth a public holiday. (Juneteenth – also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day and Emancipation Day – is a holiday celebrating the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States on June 19, 1865.)

Assemblyman Schmitt was the only Republican co-sponsor of that bill in the entire Assembly, and he also happened to be one of only a few co-sponsors of that bill in the Mid-Hudson Region of any party.

Assemblyman Schmitt’s consistent ability to work across the aisle deserves admiration and respect, not empty criticism that fails to be rooted in fact.

Joy Palazzola

Goshen