As a lifelong Hudson Valley resident, I know that we must always invest in our rural communities. That’s why I’m fighting to:

• Address the EMS crisis. The state needs to step up and help fund emergency medical services so rural residents can get to medical facilities without exorbitant costs. EMTs must be paid a living wage, which is why we need to raise the minimum wage for all New Yorkers.
• Invest in municipal rural broadband. Big Internet companies like Spectrum overcharge New Yorkers while providing terrible coverage. But there’s another option: democratically controlled, universal municipal broadband, owned and operated by the state. That’s why last year, New York announced $10 million to build out state-owned fiber in four rural communities. We need to go a lot farther and expand Internet access across the Hudson Valley.
• Engage local communities on housing and climate solutions. We need to address the housing and climate, but we must do it in a way that accounts for the unique needs and conditions of our small towns.
• Repair country roads. Rural roadways across our district are in disrepair. I’ll advocate for more money for CHIPS so our infrastructure is maintained and safe for us all.
• Protect farmworkers. The people who feed New York are some of the state’s most exploited workers. I’ll always stand with farmworkers against Big Agriculture to protect their rights to organize and demand better benefits, such as a lower overtime threshold.

• Fund small-town journalism. More than 20% of American newspapers have shut down in the last two decades, depriving countless rural communities of their sources for local news. The Local Journalism Sustainability Act would provide support for newsrooms and their subscribers.