State Assembly District 94- Kevin Byrne
As Kevin Byrne enters the last stages of his campaign, the Republican has remained on message about making New York a state where residents don’t have to vacate because of high costs and lack of job opportunities.
Byrne said he would like to work on sensible reforms to reduce spending and possible tax changes in order to make the state more affordable for just-out-of- college adults and seniors. Since the start of his campaign, Byrne said he believes New York is losing a generation because young adults are being priced out. Along with limiting spending, Byrne wants to welcome policies that promote the economy and job growth.
If elected, Byrne, 32, would still be in the minority of an overwhelming Democratic assembly, but it doesn’t seem to concern him. He believes he’ll build relationships across the aisle and noted he already has existing relationships with state senators like Terrence Murphy and Sue Serino, both Republicans.
While Byrne, a Mahopac resident, vowed to never surrender his conservative principles, he wants to work with both parties no matter what.
“I’ll work with anyone regardless of their (political) party,” he said. “You can disagree on issues and still respect one another. That’s how you get things done.”
Another top priority for Byrne is ethics reform. In fact, if lawmakers want to make progress in other areas, the biggest roadblock in their way is corruption, Byrne argued. He wants to strip lawmakers convicted of corruption of their pensions, install term limits, and have independent redistricting. He also supports full disclosure of outside income and closing the LLC loophole toward campaign funds. Limiting how long a lawmaker can serve in a leadership position in the assembly and senate is also imperative, Byrne said.
Byrne is also against state elected officials pension double-dipping and doesn’t believe state lawmakers deserve a pay raise, which is being discussed in the capitol right now.
Discussing school aid, Byrne argued the state still hasn’t returned all the money local district are owed from the Gap Elimination Adjustment. He wants to work with school districts to identify state mandates that are making taxes higher.
To stop the drug scourge, Byrne wants to prosecute drug traffickers “aggressively and relentlessly” and would support a law that would charge a heroin dealer with homicide if a buyer dies of a drug overdose they got from that dealer, according to his website. He noted drug treatment courts are imperative to seek recovery for addicts.
Byrne is pro-life and a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment.
Byrne is also an open space advocate, using many of the state and county parks and trails to this day. Byrne is against the multiple anchorage sites along the Hudson River that the US Coast Guard is proposing
Byrne is additionally on the Conservative, Independence, and Reform party lines and hopes to replace outgoing incumbent Steve Katz.
Byrne called Katz a champion for gun owners and said he has done a notable job shining a light on public corruption, including his past attacks on now convicted and former assembly speaker Sheldon Silver. Byrne said he would continue that fight for those stances.
“The goal is to help our district and to help New York,” Byrne said.
