College Student Running to Try to Unseat Slater in State Assembly
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A 21-year-old Boston College student has thrown his hat into the political ring for the first time and has set his sights on Albany.
Zack Couzens, a lifelong Mahopac resident, is running on the Democratic line in an attempt to unseat incumbent Assemblyman Matt Slater (R-Yorktown) in the 94th Assembly District.
The district includes parts of Putnam and Westchester counties, including the towns of Kent, Patterson, Putnam Valley, Carmel, Southeast, Somers and Yorktown and the Village of Brewster.
Couzens, a senior majoring in political science, said, if elected, he could represent the constituents of the district better than Slater since he would be part of the Democratic-controlled Assembly.
“I would be able to be more effective and deliver results than Matt Slater can,” Couzens said. “I want to try to bring more young people in and be effective on local issues.”
An Eagle Scout, Couzens was educated in Mahopac schools until high school, when he transferred to the Hackley School in Tarrytown for the final three years.
He worked as an intern twice for state Sen. Peter Harckham, who encouraged him to become a candidate himself.
“People are very supportive that I am even running,” Couzens said. “They say we need new blood. I’m bringing a perspective that I know not many lawmakers have.”
Couzens’ primary criticism of Slater is that he has been “ineffective” as a member of the minority Republican caucus.
“I went through his record. Because Matt is at the wrong table, he can’t deliver for Putnam and Westchester,” Couzens contended. “When you’re in the wrong caucus in Albany, you can’t deliver. If you send a Democrat, I will actually represent Putnam (and Westchester). I will have everyone’s interest in mind. If nothing else, I will compliment Matt for being present in the district.”
Slater, 38, is running for a second two-year term in Albany. A graduate of Yorktown High School, Slater worked for three years for the Assembly’s minority leader, two years as chief of staff for former assemblyman Steve Katz and four years as chief of staff for former state senator Terrence Murphy.
He was elected Yorktown supervisor in 2019 and was re-elected in 2021 before being elected to the Assembly in November 2022.
Slater said it was “unsurprising that my opponent is woefully uninformed about state government and the job of a state legislator.”
“I am proud of the success I achieved during my first term in the state Assembly on behalf of my constituents,” Slater said. “First, I built bipartisan coalitions of my colleagues to stop Gov. Hochul’s plans to end local zoning and build higher density housing in our communities, reduce aid for public schools in the Hudson Valley and cut state support from veterans’ organizations. In addition, I delivered over $31 million in new funding for road and bridge projects, libraries, veterans and local law enforcement in the 94th Assembly District.
“I also passed the seventh most legislation among the 31 freshman members of the state Assembly, of both parties, and, most importantly, my office successfully resolved more than 1,000 constituent cases in the last 18 months,” Slater said. “I look forward to building upon this record of success and continuing to serve my constituents.”
Couzens, who said he lives at home when he’s not in college, said two issues he would focus on would be finding ways for the state to help municipalities provide more housing options and tweaking the Foundation Aid calculations for school districts.
With the 94th Assembly District having more Republican enrolled voters than Democrats, Couzens realizes he’s fighting an uphill battle, but he’s not deterred.
“I realize the nature of my race, and the culture as well,” he said. “Of course, I’ll need a job after college and the Assembly would be nice. I just want to get involved.”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
