Katz, Gristina to Square Off in Assembly Primaries
State Assemblyman Steve Katz (R/C—Mohegan Lake) is looking for a repeat performance when he squares off against Dario Gristina in Republican and Conservative primaries September 13 in the 94th District.
Registered Republicans and Conservatives in Yorktown, Somers, Putnam Valley, Carmel, Patterson and Southeast will decide the contests Thursday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at various polling places.
In May, Katz, a 59-year-old veterinarian serving his first two-year term, was overwhelmingly endorsed by the Westchester and Putnam County Republican committees over Gristina, 12,685 to 550. Gristina, a 48-year-old small business owner from Putnam Valley, has never held elected office.
During his first term, Katz has introduced statewide legislation that targets voter fraud. His bill would require all voters to bring a government-issued photo identification to the polls.
In addition, Katz has proposed reducing legislator’s salaries and the number of days the Assembly and Senate are in session to 30 days.
“We also need transparency in government and to streamline the process of governing,” he said. “Right now we are one of the most ineffective legislatures in the country.”
Gristina said if he is elected to the Assembly he would look to eliminate unfunded state mandates that are costly to municipalities, schools and taxpayers.
“I will endeavor from day one in the Assembly to bring together other district representatives to working with me on tackling legislation to eliminate useless rules, one by one,” Gristina said. “At a time when our local economy is in the dumps, our state leaders have failed to deliver any cost cutting. In fact, New York continues to be at the very top of the list when it comes to income taxes, property taxes, state fees and surcharges, and transportation costs. This is one of the main reasons why our local economy is struggling.”
Both Katz and Gristina had toyed with running for other offices earlier this year. At one point, Katz was considering running a primary against state Senator Greg Ball (R/Patterson), while Gristina was eyeing challenging state Assemblywoman Sandra Galef (D/Ossining) before redistricting took place and he wound up in Katz’s district.
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/