Voters will see familiar names on their ballots, including Elijah Reichlin-Melnick and likely Tom Abinanti.
March 11, 2024 By Rebecca C. Lewis
At a time when the state Legislature is set to see big turnover thanks to a large number of retirements, some former lawmakers have decided they’re not ready to give up legislating.
At least four state lawmakers who lost their seats in 2022 are attempting to win them back this year. Former state Sen. Elijah Reichlin-Melnick and former Assembly Members Peter Abbate and Judy Griffin have all announced that they’re challenging the Republicans who beat them two years ago. And former Assembly Member Tom Abinanti has all but officially announced that he plans to take on fellow Democrat MaryJane Shimsky, who bested him in a primary.….
Not everyone is running against a member of the opposite party. Abinanti lost his primary two years ago, and is now petitioning to get back on the ballot to take on Shimsky again. He had served as the representative for the Hudson Valley Assembly District 92 since 2010 before his electoral loss in 2022. “I’ve been asked by community leaders to run again,” Abinanti, who has not officially announced his campaign yet, told City & State. “They feel that my successor has not been a strong enough advocate for the community.” He said specifically, those asking him to run are disappointed with Shimsky’s supposed support for a new law that facilitates a wealthy part of the Town of Greenburgh to incorporate into a village, something he had fought to prevent as it would direct tax dollars from those wealthy residents away from town services in favor of hyper-local village services. Shimsky co-sponsored the original bill that placed limits on incorporating villages, but the exemption for Greenburgh came through a subsequent amendment to the law that Shimsky voted against. Doug Forand, a campaign spokesperson for Shimsky, called it “unfortunate” that Abinanti is using “false information in his effort to justify his campaign,” and said Shimsky “did not support the legislation he cites and never has.” Abinanti said he hadn’t necessarily planned to run again, calling the fairly recent decision to explore a new campaign based on grassroots support. “I was disappointed but resigned to working in the private sector,” Abinanti said. “I was about to set up a not-for-profit to lobby on behalf of people with disabilities and to continue working in the community.”
Read full story HERE https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2024/03/ny-lawmakers-hoping-2024-comeback/394834/