To the Editor:

Last week’s Enterprise had a letter from Ted Danz who is running for the State Senate seat currently held by Neil Breslin who is retiring at the age of 81 [“I’m running for senate to try to revive our once thriving state,” Oct. 3, 2024].

Danz has never held any elected office, unlike his opponent, Pat Fahy, who was both a member and president of the Albany School Board and has served in the State Assembly for 12 years as a very active and effective member. She has been the prime sponsor of over 200 bills, more than 70 of which have been signed into law.

Danz has one solution he puts forward to solve almost every problem — make things better for business. He says he is “committed to reducing the regulatory burden on businesses“ and “providing tax relief to small businesses.”

He says nothing about addressing other issues like education, consumer protection, job creation, and environmental protection. While business exists to maximize profits for its owners, government exists to serve its citizens, a far more complicated mission that Danz has never dealt with.

Fahy first ran for the State Assembly after seeing the devastating effects on students of drastic cuts in funding for K-12 public schools during the 2010 recession. In her years in the Assembly, she worked to restore funding for public education and now the state’s public schools are fully funded.

After the horrific mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017, Fahy introduced legislation that passed with bipartisan support, making it illegal to possess any device designed to increase the rate of fire of an assault rifle. It was signed into law in 2019. She also sponsored the law, which took effect in 2021, to allow victims of gun violence to sue gun dealers or manufacturers for actions that contributed to the violence.

Fahy introduced the Digital Fair Repair Act, which requires manufacturers of cell phones, tablets, and laptops to make parts and repair manuals available to individuals who want to repair their own devices or go into business repairing them for others. This law, signed in 2022, is the first such law in the country. Aside from saving people money on repairs, this allows owners to use their devices longer, keeping them from becoming more waste.

Together with Senator Todd Kaminsky, Fahy passed legislation in 2022 to make it an official goal of New York state to preserve 30 percent of its land and waters by 2030. She has worked diligently to protect open space locally as well as statewide.

Fahy champions projects to bring good jobs with good pay to the Capital Region while building our infrastructure. These projects include Reimagining 787 to reconnect the city to the Hudson River and make room for other transportation options besides cars, the Wadsworth Labs consolidation, Albany Airport upgrades, investments at the Port of Albany, and renovations at the State Museum. She has passed legislation to support craft beverage production, bringing jobs and development to local cideries, breweries, and distilleries.

Fahy has worked to pass key legislation to support family-owned restaurants and farms. She has secured record investments in childcare, making it available to more families. She has fought to raise the minimum wage and index it to inflation, which would raise the wage floor for everyone.

I disagree with Ted Danz’s views on abortion and school funding and he is not someone I would want representing me in Albany.

During her years in the Assembly, Pat Fahy has shown that she will work hard for her constituents to make New York a better place for all of its citizens. For more thorough and detailed information about Fahy’s accomplishments, visit her campaign website, patriciafahy.com.

Her energetic successful work in the Assembly has shown that she will be an excellent State Senator and she has my wholehearted and enthusiastic support.

Edna Litten

Altamont