Patricia Fahy has represented the City of Albany, Town of New Scotland, and part of Guilderland in the New York State Assembly since her election in 2012. Known for her work in job creation, environmental conservation, and education, Fahy has sponsored over 200 bills, with more than 70 signed into law. Key legislative accomplishments include New York’s Gun Industry Liability Law, Right to Repair legislation, and the 30×30 conservation goal to protect land and water by 2030.
Fahy serves as Chair of the Assembly’s Higher Education Committee and is on several additional committees, including Environmental Conservation and Economic Development. Her advocacy has earned her numerous awards, such as the Environmental Champion of the Year from the New York League of Conservation Voters in 2022.
Before her Assembly tenure, Fahy was Associate Commissioner for Intergovernmental Affairs at the New York State Department of Labor and held roles in the U.S. Department of Labor and on the Albany School Board. She holds an M.P.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago and resides in Albany with her husband, Wayne Bequette, a professor at RPI.
Property Taxes and Cost of Living
• What specific policies would you advocate to balance the need for essential public services with keeping property taxes affordable?
I strongly supported establishing the 2% property tax cap that helped to rein in property taxes and keep them low on middle-class and working families. We need to protect that tax cap from future changes and ensure that we continue to fully fund our P-12 public schools at record levels. I came into office at the height of education cuts in 2012 and have worked hard to see that funding increased and returned to our schools. Now is not the time to go backwards on our public education system. I also sponsored legislation known as the Gun Industry Liability Law to stem the flow of illegal handguns into New York.
• How do you plan to address the rising cost of living in your district?
Families and workers are struggling to afford the basics: groceries, rent, mortgages, childcare, and utility bills. In the State Senate, I will continue fighting for increased tuition assistance, access to apprenticeships in the building trades, lower middle-class taxes, protecting the property tax cap, investments in family farms, local small businesses and entrepreneurs, living wages for all workers, holding the line on public safety, first-time homeownership assistance, and expanding access to truly affordable childcare and pre-K for all families.
Affordable Housing
• How do you propose to expand access to affordable housing in your area?
We need a multi-pronged approach to the housing crisis. This includes investing heavily in new forms of affordable and mixed-income housing stock while ensuring that tenants and renters can continue to remain in their homes in the face of unjust evictions or rent hikes. This includes investments in first-time homebuyer programs and assistance to protect families from foreclosure.
• What is your stance on rent control or other measures to ensure that housing remains attainable for low- and middle-income families?
This year, the state legislature passed good cause eviction and other tenant protections, which allow municipalities to opt into or pass their own tailored version of good cause eviction protections. I’ve also strongly supported and successfully secured funding for the Homeowners Protection Program (HOPP) every year, which helps homeowners facing foreclosure remain in their homes. I strongly support the decision of localities to establish their own rent guidelines and protections through the enabling legislation we passed this year to help keep more folks in their homes amidst an affordability crisis.
Public Safety and Policing
• What is your vision for public safety?
During my time in the state legislature, I’ve always fought for law enforcement to have the resources and tools necessary to do their jobs and keep our communities safe. We must continue to aggressively confront gun violence in our communities and ensure that we’re investing in community-based solutions that interrupt cycles of violence while promoting diversion programs for nonviolent first-time offenders.
• Bail Reform and Raise the Age are “dinner table” talking points for your constituents. Is this recent legislation working, or do you see room for improvement?
When adopting omnibus and historic legislation, it should not be a one-and-done model, and I have repeatedly supported tightening up on weaknesses. Most would agree that the size of someone’s pocketbook should not determine whether they get bail or not. That said, competent, responsive governance requires a thoughtful response to challenges from criminal justice reform implementation. It’s why I supported changes to the bail law in 2020, 2022, and 2024, while supporting excluding weapons and firearms charges from our ‘Raise the Age’ law. I’ve also sponsored legislation that requires social media companies to maintain report mechanisms for hate speech, as well as supporting expanded essential Red Flag laws.
Education and School Funding
• What are your priorities for K-12 education?
Since I’ve taken office, we’ve reversed the trends on P-12 public education, and our schools are now fully funded at record levels. We need to continue that investment in our children, students, and teachers rather than scale it back. Finally, we need to invest in more and expanded community schools models, which provide wrap-around services, afterschool programming, and more at schools in communities where needs are highest. Community school models have been proven to increase attendance and improve outcomes. Let’s continue investing in our P-12 public schools and the future of our Capital Region – our youth and education.
• What plans do you have for addressing mental health services and school safety?
Threats in our public schools are rising, and parents and students are rightly anxious. I strongly support providing schools with the tools and resources necessary for them to tailor security to their needs. I’ve supported establishing a mental health counselor in every school, increased investments in mental health wrap-around services for students, and continue to advocate for a greater emphasis on mental health in our education system. Coupled with increased security, it is essential that students feel safe in school – if you don’t feel safe, you cannot learn.
Job Creation and Economic Development
• How do you plan to stimulate job creation, particularly in high-growth sectors like technology and green energy?
Climate change is the transcendent threat of our time and is already costing our communities in the form of extreme climate-driven weather events and rising utility bills. It is also an opportunity to leverage our workforce to create the green economy of tomorrow through good-paying union jobs and investments in infrastructure that will result in lower utility costs and reliable energy for families. Building apprenticeships tailored to building our clean energy economy and partnerships with union workers will ensure that these jobs help expand and bolster the middle class. Finally, it’s also why I sponsor the NY HEAT Act, which ensures that our clean energy is affordable, reliable, and planned for middle-class families while capping how much of a household’s income can be paid on utility bills.
• What role should local government play in attracting new businesses and supporting small businesses?
New York State has invested heavily in programs and tax credits that support aspiring entrepreneurs, small business owners, and has sought to cut red tape for family-owned small businesses so that they can thrive in an increasingly difficult economy. As your Assemblymember, I’ve secured funding to support small business tax credits, passed legislation supporting small farms, restaurants, and breweries, and will continue advocating for the backbone of our Capital Region’s economy – our small businesses – in the State Senate. We must do more to support the small businesses that are the cornerstones of our communities and make it easier to do business here in New York.
Health Care Access
• What initiatives would you support to improve access to quality health care, particularly in underserved areas?
New York has far too many ‘healthcare deserts’ in primarily rural and urban areas, where there are few primary care providers. Under the Affordable Care Act, we’ve worked to now ensure that 95% of families and New Yorkers have affordable health insurance. Several of the current gaps in our healthcare system exist because of a workforce crisis; we do not have enough healthcare professionals compared to the number of folks who need care, whether it be nurses, physicians, or specialists. We need to aggressively invest in loan repayment assistance, incentives, and more to better recruit and retain healthcare workers to fill these workforce shortages. Where appropriate, as Higher Education Chair, I’ve supported scope expansion for mid-level providers to fill these gaps as well.
• How would you address the mental health crisis and ensure that services are accessible and affordable?
We need to invest in programs that recruit and retain thousands of more mental health professionals here in New York State to help fill care gaps and improve access to services. We also need to ensure that health insurance plans cover mental health providers and services, as these are often expensive and out of network.
Transportation and Infrastructure
• How do you plan to address transportation issues, including public transit options, road maintenance, and infrastructure upgrades?
In the State Assembly, I’ve been successful in working with our highway superintendents and workers to increase funding for the state’s CHIPS program (Consolidated Highway Improvement Program), which funds road maintenance and repair in communities across the state. I’ve also fought for and secured record investments in Upstate public transit systems like our renowned Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA), and we need to continue that trend to ensure that we’re funding alternative transportation methods and connecting more folks to transit. This includes my push to continue Reimagining 787.
• What is your stance on building sustainable transportation options, such as bike lanes or electric vehicle infrastructure?
I’m a strong supporter of multi-modal infrastructure in our communities, walkable communities, and electric vehicles. I sponsor a package of bills known as the Greenway Trails for a Green Future, which seeks to expand and upgrade our multi-use trails system throughout the state, which is good for our small businesses, Main Streets, and tourism industry. Electric vehicles remain unaffordable for most families, which is why we’re investing in the infrastructure necessary to support an electric future and providing rebates and benefits for those seeking to purchase electric vehicles.
Environmental Concerns
• What actions will you take to combat climate change at the local level?
Our local communities are at the frontline of climate change; experiencing the worst of extreme weather events, struggling to preserve arable and profitable farmland while protecting soil health, and paying more and more in infrastructure upgrades to become resilient. We need to increase funding for local governments to continue building out climate-resilient infrastructure that will save taxpayers and families money. Ordinary people and middle-class families did not create the climate crisis, and they should not shoulder the bulk of its cost.
• How do you plan to promote clean energy projects and ensure environmental justice in communities disproportionately affected by pollution or climate change?
Frontline communities have experienced water, air, and other forms of pollution that continue to plague families and residents after years of neglect. We continue to invest in projects that monitor and reduce air pollution in hard-hit communities like the South End in Albany, while ensuring that these communities have access to career opportunities in building the clean energy grid of tomorrow.
Opioid Crisis and Addiction Services
• What policies would you implement to combat the opioid crisis?
The opioid crisis has touched almost every one of us in some shape or form, with many losing family members and friends to addiction and the spread of fentanyl or opioids. New York has taken strong action to crack down on organized drug rings that perpetuate this crisis while investing in a fund that directs resources to communities and organizations taking steps to combat this crisis. We need to increase access to treatment options, increase funding for proven programs that reduce addiction and put folks on the path to recovery, and destigmatize seeking help more broadly. I will continue to work with my legislative colleagues to ensure that we’re facing this crisis head-on and providing families, communities, and treatment providers with the tools and resources they need to turn the tide on this issue.
• How would you improve access to addiction treatment and support services for affected individuals and their families?
Ensuring that treatment is available for anyone who needs it and meeting folks where they are in their communities is key to connecting more individuals in need of help with the right providers and healthcare professionals. We need to work to ensure that these options are affordable for most families, improve education in our schools on this topic, and expand coverage for treatment providers for more families, as they are often cost-prohibitive.
Equity and Social Justice
• How do you plan to promote equity and inclusion?
As your Assemblymember, I’ve proudly voted for expanded protections against discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual identity, race, hair texture or style, and more. I will always stand up for our LGBTQIA+ community, against racial injustice, and fight to knock down many of the barriers that still exist for marginalized groups in our broader society.
• What specific policies would you advocate for to address systemic inequalities in areas such as housing, education, and criminal justice?
New Yorkers will have an opportunity to vote on Prop 1 this year, which will enshrine protections against discrimination on the basis of a whole class of immutable characteristics and protect abortion access. Including these protections in our state constitution will have an immense impact on reducing discrimination in housing, education, and our criminal and restorative justice system. I urge you to join me in voting yes on this critical ballot proposition on Election Day.
