Steven McLaughlin | |
---|---|
County Executive of Rensselaer County | |
Assumed office January 1, 2018 | |
Preceded by | Kathleen M. Jimino |
Member of the New York State Assembly from the 107th district | |
In office January 1,2011 –December 31,2017 | |
Preceded by | Timothy Gordon |
Succeeded by | Jacob Ashby |
Personal details | |
Born | Boston,Massachusetts,U.S. | October 4,1963
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Divorced |
Children | 2 |
Alma mater | Xaverian Brothers High School Florida Institute of Technology Arizona State University Empire State College University of Phoenix |
Website | Government website |
Steven Francis "Steve" McLaughlin (born October 4,1963) [1] is an American politician serving as County Executive of Rensselaer County,New York. A Republican,McLaughlin represented the 107th District in the New York State Assembly from 2011 to 2017;the district included parts of Albany,Columbia,Greene and Rensselaer Counties in New York's Capital Region. [2] McLaughlin was elected Rensselaer County Executive in November 2017.
McLaughlin was born in Boston,Massachusetts,the third of four children of Arthur and Winifred McLaughlin. He was raised in Wrentham,Massachusetts,attending public elementary school and Xaverian Brothers High School. [3]
He attended the Florida Institute of Technology in 1983 and received commercial and instrument aircraft ratings. He then studied finance at Arizona State University. He earned a B.A. degree from Empire State College (State University of New York) and an M.B.A. from the University of Phoenix. [3]
Before entering politics,McLaughlin was an airline pilot and a banker. [3]
McLaughlin was elected to the New York State Assembly on November 2,2010,when he defeated incumbent Timothy P. Gordon. [4] McLaughlin had previously run against Gordon in 2008,but was defeated. [5] McLaughlin was re-elected to the Assembly in 2012,2014,and 2016. [6] [7]
McLaughlin was censured by the New York State Assembly Ethic Committee for violations of the Sexual Harassment Policy after he requested a female staff member send him nude photos. [8] [9] [10] [11]
McLaughlin developed a reputation as an anti-establishment voice and an outspoken critic of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. [12] In 2013,McLaughlin criticized Cuomo's gun control policies and compared him to Adolf Hitler,Mussolini,and Putin. McLaughlin later apologized for making the comparison. [13]
McLaughlin ran for Rensselaer County Executive in 2017 following the retirement of longtime County Executive Kathy Jimino. [14] After defeating Deputy County Executive Christopher Meyer in a contentious Republican primary, [15] McLaughlin narrowly prevailed over Democrat Andrea Smyth in the general election. [16]
Mclaughlin was sworn in as Rensselaer County executive on January 1,2018. [17]
In November 2019,leaked audio from a verbally abusive private meeting between McLaughlin,several of his top political and governmental aides,former Republican Congressman John Sweeney,and then-Republican candidate for Troy mayor Thomas Reale,was published by the Times Union. [18] During the meeting,McLaughlin,County Director of Operations Richard Christ,County Director of Purchasing James Gordon,and Sweeney pressured Reale to drop out of the mayoral race and endorse Rodney Wiltshire, [19] a third-party candidate defeated in the Democratic primary by incumbent Democratic Mayor Patrick Madden. [20] Mr. Reale remained in the race and was defeated by Madden in the general election. [21]
In November,2019,McLaughlin was accused of withholding his signature from documents approving a property transfer between Rensselaer County and the city of Troy associated with the South Troy Industrial Park Road project. [22] McLaughlin later said the delay was the result of alleged unpaid bills between the two municipalities and a separate dispute over engineering services. [23]
On December 1,2021,McLaughlin was indicted on two felony counts,including grand larceny in the third degree for misusing campaign funds to pay personal debts. [24]
On January 25,2023,McLaughlin was acquitted of the felony counts by a jury after one hour of deliberations. [25]
In April 2023,several of McLaughlin’s top aides,including Christ and Gordon,were indicted by the FBI on federal criminal charges which alleged fraud and intimidation were used to obtain absentee ballots in the names of voters during the 2021 primary and general elections in Rensselaer County. [26]
As County Executive,McLaughlin identified a number of efficiencies in county government,reforming purchasing and personnel moves,generating a savings. [27]
For the 2019 budget,McLaughlin's first as Executive,county property taxes were lowered by a slight margin,less than one-percent. [ citation needed ] McLaughlin's next two budgets for 2020 and 2021 also lowered county property taxes.[ citation needed ] The county has also generated a significant savings during each year of McLaughlin's service as Executive.[ citation needed ] [27]
With over 320 miles of roads in Rensselaer County,the county typically paved on average about 20 miles annually.
Rensselaer County saw the first case of COVID-19 in March 2020.[ citation needed ] McLaughlin issued a State of Emergency similar to declarations issued by counties across the state. On March 25 of that year,Governor Andrew Cuomo's administration issued an Executive Order to force COVID-19 positive patients into nursing homes,including the county's Van Rensselaer Manor nursing home. [ citation needed ] McLaughlin was the only County Executive to refuse the order,stating "Not here,not now,not ever".[ citation needed ] The state had also issued a directive requiring any person entering a nursing home to show proof of a negative test. Despite the rule,state and federal inspectors attempted on multiple occasions to enter the county nursing home while refusing to show proof of a negative test. McLaughlin met the inspectors on two occasions and blocked them from entering. McLaughlin told WNYT:"I don't care if you're Donald Trump. I don't care if you're Andrew Cuomo. You're not coming through the door without proof of a negative test." [28]
Despite numerous requests from McLaughlin,the state did not set up a COVID-19 testing site in the county,forcing residents to travel distances for testing.[ citation needed ] McLaughlin received support from every mayor,supervisor and legislator in the county to establish an independent testing operation.[ citation needed ] The county test site represented the largest investment by a county in upstate in a testing operation.[ citation needed ] As vaccines became available,McLaughlin again worked to establish an independent county vaccination site,utilizing an athletic complex at Hudson Valley Community College,which is sponsored by the county. The county provided the first vaccine to the public at the HVCC site in January 2021. The public has praised the county vaccine operation for efficiency.[ citation needed ] To encourage vaccines during the summer months,McLaughlin devised an initiative for a mobile vaccination unit,teaming up with the Capital District Transportation Authority for the Vax Bus.[ citation needed ]
When seeking office in 2017,McLaughlin promised to construct a new emergency services training tower after the former one had been closed for several years. [ citation needed ]
Prior to McLaughlin's service,the county had limited social media outreach with the exception of an official Rensselaer County Facebook page. On taking office,McLaughlin implemented additional social media pages for county government,allowing for easier and more timely updates for residents.[ citation needed ] He has made extensive utilization of the county government social media pages for self-promotion. [ citation needed ] During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic,McLaughlin also provided regular livestream updates,and was the only County Executive to take live questions from residents. [27]
McLaughlin resides in North Greenbush. [2] He has two sons,Danny and Sean. [3] Sean was a contestant on the 20th season of ABC’s dating series The Bachelor. [29]
Rensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census,the population was 161,130. Its county seat is Troy. The county is named in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer,the original Dutch owner of the land in the area.
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