Incumbent Reilly challenged by Dem's victor Reinhardt and GOP's Holland

Andrew Holland

Herbert Reilly

William Reinhardt

ALBANY COUNTY —Three candidates are vying to represent District 33 in the Albany County Legislature: incumbent Herbert W. Reilly, a Democrat running on the Independence Party line; William Reinhardt, a Bethlehem town councilman who beat Reilly in the Democratic primary by 23 votes of more than 500; and Republican Andrew Holland, a newcomer from Slingerlands.

District 33 covers parts of New Scotland and Bethlehem. 

Reilly, 79, wants to continue his work on the Rail Trail — a project he said he spent 10 years promoting — and follow up on the safe municipal water well blasting bill he proposed with Albany County Legislator L. Michael Mackey, he told The Enterprise. He is an Albany-area native who continues to work at his family’s two funeral homes in Albany and Voorheesville. He has represented District 33 since 2000, before which he served as New Scotland supervisor.

Reinhardt, 65, wants to work for transparency in government by way of recorded meetings; he also wants to reduce operating costs and the county’s carbon footprint with sustainable initiatives, he said. He has lived in Albany County since 1984, and is retired from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Reinhardt is also a founder of Solarize Albany, a not-for-profit group that promotes solar energy use.

Holland, 34, a Saratoga native who has resided in Slingerlands since 2012, is dissatisfied with the political climate here. He practices general litigation, and insurance and malpractice defense litigation in Albany. 

Holland and his wife, Hannah Moore, worked as assistant district attorneys in the Bronx for five years before returning to the Capital Region to raise a family.

Oil trains

“The county’s role has to be seen in line with the fact that railroads are regulated at the federal level,” Holland said. “We need to see that anything we’re doing comports with that. So many oil trains come through Voorheesville, behind people’s backyards. We need to make sure the safety of residents is protected as much as we can.”

Holland said that the county’s role is not to stop trains from traveling, but to find other options for safety.

“The county should take efforts within its rights to do so,” he said. “There are things that can be done. The county is one layer in a series of layers.”

“I would applaud Dan McCoy for what he's done,” Reinhardt said of the county executive's attempts to affect crude oil train travel.

“The federal and state governments should be doing more,” he said, noting that checking railroad tracks for safety could be done.

Older rail cars are “bombs waiting to happen,” Reinhardt said, but the “new, safer cars – they, too, have exploded in accidents in Lynchburg, Virginia and elsewhere. They're not safe enough.”

Reinhardt said that car safety and track safety should be checked more aggressively, and that speeds should be lowered in critical areas.

“The federal Department of Transportation is completely wrong when it defines the only area in New York State considered urban that has to have lower speeds” as New York City, Reinhardt said. Speeds should be lowered in Voorheesville and all over the county, he said.

“Unfortunately, a lot of key decisions are pre-empted by the state and federal governments,” Reinhardt said.  “It seems to me we should, at least, have a more open discussion.”

“They really are dangerous,” Reilly said of the oil trains. “They have to slow them down.”

Reilly said that, to reduce agitation in the tanks, volatile gas should be bled off before trains ship materials.

“If they’d go off the track, it would certainly demolish Voorheesville, where I live,” said Reilly.

Nanny county

“That’s one of my platforms,” Holland said. “For various reasons, I oppose each.”

While practicing law in New York City, he said, he saw difficulties with similar laws for cyberbullying and recycling initiatives.

A cyberbullying law was struck down as unconstitutional, Holland said, as it violated constitutional rights, albeit with “a noble purpose. It inserts the will of government where good parenting and good school leadership should be dealing with issues, not the criminal justice system,” he said.

Albany County’s law on cyberbullying was struck down by the state’s highest court, after which the legislature rewrote it; the new law has not been tested in court.

A law like the Albany County Styrofoam law faced a lawsuit, as New York City recycling options were not adequate, he said.

“I can expect that a similar lawsuit can face Albany County in the near future,” Holland said.

Regarding toxic toys, Holland said, “Those are everywhere.” He said that the idea that “If you love your kids, you’ll support this law” does not help as other counties have not passed the same law; parents can purchase Toys ’R’ Us items in Queensbury instead of in Albany, he said. The law is “a layer of bureaucracy. On its face, it looks noble in purpose, but it hasn’t met that purpose,” Holland said.

He said that the laws are not enforceable.

“Legislation is not meant to be symbolic,” Holland said. “You need to back it up in fact. I just don’t think the law makes sense,” he said of the toxic toys ban.

Microbeads in cosmetics is being addressed at the federal and state levels, Holland said, but the topic is in a different category than the toys or Styrofoam because of the significant environmental effects microbeads could have.

“Conceptually, if we’re going to prohibit the use of a product…we need to have a legitimate reason for it,” Holland said. “What’s unique about Albany County that we need a microbeads law?”

Asked if he thought the legislation was enforceable, Reilly said, “Yes, I do. They’re small measures. It makes it sound like a nanny state, but beads in shampoos…it plugs up the filters on the sewage-treatment plants. It’s like taking a vacuum to a furnace to clean it. You go through 10 filter bags…I think that’s good,” he said of the county bill to ban microbeads.

About the toxic toy ban, Reilly said, “I think that’s good. Children chew on those little toys.”

He said that consumers protect children from tiny wheels and parts, also.

“You’ve got to be careful,” Reilly said.

A Styrofoam ban is also enforceable, he said. “I think it can be done.”

Reinhardt said that he “generally” supports the legislation.

“I did testify in favor of the Styrofoam ban,” he said. He said that Styrofoam will add “significant costs” as landfills become full.

“There’s an economic issue there, for sure,” Reinhardt said.

He referred to health implications of Styrofoam use, saying, “Eventually, it’s ingested into our bodies. There are a lot of unknowns here. It’s a good principle to be cautious.”

Reinhardt said that legislation at the federal level would be best, because state or local laws create issues of enforceability.

“You’re making a symbolic statement — you’re not changing things everywhere,” he said.

Consolidation of services

 Holland said that consolidating services is “probably an issue left to individual municipalities. County resources are prioritized to county roads and properties. If towns want to consolidate…I can’t imagine I would have a problem.”

Reinhardt said that sharing for items like highways work happens in certain areas, but is not yet in place countywide.

“What I’m curious about is water supply,” he said. “Are there ways Bethlehem can help address [New Scotland’s water issues] — in a win-win situation?”

Reinhardt said that sharing water may not cost Bethlehem taxpayers money, but it could save money in New Scotland while solving well-water quantity and quality issues.

“I think these are issues that should be looked at. We should always be looking for opportunities to come along, and should always be reevaluating,” he said.

Reilly credited Albany County Comptroller Michael Conners with promoting shared services recently, but said that the concept is not new.

“It’s something that has been going on for years. How was it done? On a handshake, basically,” Reilly said. “We had a wonderful relationship as a town [of New Scotland] with the county.”

“A lot of municipalities do this with neighboring towns,” he said, citing, as an example, the purchase of natural gas.

“There should be more of it. I think it’s a good idea,” Reilly said.

Suburban poverty

“One of the…unique things about the Capital District is transportation,” Holland said. “You can be driving on a rural road and see a CDTA bus go by,” he said of the Capital District Transportation Authority bus service.

Holland said that the county could see that more bus transportation is available, increase coverage areas for buses, or offer shuttle services.

“It’s a complex problem,” Holland said. He said that he would determine where services are that are needed by poor communities, and provide services in those areas to make them accessible to residents who need them.

“I don’t think we have a lot of programs in the Hilltowns, unfortunately,” Reilly said, but he said that many services are available in New Scotland.

“It is there,” he said of services like food pantries run through local churches and the Kiwanis clubs. “A lot of people are poor because they’ve lost their jobs, or they’ve had an illness. We have transportation programs — we have transportation through the town, but subsidized by the county.

“There’s money and it’s being carefully” allotted, Reilly said. “It’s not like it’s not being done.”

Municipalities can coordinate transportation, he said.

“New Scotland and Bethlehem have been working with the county for years,” Reilly said. “Lot’s of people don’t have a lot of necessities, but they have a lot of luxuries. I see that campaigning.”

Reilly said, as an example, that many people have new electronic equipment like televisions, but that their porch railings are falling apart.

“We’re doing a lot,” he said.

“Rural poverty is the most invisible,” Reinhardt said. “It is hard because of the distance and travel cost. Transportation will be more expensive if using fossil fuels to get places.”

Reinhardt said that part of the solution to suburban poverty limiting access to services is to reduce the “digital divide” between the rich and the poor. He cited a lack of broadband as a hindrance.

“Communication, which is part of the whole issue, means you don’t have awareness of services,” he said.

“How do you set up decentralized delivery of services? Home services might be a better solution than having to travel to a hospital or clinic. That’s one strategy,” he said.

Adding retail jobs in suburban areas can help, he said.

“People will take public transit to get out from Albany to work in the Vista Tech Park,” he said.

Heroin treatment

Holland said that municipalities can use alternative sentencing programs to help addicts get treatment.

“We need to make sure those programs are working as successfully as they can,” he said. “There needs to be a way to stem the problem. You can justify the expense if you don’t deal with the cost of incarceration.”

“County [treatment] programs need to make sure they are accessible and effective,” Holland said.

“It’s a big issue that almost every family can be touched by, one way or another,” Reinhardt said. “I don’t know what the right answer is. If things that have been tried elsewhere were successful, we should probably learn from other places.”

Regarding the sheriff’s newly proposed program to help incarcerated-then-released addicts, Reilly said, “I am 100 percent in favor. Recidivism is a big, big problem.

“You’re not going to get better,” Reilly said about addicts without treatment. “It’s a step in the right direction.”

Veteran care

“I, frankly, am very frustrated about a lot of things I read about the lack of veterans’ services,” Reinhardt said. “We send them off to do the extremely difficult job of fighting foreign wars…but we don’t seem to be able to put together the resources to treat their physical and/or mental injuries from the conflict.

“We need to carry out our side of the bargain,” Reinhardt continued. “We should be able to take care of them when they come home, with housing assistance or drug rehabilitation. We need to bring them home…in whatever situation they’re in, to deal with it.”

Reinhardt supports events like the county’s Stand-Down collaborative event with local government and community agencies that offers health screenings, food, shelter, clothing, substance abuse treatment, and employment information to homeless veterans.

“It’s an event that attracts awareness and attention, and highlights the absence of some services,” he said.

“The county absolutely needs to care for its struggling veterans,” Holland said. “The county has made progress in recognizing this. There needs to be a concentrated effort to see that veterans receive services unique to veterans.”

For example, he said, within the county’s jail, an area could be devoted to incarcerated veterans who have similar issues. Albany County has such a program in its jail, started last year, and run in conjunction with Soldier On.

“Every single legislator was in favor of Soldier On,” Reilly said. The construction of the facility requires patience, he said.

“You’ve got to have a SEQR process,” he said of the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act. “The SEQR work is ongoing now,” with the hiring of an engineer and consultant.

“You have to dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t.’ It’s very detailed, SEQR,” Reilly said.

Care for the elderly

Holland said that a talking point about the county’s nursing home among candidates is “privatization” of the facility, and that, for in-home services, “It’s necessary to look at that realistically.”

The county must be sure that senior services are “fiscally sustainable by the county,” Holland said. “We want to be sure we’re providing seniors the best care we can.”

Asked the best option for seniors, Holland said, “I couldn’t say right now. They’re absolutely necessary” and the county should be “doing its best to see services are provided.”

“They do have in-home services,” Reilly said of the county. “That’s helpful.

“A lot of people have to have nursing-home care,” he continued. “I never gave up on the nursing home. The staff there is doing outstanding work.” The building, he said, needed help.

He praised the efforts of the new director, Larry Slatky, saying, “He’s trying new strategies. He’s done a lot to improve the nursing home. He’s changed schedules.”

Reilly also noted that the nursing home’s large operating deficit has been reduced, and the home is expected to generate revenue in the future.

“It really depends on the situation,” Reinhardt said of the best way to help the elderly in Albany County. “In some cases, a nursing home may be the best strategy, but, in others, home care may be best.”

In the case of dementia, he said, “Home care is the better strategy. There are times when that just doesn’t work anymore. We need to look at a home-care option so long as it…can be done safely.

“You’re never going to eliminate the need for some care in an institutional setting,” Reinhardt continued. “I am not in favor of privatization, in general. That would be a last resort.”

Minimum wage

“There’s nothing special about Albany County that puts its minimum wage above the state’s minimum wage,” Holland said. “The increased wage needs to be a sensible wage, and related to employing people.”

He said that $15 per hour for fast-food workers is an arbitrary number that “sounds nice.”

“It has to be a sustainable number,” Holland said. Focusing on the fast-food industry for a new wage “panders to a voting base,” he said.

“I do support higher minimum wage,” Reinhardt said. “Try to live that way for a year, and then report back. It’s almost impossible to support a family on minimum wage.”

Reinhardt said that a wage should be set by a higher level of government than the county; setting a county minimum wage could create “areas of unintended consequences,” with one region offering lower wages than another. Traveling across borders “is not very productive,” he said, saying that using fuel to travel would “burn up a higher salary.”

“A strategy to raise it equally everywhere is a better strategy. I wouldn’t want the county to do something unilaterally. The state approach is the better approach,” Reinhardt said.

“I don’t have a problem with ultimately reaching $15,” Reilly said. He said that people holding two minimum-wage jobs might “barely pay for an apartment.”

He suggested that an increased wage could help workers at large companies as a “good, solid hourly wage…if the money goes to the workers, it will benefit everybody. I wouldn’t be so happy if it was going to the kingpin in the organization.”

County charter

“I think these should be voted down,” Reinhardt said of the proposed changes. “They take away voter choice...and give more power to the legislature. It's actually a step back.”

Reinhardt said that a charter review committee recommended different changes than those on the ballot now.

“The original charter recommendations should be the ones the voters have a choice on, not the ones that are on the November ballot,” he said. “Those make things worse. They are taking away voters' rights...Some of the language that is in the proposed changes are protecting the rights of the incumbents.”

Reilly supports some of the changes, but criticized others.

“I think it solves some of the problems,” he said. He supports the “small, technical changes” proposed, but not the change that would allow the county executive to fulfill an unfinished district-attorney term, which would violate state law, Reilly said.

Reilly did not support a change of moving from four test-qualified coroners at salaries of $20,000 each to a single official medical examiner to cover Albany County's 455 square miles.

The county would have to “pay him considerably more, and [he would] have a number of assistants. I think that's a total waste of taxpayers' money...We should not go that route,” Reilly said. “The coroners are spread out in the county. They share the coverage in the week. They are run ragged. It's a tough job. We're not big enough to warrant a professional medical examiner.”

Reilly, a funeral home director, surmised that increased costs would include those for a medical examiner's lab, and that increased delays on death determinations would cause hardships for grieving families.

Regarding redistricting, Reilly said that the changes should have been aligned with census data by waiting until 2020.

He said that a reduction from 39 to 25 legislators was too severe. He said that legislators receive no extra compensation, but must attend many committee meetings.

“I'm satisfied with the 39,” Reilly said.

“I support putting this before the voters,” Holland said. “Anytime you’re going to make a fundamental change on the legislative level, it should always be put before the voters.”

Other issues

“What we need on the legislature right now is somebody to bring a voice of reasonableness and objectivity,” Holland said. “The legislature has been prolific in pursuing legislation that will satisfy personal interests and agendas of politicians on the legislature, while ignoring the needs of the residents of the county and the consequences of what gets passed.

“I would certainly want to make sure concerns get met,” Holland continued, “to the extent” to “make sure it’s…realistic, constitutional, and accomplishes intended goals…without over-regulating the lives of county residents.”

Reilly said that the law he authored to protect municipal water sources from blasting, as could happen when Kinder Morgan expands the current pipeline it owns that runs through New Scotland, is important to him, and he said that Bethlehem officials nearly curtailed its passage with delays. (See related story.)

Reinhardt is concerned that government be transparent, he said, noting that Bethlehem meetings are videotaped.

“We should be looking to do this at the county level, as well,” he said. He also wants all documents officials will see to be available to the public in advance of meetings.

“This is lacking at the county level,” Reinhardt said.

Reinhardt also wants the county to do more about climate change, he said.

“Solar is becoming significantly cheaper,” he said.

Helping other county jurisdictions save money could save on tax burdens by making the county more efficient, Reinhardt said.

“I think the county can do more,” he said. “The county can also play a role in making people more aware of these opportunities.”

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