Dear neighbors:
Thank you for the great honor of serving our 99th Assembly District for the last four years. This Saturday night, December 31st, my term will end and new district lines represented by newly elected Assemblymembers will take effect.
Over these last four years, my team and I have dedicated all of our abilities and energy to serving the Hudson Valley and I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished in every aspect of service.
Legislatively, I helped pass more bills than usual for a minority party member, including nine prime-sponsored pieces of legislation and over 75 sponsored and cosponsored bills. In Albany, I stood in defense of our Hudson Valley values with every vote cast in session and helped lead the opposition to horrendous policies that negatively impact our families, our safety, and our bank accounts. My legislative record and committee service earned me distinction as one of the most bipartisan legislators in state government.
My team and I have handled thousands of constituent assistance cases. A significant number of those cases were during the COVID-19 pandemic which surged requests for help to a level never seen before in state legislative history — all while some staff were remote.
I was able to secure record funding, in the millions of dollars, for our district through direct grants given to schools, police departments, libraries, local governments, and fire departments. I was proud to provide increased funding streams and programs to aid education, local governments, local roads, and veterans organizations and causes.
Some of my fondest memories of my tenure that I will remember forever include our 99th Assembly District community events of honor — the Veterans’ Hall of Fame and Traveling Wall of Honor, Women of Distinction, Salute to First Responders, and more. These events of honor allowed everyone in our community to celebrate the amazing women and men who make our region such a wonderful place to live, work, and raise a family.
Much of my tenure was COVID-impacted and I can say we adapted quickly to be able to provide services the best way possible during that crisis. Some of our efforts included being the first local government entity to provide masks and hand sanitizer to first responders and frontline workers, running a food distribution program in conjunction with Falkirk Estates and the Carpenters Local, partnering to provide antibody testing, distributing COVID take-home tests, assisting with COVID vaccination, and so much more. COVID changed all of our lives whether we liked it or not. With each difficulty faced by our community, my goal was to help make it a little easier for all of us dealing with this crisis while working to get life for students, business owners, and families back to normal as soon as possible.
As I pledged when first seeking your votes, I always sought to put our district first and be of assistance to any person who needed it. As my term comes to a close I am glad to have devoted myself to meeting that pledge every single day.
While I will not be in elected office at the beginning of the year, my family and I will continue to support the community we care so deeply about, and in the coming weeks, I will announce future plans to continue our service.
On behalf of my wife Nikki, our adopted dog Quincy, and my entire team, we humbly say thank you for allowing us to serve.
Sincerely,
Assemblyman Colin J. Schmitt
