Woerner, a Democrat, is approaching a decade in office. She tells WAMC that she’ll be focusing on improving access to and quality of healthcare in the new legislative session.
“So, I think that certainly stabilizing our healthcare institutions, is a big issue that I'm hearing from people. The ability to get access to dental care, the ability for people to secure spots in our not-for-profit nursing homes close to their communities,” Woerner explained. “The hospitals having issues with the ability to fund programs like OBGYN and birthing centers, and dental residencies, and as well as being able to just sort of have adequate staffing to meet the needs of patients who come in to the emergency room so that there aren't long wait times. All of these things are, you know, sort of are really important and impactful concerns that I have heard from many constituents about. So, that’s, you know, that is top of mind for me.”
Woerner is also focusing on educational equity and promoting a farm-to-school nutritional program started in 2015 that aims to provide higher-quality produce to local schools while supporting farmers.
“Certainly, the education continues to be top of mind to me public education, and, specifically, really looking at the BOCES programs, and making sure that as many kids who want to pursue BOCES pre-professional career paths have that ability. And I've been focused for a long time on encouraging more girls to pursue their interest in the trades. And so, thinking about how do we do that, one of the big things that we've actually been focused on for a number of years and hopefully this will be the year we can make this happen to expand the aidable portion of the teacher salaries for BOCES teachers, which will open up more slots in both these programs. And I think I think across the state, that's a that is an important priority. Some of the other programs that I would love to see us make some headway with is the program that was started a few years ago to encourage schools, school lunch programs, school nutrition programs, to purchase more food commodities from local growers, you know, like apples or eggs or milk. And, and the program does that by supplementing the school lunch or school meal reimbursement rate with an additional $.25 if they purchased 30% of their commodities for lunch from local growers. And schools have been—I've looked at it and have not taken that up in the kind of numbers that we had hoped. Because it turns out that it doesn't quite match how school nutrition programs do their purchasing. So, looking at the how that program is structured and making it more accessible by making it more consistent with how the schools themselves do their purchasing, I think would help our local farmers as well as improve the nutrition in our local schools,” said Woerner.
Public safety has dominated New York politics in recent elections, with critics of bail law changes and other criminal justice reforms saying the policies are driving a spike in crime.
Woerner says while she plans on prioritizing support for federal Victims of Crime Advocacy funds, she is unsure how conversations around public safety will unfold.
“Well, I don't really know how to anticipate what the priority topics would be. I would have to say for me, I am very concerned about you know that we are supporting the victims of crime, and the VOCA funds are one of the key ways that we do that,” explained Woerner. “I also think that we need to, you know, we need to really look at drunk driving and drugged driving, and think about—there's an assembly member, Magnarelli, has, I think, a really important bill to address the issue of drugged driving. And so, I would love to see that, that moved this year. Because the numbers are not trending in the right direction with DWIs and driving under the influence. And, and I think that's something that we really have to, you know, I think we really have to take seriously, because it's, you know, people's lives are put at risk anytime somebody who is driving under the influence gets behind, or who is under the influence gets behind the wheel of a car.
Debate over Gov. Kathy Hochul’s housing proposal contributed to the late budget in 2023, and lawmakers left Albany without a three-way agreement. Woerner says she supports efforts to increase the affordability of housing in her district.
“I'm very focused on affordable home ownership, on making sure that when young people who either grew up here and go away for school and then come back, or young people who get a job in some of the emerging tech industries in the capital region and choose to make their home here that, you know, that two or three years into their career when they're ready to leave the rental universe and purchase a home that there are attainable first homes available for purchase in our communities. And that we make it possible for young families to purchase their first home here and build their build their families here. So that's, that's what I really hope that we will focus on.”
Woerner backs local efforts to replenish the affordable housing stock, like Saratoga Springs’ Commissioner of Accounts Dillon Moran moving to regulate the Spa City’s booming short-term rental market.
“And I'm not talking about the oh, the traditional track rentals that have, you know, that have been part of Saratoga for decades,” she continued. I'm talking about homes that have been purchased, specifically to become short term rentals. And that are not—there's nobody living in them ever, on a on a full-time basis. It is strictly a, you know, a form of a hotel room. I think that that is, you know, taking housing out of circulation for permanent residents. And, frankly, I think drives up the cost of housing, both in the rental market as well as the ownership market as a result. So, I do think that we have, we have to in the state deal with the short-term rental realities and what the impacts of those short-term rentals are on permanent housing.”
In a historic move, the Belmont Stakes will be coming to Saratoga Race Course in June as its home track undergoes a half-billion dollar renovation. With the future of the embattled industry unclear, Woerner, who serves on the Committee on Racing and Wagering, says the future is bright for racing in New York.
The thoroughbred racing industry is a significant economic engine in not just Saratoga County, but across the Capital Region, and across the state. It creates thousands of jobs. And is a—not just direct jobs on the race course, but in farms across the state, in our downtown's and lodging and restaurants and tourism. It is a significant economic driver and just the same way as the state invests in other industries that generate jobs and economic activity, I think that it is appropriate for the state to invest in this industry. The investment in building a new Belmont racetrack is one that will be, you know, the state has given a loan to NYRA to do that, NYRA is going to pay it back out of the revenue that it generates. And, so, I think it's a—and not to mention the fact that by through that process, the land that the Aqueduct Racetrack is on will be, the state will be able to sell that for redevelopment. So, I think that there is I think we're on a good path with the racing industry in New York State. And I'm very excited to sit Belmont is going to run in Saratoga for two years.
The new session begins January 3rd.
