He then went to work for State Senator Terry Gipson, over in lower Dutchess County.
“That’s what brought me back to Woodstock,” Heppner says. “I served as his communications director for two years. After that I took a job from Andrea Steward-Cousins as deputy press secretary for the Senate Democrats.”
So it was almost inevitable that you would run for something?
“Yes. Don Gregorius was in the legislature for a full decade. When he retired, I thought I could bring a new perspective, especially being the youngest serving legislator out of the 23 of us. It’s good to have different perspectives.”
Have you gotten mad about anything?
“I would say frustrated, is the better word. Disappointed at times. It’s tough…one of the biggest things I’ve learned is — going back to building relationships — you have to learn when to fight, when to dig your teeth in, if it’s something you really believe in that will help your district and the county. But you also have to know when to leave it at the door. You can get in a very heated debate with somebody in a committee meeting or a caucus meeting, but there might be a totally different issue that you’re going to need to work with that person on…or need their vote for something that’s also important, so you need to maintain the respect there, and to be able to stand up for who you represent — but you can’t take it all personally. If you take it personally, you’re not going to get things done.”
Sounds like a piece of advice for Donald Trump…”He needs a lot of advice.”
He concedes that there are some uphill battles, especially with Democrats in the minority of the county legislature.
“It can be frustrating. As a caucus, the Democrats are trying to do some progressive things for this county. The other night I went to the community college for a workshop for a piece of legislation that’s been introduced by Legislator Berky. We’re trying to establish the first real human rights law in Ulster County. We had a government review committee, and some others working on it and we go through the bill word by word and discuss how we can improve it and compromise on it. We have a Human Rights Commission but not much law protecting a specific class. We’re working creating human rights laws and protections to prevent gender discrimination in Ulster County. Over 200 municipalities have done this across the country. But there are times when discussing issues like that, that are newer to some folks that haven’t been there, it can be frustrating. Some things that are obvious to me, are not so to them, so you have to be patient, but it’s something I really believe in. It’s an important opportunity for us to do something that really impacts people’s lives…”
He talks of other issues.
Sales taxes: “From day one I was in touch with Supervisors Jeremy Wilber (of Woodstock) and Gary Bellows (of Hurley), because this is an issue that impacts our towns. From day one I wanted to make sure they had all the information and proposed scenarios. The health of Kingston is crucial to the county. Towns made decision to rally around Kingston. My biggest deal was protecting the towns’ percentage. But we said we didn’t want Kingston put through the ringer. It was a respectful negotiation. I think it was a good deal at the end, but I reached out to Wilber and Bellows, and told them were I was on it and they supported it.”
What’s the economic forecast for the county?
“(State comptroller) DiNapoli just came out with his recent report that says Ulster County is a fiscally stable municipality, and that’s part of the equation. That’s a pretty good place to be, compared to some other places. We’re still experiencing the effects of the recession…”
The Railroad issue?
“I’m in an interesting place…The compromise plan that was supported by the Catskill Mountain Railroad, trail community and the legislature passed unanimously, was voted upon in December, before I got in office. So for me, it’s more about executing the deal.
90 percent of the revenue was from the portion of track that CMRR runs and will continue to run. I was appointed to the track committee, as it moves on the implementation of the plan. Here you have two sides of an issue, and it’s been hostile and passionate, on both sides, all have put in a lot of time…the model has worked because of the passion and commitment…that’s the hard part, you want to be as fair, but you also have to move forward.”
Talk a little about philosophy.
“When I ran what I talked to people about, was a progressive platform, moving the county forward. Pragmatic progressivism. You can be very progressive, yet fiscally hawkish…it’s about priorities, what you see as the future. I represent a community that pays a lot into this county budget. Some may say the services that we utilize, the amount of roads we have don’t measure up. We (in Woodstock) put in over eight percent of the county budget, but we have only two percent of the county roads. We’re a minimal user of county services, there’s only about 6000 of us, full time residents, yet we’re paying eight percent of the county revenue. We have very valuable property, it’s a beautiful community and we should be grateful for it. But as a young person who rents here, who saw my grandparents retire and try to stay in their home, we have to be very fiscally prudent. My No. 1 goal is to make it more affordable, or keeping it somewhat affordable for folks to live here. But that doesn’t mean I can’t build on my progressive beliefs. I think it’s almost something I feel obligated to be an example of. So that’s my goal. A lot of times, in the past people have separated those two concepts, but I believe it’s about priorities, and managing funds.”
Where do you see yourself in about ten years?
“I’m just trying to get through my first term. Hopefully the people in Woodstock, West Hurley and Glenford will think I’ve done a good enough job and give me another two years to keep working on my ideas, and hopefully by that time we’ll have Uber…”
