NY-19: Marc Molinaro (R)
Molinaro was first elected to public office at the age of 18 in 1994, serving on the Village of Tivoli Board of Trustees. In 1995, he became the youngest mayor in the United States. He was reelected mayor five times and elected four times to the Dutchess County Legislature. In 2006, he brought his passion for public service to Albany when elected to represent the 103rd District in the New York State Assembly. Now, as county executive, Molinaro serves as second vice president for the New York State Association of Counties.
Molinaro has been an innovator in New York, establishing a holistic approach to dealing with residents’ health. By combining the former Department of Health and Department of Mental Hygiene and creating the Department of Behavioral and Community Health, he focused on the community’s health as a whole — taking into account every individual’s physical and mental health.
In the same spirit of inclusive care, Molinaro established “ThinkDIFFERENTLY” in 2015. This program is a call to action, a challenge for Dutchess County residents to look at the potential in their neighbors with special needs instead of dwelling on their differences.
Molinaro also works hard to protect physical surroundings. He has been a leader on Open Space Protection and Farmland Preservation, an advocate to preserve the Hudson River Valley Greenway and a supporter of the Greenway Compact. In 2013, the New York State Senate appointed him to the Greenway Heritage Conservancy for the Hudson River Valley. In 2014, he was honored by the Pace University Land Use Law Center as the recipient of its Groundbreaker’s Award given to a graduate of the Center’s Land Use Leadership Alliance Training Program.
Another of Molinaro’s defining accomplishments is the development of Dutchess County’s revamped comprehensive criminal justice system. The innovative system is based on prevention, intervention, diversion and transition — a structure which can be a model for America.
Molinaro is a graduate of Dutchess Community College, where he earned a Dutchess United Educators award, and the PACE Land Use Law Center Community Leadership Alliance. He has been recognized by the Greater Southern Dutchess Chamber of Commerce and “Capitol” news publication as one of their first “Forty under Forty” leaders. The Albany Times Union cited him as one of Albany’s “True Reformers,” the Hudson Register Star recognized him as a “strong advocate,” and the Poughkeepsie Journal called Molinaro a “voice of reason.” Hudson Valley Magazine readers have voted Molinaro “Best Politician” in the Hudson Valley region seven times.
County Executive Molinaro lives in Red Hook with his wife Corinne and children Abigail, Jack, Eli, and Theo.
The biographical information above was sourced from the candidate’s campaign website, see links above for more information.
