It's Official: Millbrook's Didi Barrett announces state Senate run

HUDSON VALLEY — After weeks of listening, Democrat Didi Barrett officially announced twice that she is running for the 41st District state Senate seat. On the morning of Wednesday, April 7, she appeared at the Cunneen-Hacket Arts Center in Poughkeepsie and in the afternoon in front of the Columbia County Court house in Hudson.

New York’s 41st District includes all of Columbia County, all of the Dutchess townships bordering the Hudson, plus the towns of Stanford, Clinton, East Fishkill, La Grange, Union Vale, Pleasant Valley and Washington.

Her announcement speech was a fiery challenge to Republican Steve Saland, a Poughkeepsie attorney who has held the 41st District seat for the last 20 years and has served in the state Legislature for 30 years.

“I am running because, like you, I am fed up with the dysfunction, corruption and partisanship that defines Albany today,� Barrett said. “While legislators play politics, our families are left to struggle with more job layoffs, crumbling infrastructure and skyrocketing property taxes that are driving people of all ages from their homes. It’s clear. Albany is broken.�

For six weeks prior to announcing her decision, Barrett has been listening to voters in the district. She says she discovered that Democrats and Republicans have a lot of common ground and agree that a “culture of corruption plagues Albany.� Jobs, education and taxes are concerns of all voters. Barrett says she is “not afraid to challenge the dysfunctional status quo of state government� and that as a leader in the not-for-profit sector she is an “experienced problem solver and outside-the-box thinker. I’m not afraid to make tough decisions, forge coalitions and work as hard as you do.�

Barrett claims deep roots in the community. She is a board member of the Millbrook Education Foundation and the North East Dutchess Fund, and has in the past two years coordinated Millbrook’s Community Days. In 2007 she was part of the first Democratic slate in a century to run in the historically Republican-dominated town of Washington, which won nearly 45 percent of the vote. Her grandfather and great uncle first bought a farm in Ancramdale in 1938 that is still in the family. She and her husband, David, who was raised in Middletown, have owned a home in Millbrook since 1987 and Barrett has been a full-time resident for three years.

During a listening session before the announcement, Barrett was asked why she is running.

“I was asked by the chair of the county Democratic Party several months ago,� Barrett said.

A woman from Rhinebeck asked, “How will you sustain yourself in the middle of a highly dysfunctional system?�

“I thought a lot about that question,� Barrett responded. “I spent time in Albany and learned it will only take a few more people to make a difference. People want change and there is enough of a group to have an impact. This may be the throw-out-the-bums year. Sixty-nine percent of New Yorkers are ready for a change.�

Barrett observed that there are only nine women out of 62 senators. Asked by The Millerton News what surprised her most during her listening tour, Barrett considered her answer.

“The incredible diversity of the district, which has city problems and very rural communities,� she said. “It is a snapshot of America.�

Barrett also said she supports gay marriage and a woman’s right to choose as human rights issues. Her personal passions are art, the environment and women’s issues.

Attending the Hudson announcement event, Chris Nolan, Chairman of the Columbia Democratic Party, said, “What has Saland actually done? He’s a master at staying out of the line of fire.�

Also applauding in the crowd was city of Hudson supervisor William Hughes Jr. who said, “Steve is not a bad guy. He has just lost energy. In his last term he hasn’t been around here very much. There are tremendous problems in our area. We’ve lost 700 jobs. We need inventive solutions. I think there’s a great chance that Steve will be surprised.�

Barrett’s husband stood quietly on the sidelines as his wife announced her candidacy. Asked for a quote, he said, “This is an opportunity to bring real change and fix things that are broken.�

New York’s 41st District had 146,950 voters in the 2008 election, 31,856 in Columbia County and 115,093 in Dutchess County. Saland beat Democrat Kenneth Dow by 20,539 votes, but more than 19,000 voters who pulled the lever in the presidential race choose not to vote for either senator. Barrett’s campaign strategist, Patrick Kelly, estimates that the district is evenly divided between Republicans, Democrats and other parties and non-affiliated voters.