The race for the Sullivan legislature — DISTRICT 1

After redistricting last year, District 1 now includes the towns of Bethel, Cochecton, Tusten and the eastern portion of the Town of Delaware.

Election Day is on Tuesday, November 4.

		TRR photo by David Hulse Chris Cunningham (Click for larger image)	TRR photo by David Hulse Margaret Hazen (Click for larger image)

Chris Cunningham

Chris Cunningham is a two-term Democrat/Conservative incumbent seeking re-election as legislator in District 1. He is 41 years old, married and the father of two children. He lives in Swan Lake.

He was the Democrat’s first majority leader and currently serves as minority leader. He chairs the personnel and veterans committees.

He sees himself as an advocate who works at staying accessible to his constituency. “I like to listen and be accessible. My phone number is still in the book, like it’s always been.”

That’s important because Cunningham believes the legislature still has work to do in proving itself. “The relationship between the legislature and the towns hasn’t shaken itself out yet.”

Cunningham says Sullivan County’s future is in the formative stages now and must be seen to. As he was when the Route 17B corridor planning was undertaken, he’s been involved with the visioning effort in the Upper Delaware. “The planning process will require cool heads. There are visioning issues to be worked out; open space, growth and quality of life issues.”

The legislature’s next term will be deeply involved in these issues, as we have “a lot of new people in the western part of the county. It’s a time of change.”

Change will be spiced with some new budgetary concerns. “[The budget] will be tighter than it’s been. This will be tight budget.”

Planning for tomorrow while getting through today isn’t easy. “Growth issues are tough. We’ll see more and more of that, water, sewer, infrastructure and traffic,” he said.

Will there be new taxes?

“Nobody wants to raise taxes, but services have costs,” he said.

Cunningham thinks the legislature would do well to revise its budgetary planning. “I’d like it to be a little more open process and start earlier,” he said.

He’s been a steady critic of casino gambling, posing a similar argument about its planning. “Do we have a plan? A lot of my criticism has been about the rush to get casinos. If something seems to good to be true, it probably is. Now how do we deal with them? We need to plan an approach,” he said.

Beyond these issues, Cunningham would like to see consumer affairs reemphasized. “It was lost at the change of leadership. Now, everybody’s gotten down to working as a group [again]. We’ll look again in January.”

“I’ve got a good grasp of the issues. I think I’ve served well. If the people think so I’ll get re-elected and I’ll do as good a job as I can.”

Margaret Hazen

Margaret Hazen is the Republican challenger seeking election to the District 1 seat on the Sullivan County Legislature.

This is her first attempt at public office.

Hazen hails from Massachusetts, by way of 31 years as an equities trader on Wall Street, 25 of them with DeanWitter-Reynolds, now Morgan-Stanley.

She is the widow of Jack Genovese, with whom she built and operated Gaetano’s Café in Mongaup Valley. She lives in White Lake.

The couple chose to live in Sullivan County after they retired from  Wall Street in 1994. They built a home in Bethel and retirement soon became the restaurant business. She still owns the property, but now leases the restaurant to another operator.

Hazen is active in civic affairs. She’s assistant treasurer and a director of Sullivan County United Way. She’s also a member of the Sullivan County Partnership, the Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce, the Sullivan County Visitors Association, the Bethel Business Association and the Business and Professional Women’s Association.

She’s running for the legislature because she wants her community to be successful and well managed. “I’ve chosen Sullivan County as my home. I want to make it as beautiful and successful as it can be. I want to take part in that success, be the people’s representative and take my area’s concerns to the legislature,” she said.

A major concern for Hazen is providing elected representation for agriculture. “I want the land owners and farmers to get a strong voice and participation in the growth of the county,” she said.

She also views the area’s natural beauty as an important concern. “I want to see the continued development of Route 97 as the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway and maintain the beauty of the region.”

At the same time Hazen believes District 1 should also be a place of economic development. “I want my district to be open to business; controlled growth.”

She would see new attention given to safety and traffic flow issues on Route 17B, which “will soon be, if it is not now, a main artery.”

Accordingly, she would encourage the installation of video lottery terminals (VLTs) at Monticello Raceway and the new jobs they would bring.

Hazen’s position is similar regarding other casino gaming projects now under consideration. “We need business and jobs, to employ people, keep them here and bring new people. We have to move ahead with intelligence and direction,” she said.