Climate change is a top priority for Levenberg
Being an assembly member may be a part time job, but for Dana Levenberg meeting with constituents is a nearly everyday occurrence as her calendar shows.
The Democratic incumbent and former Ossining town supervisor seeks re-election in the upcoming Nov. 5 general election for Assembly District 95, facing off against Republican and Conservative business analyst Michael Capalbo.
“I’m going to continue on my path to build healthy communities that are environmentally healthy, economically healthy, physically and mentally healthy,” Levenberg told the Herald last Friday. “I’ll keep a lens of equity. That’s been my mission for many years. It’s going to continue to be my mission. My vision is for a more prosperous future for everybody and I think that there’s a lot of steps that we need to take to get there.”
Some of her top priorities, she said, include criminal justice reform, mental health and veteran care, public safety, getting universal health care, making significant changes in the foundation aid formula to make sure schools are adequately and equitably funded, and addressing environmental needs.
“We’ve waited way too long to actually address our environmental needs and we need to,” Levenberg said. “I always say it’s kind of like a Jackson Pollock, like we need to throw everything at the canvas to actually address climate change. And we’re getting caught in the fear mongering, in my opinion, that’s been created by our opponents, and it’s holding us back from the good work that we have to do to put more sustainable energy into place [and] reduce our energy use.”
Levenberg said that her proudest accomplishment since getting elected in 2022 was getting the Save the Hudson bill signed into law, which prevented gallons of treated wastewater with traces of radioactive tritium into the Hudson River. Despite being the most productive freshman legislator who was the lead sponsor on bills passed and signed into law in 2023, she said, there remains a lot to learn about the ins and outs of the legislative cycle.
“I may run up against a roadblock here and there, but it doesn’t discourage me from continuing to fight for what I believe is right,” Levenberg said. “And I will take all those lessons and put them to good use for the people.”
Levenberg grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey. She graduated from Brown University in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts in international relations. The mother of two advocated for her kids as a PTA mom and Ossining School Board trustee. It was while she was a school board trustee that led her to get involved with the local Democratic Committee. She began working for her predecessor Assemblywoman Sandy Galef as a chief of staff. She was one of the founders of the Ossining Micro Fund, which helps people with one time no interest loans, and Open Arms for Refugees, which helps resettle refugees and asylum seekers.
An opportunity unveiled itself in 2015 when a seat opened up for the Ossining town supervisor. Levenberg was elected later that year and assumed office in 2016, learning about local government, zoning and planning, beautifying parks, road care, and emergency services. Upon Galef’s retirement from the Assembly in 2022, Levenberg said it seemed like a natural opening for her to run and she did so with Galef’s endorsement.
Since getting elected, Levenberg said she has addressed issues of affordability and infrastructure by introducing a bill that requires municipalities to develop a “housing action plan for everyone” and another that aims to make it easier to get planning money for clean drinking water infrastructure planning.
Asked how she makes sure constituents’ voices are heard, Levenberg said she follows in her predecessor’s footsteps by hosting town hall meetings at the beginning of budget session cycles, as well as sending out surveys, questionnaires to ask constituents to weigh in on issues. She also hosts constituent meetings in Ossining and Albany, mobile office hours, and hosts a podcast to share things going on in the community.
“You’re always working,” Levenberg said. “You meet people in a supermarket or at the farmers market or wherever it is that you meet people. [They] ask you questions, and you’re never gonna say, ‘No, I’m not gonna answer your question because today’s a day where I don’t deal with constituents.’ You’re always dealing with people who live in your community and living in your community, which is required, gives you the understanding of what the needs are because they’re my needs too.”
Capalbo looks to broaden voice in Democratic dominated state
There is an unbalanced government according to long time New Yorker Michael Capalbo and he is looking to broaden that voice.
The Republican and Conservative business analyst is running for Assembly District 95 in the upcoming Nov. 5 general election, facing off against Democratic incumbent Dana Levenberg.
“I’m a lifetimer New Yorker and I’m running because I don’t like the state of our state,” Capalbo told the Herald last Friday. “My vision is really just to add balance, to expand the voice of the discussion in Albany. As an analyst in financial business, you have to take in the viewpoints of all the different stakeholders on something and understand the needs of all the parties and have a fruitful productive discussion.”
Some of his top priorities, he said, include affordability, public safety, promoting jobs, infrastructure, and prioritizing the needs of citizens over asylum seekers.
“The budget one day in New York for migrants is more than what we spend on veterans for a year,” Capalbo said. “We have $2.4 billion that we spent on them, which is greater than the budget for fixing the roads and bridges. And the entire state of New York and the Hudson Valley is rated worst for roads and bridges. So we have to get our priorities straight. We have to get our spending straight.”
Capalbo critiqued the state having a Democrat governor, as well as super majorities in the Senate and the Assembly, in major cities, Westchester County Board of Legislators, and in regulatory agencies. His intention in running is to diversify those in office in the state.
“I think they’re cogs in a political machine,” Capalbo said. “They’ve been politicians. All the issues and problems are owned by them and you have to ask why are people leaving if the things that they’re doing are so effective? I think there’s a lot of people in the district who don’t feel like their voices are heard. They don’t have a seat at the table.”
Capalbo said he brings to the table his ability to work with a lot of constituencies and stakeholders, an innate love for the state, and understanding different points of views and issues. He said he would promote jobs by reviewing what kind of regulations they have that may be impeding job growth such as energy policy. He also said he would promote public safety by opposing cashless bail and by recruiting more police officers.
He declined to get into the specifics of his employer, but said he’s worked in finance as a business analyst, product manager, troubleshooter, technical writer, web designer, and a variety of different capacities.
This is Capalbo’s inaugural run for public office but said that since March he has been out five nights a week, going door to door, meeting and listening to constituents, sometimes at multiple events a day, in an effort to build relationships and learn of their needs.
“I like to think of the state holistically – where we are a state, so it’s not just anybody’s particular district,” Capalbo said. “You have to exit your district and function in other parts. A lot of my towns are commuter towns for New York, so it’s in my constituent’s interest for New York to do well as well. So [my] number one is to build relationships with all the other assembly people and understand what their views are and how they’re representing their constituents.”
Capalbo grew up in Manhattan and was adopted by an Italian American family from the Belmont neighborhood in the Bronx. He attended elementary school while living in Mount Vernon, then Valhalla High School when he lived in Mount Pleasant. He attended SUNY Albany and transferred to Northeastern University in Boston where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English.
His first job was at IBM in Kingston while his first house was in Putnam. He settled in Yorktown at the end of the last century where he raised his family and has been commuting from for decades. Capalbo decided to run to improve the state of New York.
Capalbo said what he’s been most proud of accomplishing throughout the campaign has been connecting with constituents in a meaningful way that resonates with them and leads to their support.
“It’s one thing to maybe give a speech and have people politely clap. But it’s when you connect with people and they come up and they talk to you and they say ‘Look, I want to help you.’ That is personally gratifying,” Capalbo said. “And it also motivates me to the extent that it’s hard to do this day in and day out, and on those days when you just feel like taking a day for yourself, you say ‘it’s a lot of people that are supporting me.’ They’re depending on me and giving me their hard earned cash and their time and I don’t want to let them down, so I really take to heart support. If I am fortunate enough to be elected, that’s the same thing that will motivate me in office.”
