Dear Editor,
December is a good time to take inventory of the past and show gratitude. This year has brought new opportunity to me in the role of NYS Assemblyman representing parts of four counties including Bethlehem where I once lived for 10 years. I am so extremely grateful for the opportunity to serve, and I never take it for granted.
I am grateful that I married my college sweetheart whose ancestors included a passenger aboard the Mayflower and three men who fought in the Revolutionary War for a country my family came to impoverished and uneducated 120 years ago to escape religious persecution. Not only was my father the first in his family to graduate college, but he was also the first to graduate high school. My parents and grandparents would be proud.
I am grateful for religious freedoms in our great country. Our ability to pray to God in our own way or not, unencumbered, is our right. Nobody should be pushed around for their religion or beliefs. With that, I am so grateful that Rabbi Simon invited me to Delmar’s Menorah Lighting Ceremony! I am excited to celebrate Chanukah with the community and look forward to Christmas as well!
I am grateful for this year in public office and for the colleagues of all political parties who helped me get acclimated and help me do the best job I can. I learned some hard lessons, but overall, it was positive.
I am very grateful I have secured $50,000 in funds to help transform old tennis courts into pickleball courts at the Elm Avenue Park. I have enjoyed getting to meet some of the Town Board and make it a mission to work together to be effective. I continue to fight for libraries, volunteer fire departments and small businesses.
Being from Niskayuna, I strongly believe in a quality public education. I am extremely grateful, impressed and full of pride to have Bethlehem Central as part of our District! I am proud to have supported an Assembly budget that fully funded school foundation aid and has given our kids every opportunity to succeed.
Bethlehem has great outdoor locations to spend with your family, places like the Rail Trail, Five Rivers or Normans Kill Ravines Park all show how much the community cares about their populations. Seniors, families and youth are all looking for recreation close by, and Bethlehem doesn’t disappoint.
I am grateful for the vibrant business community in Bethlehem and all of its contributions to this town. Whether it’s quality customer service, sponsoring local sports teams or helping build a pump track, small businesses contribute significant time and energy to the town. Speaking of energy, no one compares to Terri Egan and her team at the Chamber for all the work they do to promote and support local businesses!
I am grateful for the opportunity to represent District 107 and the town of Bethlehem in the NYS Assembly and look forward to the work ahead in the coming year.
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!
Sincerely,
Scott Bendett
Assemblyman, 107th District
