By Isabella Crow and Michael Kochler
If there’s anything Colin Schmitt is good at, it’s exaggerating his commitment to issues that affect real New Yorkers, Republicans and Democrats alike. Whether it’s flat-out lying about protecting women’s health rights or voting to pass only immaterial environmental bills while opposing the effective ones, Schmitt is a master of smoke and mirrors, directing attention away from his record of failure.
For example, a recent official mailer claimed that “Assemblyman Schmitt co-sponsored and helped pass legislation [another way of saying he merely cast a yes vote – ed.] to protect local access to healthcare (A.02836A) and to ensure women have more accessible healthcare coverage. (A.5502)” This is blatantly misleading. While Schmitt voted for a bill that would mandate insurance coverage of mammograms and another that eased access to prescription drugs (two good, if uncontroversial bills), he has cast far more votes against meaningful women’s health issues than in favor. Not surprisingly, those votes follow the far-right agenda.
Schmitt voted NO on S.00660. Known as the “Boss Bill,” it would prohibit employers from accessing an employee's personal information regarding reproductive health decision making and ban employment discrimination based on those decisions. He also voted NO on S.00659A, the “comprehensive contraception coverage act” that guarantees insurance coverage for FDA-approved contraceptive drugs, devices, and products.
Most significantly, Schmitt voted no on the Reproductive Health Act, a bill which codifies Roe v. Wade and, according to an Assembly statement, “recognizes a woman's fundamental right to access safe, legal abortion...and protects New Yorkers against future federal intrusion.” With the passing of Justice Ginsburg, this law is now all that stands between New Yorkers and a return to the terrible age of back alley abortions. Schmitt doesn’t care about protecting women’s healthcare access—he cares about furthering an agenda that strips women of their bodily autonomy.
Schmitt is equally untruthful about his commitment to protecting New York’s environment. He cites more bills he “helped pass.” This includes the Hudson Valley Community Preservation Act (which had 14 other cosponsors), an amendment that would add the right to drinkable water and clean air to the NYS Bill of Rights, and a unanimously-passed bill banning PFAS-based firefighting foam. In all these instances, Schmitt’s “help” consisted of a mere yes vote.
The truth, however, is that, when his support actually counted, Schmitt was, again, nowhere to be found. Bills that were on the cutting edge of environmental advocacy were summarily dismissed. The New York State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act has been hailed as the most ambitious and comprehensive piece of climate change legislation to emerge from any state. Among its provisions, the law will accelerate the development of sustainable and efficient energy and promises a net-zero carbon economy by 2050. On this signal environmental achievement of this session of the New York State Legislature, Schmitt voted NO. He also voted a party-line no on the annual budget, which included a permanent ban on fracking and plastic bags. By doing so, he also sought to block, defund, or underfund every dollar earmarked for any program or agency whose mission is to protect the Hudson Valley’s environment.
Schmitt has willingly misled his constituents into believing that he cares about them, their health, their environment, and their voice in Albany far more than he actually does.
Schmitt’s ineffectiveness doesn’t end there. Of the twenty-one bills he sponsored in his first term, not one was among the more than 1,500 bills that were passed and sent to the Governor for his signature. In fact, not one got so far as a floor vote in the Assembly. In comparison, in Senator Skoufis’ first senate term, he introduced 280 bills and passed more legislation than any freshman senator in history.
It’s one thing to be a bad legislator. It’s another when that ineptitude borders on criminality. The evidence all points to one simple fact: Schmitt has willingly misled his constituents into believing that he cares about them, their health, their environment, and their voice in Albany far more than he actually does. Schmitt, whose campaign has resorted to lies, name calling and racist innuendo in his mailings, doesn’t serve New Yorkers—he serves a right-wing agenda straight from the mouth of President Trump.
