GUILDERLAND — Democratic incumbent Dustin Reidy is being challenged by Republican Peter Hubbard to represent the Westmere area of Guilderland in the Albany County Legislature.
Hubbard, a lifelong Guilderland resident, ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Guilderland Town Board in 2012, a year when Guilderland Democrats regained complete control of that board.

Hubbard later served for a decade as a trustee for the Guilderland Public Library.

Reidy, who also has the Working Families line, first won election to the county legislature in 2019, running against author and former Guilderland School Board member Peter Golden.

He currently chairs the Guilderland Democratic Committee.

Both candidates were asked if they thought humans caused climate change and what more the county should do to reduce its effects; what role, if any, the county should play in keeping local watersheds pollution-free or in helping towns to maintain clean water; and what social services offered by the county are most helpful for Guilderland residents dealing with poverty, hunger, homelessness, addiction, or mental-health issues.

Dustin Reidy

Dustin Reidy said that, in his first term as a legislator, he is proud of how the county got through the pandemic, staying fiscally sound, and he is proud of the work he has done fighting climate change, helping small businesses through the Economic Recovery Task Force, and passing three bills to reduce gun violence.

Reidy grew up in Scotia, graduating from the Scotia-Glenville schools before going to Skidmore College where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history and political science.

During his early career, Reidy said, he worked on “the administrative side of health care” and, since 2020, he has been a campaign manager for Congressman Paul Tonko. He has also, since 2010, served as a consultant on political campaigns and he currently chairs the Guilderland Democratic Committee.

What makes someone effective as a political committee chairman, Reidy said, is the same thing that makes him effective as a legislator. 

“You’re out there in the community listening to folks and building consensus,” he said.

He went on, “We have a very diverse party. It’s not a monolith,” Reidy said, stating, “The Republican platform is about one person.”

He said further that a party chairman’s job is to organize and to back candidates while those elected to office represent the people. “We have elections for both,” said Reidy. “I don’t think there’s an inherent conflict of interest.”

On climate change, Reidy said he believes it is real and caused by humans.

He said he co-sponsored a bill early this year to give tax breaks for construction that meets LEED certification. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. “It’s a tool in the toolbox to give incentive to developers,” said Reidy.

Reidy noted that he voted for the county’s Clean Air Act, signed into law in 2020, which bans tire burning and the burning of firefighting foam with potentially toxic substances like PFAS.

“We should do everything we can in the county to lessen our carbon footprint,” said Reidy. “We have to find ways to rebuild, and strengthen a green economy.”

Reidy said, while he may look into county-wide initiatives for clean water, it is largely an issue for towns. 

He said, though, he had closely followed the proposal for warehouses with the 500-foot buffer to protect the Watervliet Reservoir, Guilderland’s major source of drinking water, and was pleased it had been rejected.

On social services, Reidy said that mental-health issues, addiction, homelessness, substance-abuse, and poverty are all issues that overlap.

He said he was proud to sponsor the ACCORD program.

The Albany County Crisis Officials Responding and Diverting initiative started as a pilot program in the Hilltowns, where mental-health experts and social workers answered emergency calls needing their expertise rather than police officers. The program is now being expanded.

“There’s a huge stigma with mental health,” said Reidy. “You can’t legislate … treating people like people. You need to recognize the humanity of everyone. The same goes for poetry and homelessness.”

Reidy also said the population of Guilderland, as statewide and nationwide, is getting older and services are needed.

He said, too, that he had volunteered in the summers of 2020 and 2021 to help with the free summer meals program run by the Guilderland schools. “It’s a real eye-opener,” Reidy said, noting that poverty is an issue in Westmere and throughout the town.

He concluded by saying he was grateful that, when it comes to meeting these needs, the sheriff, the legislators, and other county leaders, “Everyone is on the same page.”

Peter Hubbard

Peter Hubbard said he is running to be a county legislator because he wants to help his community.

He went to Altamont Elementary, Farnsworth Middle School, and graduated from Guilderland High School before studying human services at Hudson Valley Community College and ultimately earning his bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology at the University at Albany

He and his wife, Agata, lived briefly in Schenectady before moving to Guilderland to have their first child, Elca, now a Guilderland High student, followed by their second daughter, Lily, an eighth-grader at Farnsworth.

Hubbard works as a corrections officer at the facility in Coxsackie, a job he calls “very difficult,” and at the same time, for 18 years, has worked in investments and life insurance. While running for county legislator, he is simultaneously running to be executive vice president of his union, the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association.

On climate change, Hubbard said, “I do believe there’s an impact we have. I love the idea of bikes and seeing the increase in walking on Western Avenue.”

He went on, “I am not far, far to that side where I’m concerned we’ll be covered in water in the next couple of years.”

As to the county having a role in maintaining watersheds, Hubbard said, “Any assistance that can be provided to Guilderland when it comes to water is helpful … We need to make sure people and their families are safe.”

On social services, Habbard said that, for a long time, people in Guilderland didn’t realize there were unmet needs here.

One of the reasons he is running, Hubbard said, is “the cost of living is out of control. I want to bring a sensible approach to spending.”

His 80-year-old mother, a widow, lives less than a mile from him so he is very aware of the hardships of living on a fixed income.

He also said, “Working in corrections, I see the direct impact of mental-health [problems] and homelessness … They end up in crime as a means to survive,” he said of some of the inmates.

Hubbard also noted the increased number of panhandlers outside Crossgates Mall. “We absolutely have to do something,” he said. “It’s heart-breaking.”

Hubbard went on, “As a Republican, I may not agree with Dan McCoy on everything but I do on this,” he said of the spectrum of social-service initiatives that McCoy highlighted in a September press conference. “We need a bipartisan approach.”

Hubbard, who served as a Guilderland library trustee from 2012 to 2022, said, “One reason I ran was the proposal to expand. I had concerns about costs and staffing. I didn’t feel I had enough information.”

He was fond of the library, Hubbard said, having gone there as a kid and taking his own children there.

“I’m proud of what we accomplished,” he said of the library trustees and leaders. “The reduced expansion provided great things for the community, a safe and secure environment for learning.”

What he liked about serving on the library board, Hubbard said, was there was “no political stuff.”

Different people came together with a common goal, he said.

“I wish we’d see more compromise and conversation in the political world …,” he concluded. “We need to focus on what would benefit the people we represent.”