Assembly District 106 Primary Race

Early voting starts this Saturday for the NYS 106th Assembly District.

Primary Candidate incumbent Didi Barrett and challenger Claire Cousin both asked for a pre-primary endorsement from the Chatham Dems. We decided not to endorse, in large part due to a sentiment that the Primary Election allows district voters to endorse the candidate they want to be the Democratic candidate.

Messages from each campaign follow; they have not been edited and are offered without comment or correction and include links to candidates’ websites.

Didi Barrett

Statement from incumbent Didi Barrett’s campaign spokesman Gunnar Wordon:
With just two weeks until Election Day and Early Voting around the corner, I wanted to reach out
and share some important news about Didi Barrett's campaign!

Our team continues to talk to voters across the district, and has knocked on more than 19,000 doors to date. Didi is honored to be endorsed by a growing coalition of unions and advocacy groups, including Planned Parenthood, the New York League of Conservation Voters, Moms Demand Action, 1199 SEIU, the New York State Nurses Association, New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), CSEA, Eleanor’s Legacy, the New York State AFL-CIO, LIUNA, the Public Employees Federation (PEF), the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, as well as both the Columbia County and Dutchess County Democratic Committees.

This Saturday, the first day of Early Voting, we will be hosting an Equal Rights Amendment
Canvass in partnership with Eleanor's Legacy at the Riverfront Park in Hyde Park at 11 AM. We will be knocking doors to remind people to vote in the June 25 Primary, and talking to voters about the importance of flipping over their November ballot to vote yes on the Equal Rights Amendment.

Didi will be welcoming colleagues from across the state and would love to see you there. Feel free to extend this invitation to your committees and other networks, and click here to sign up!

Our last batch of Didi lawn signs was quickly depleted, and I'm happy to say we received another batch. If you need lawn signs, please let me know --- we're happy to bring them to you. A number of town committees have also been writing postcards to voters, which we can provide, as well.  We also have a phone bank set up to remind voters about the June Primary. We hope you can join us as we make calls. This is a virtual phone bank that can be accessed here (VPB Code: 7FF4A5I-463342).

We are overwhelmed by the support we are hearing from the district, but primaries are all about turnout. Your support is crucial as we enter the home stretch of the campaign. Let me know if there is anything we can do to help your committee in these next two weeks.

Claire Cousin

Statement from Candidate Claire Cousin:
I’m a third-generation Hudson Valley resident, mom of three kids, co-founder of the Hudson/Catskill Housing Coalition, and the first Black woman elected to the Columbia County Board of Supervisors.

I’m running in this election to give Democrats a choice about who represents them in Albany.

I grew up in a working class family just outside Hudson. My mom worked as a speech pathologist, and my dad is a veteran who drove taxis. Our family roots here go back generations.

I’ve lived and worked in Columbia County my whole life, and I don’t plan on going anywhere else–except maybe Albany. But lately, it’s gotten harder to see how I’ll be able to afford to stay in my community. The cost of living in the Hudson Valley has skyrocketed, and our state legislators have failed to deliver the relief or support we need. And it’s been that way for years.

I decided to run for State Assembly because my family, friends, and neighbors cannot afford to be left behind by the Albany political machine any longer. Corporate-backed Democrats in the state legislature, including Assembly member Didi Barrett, have spent several legislative sessions failing to move on the issues that are actually priorities for our communities, despite having a Democratic supermajority. That's why primaries like this one are so important—because not all Democrats are the same.

But we do want the same things. While I have been out meeting folks in our district, I have heard time and again that people want strong tenant protections, universal childcare, public power, and capped utility bills. They want a legislator who is actually going to fight for them. And that’s exactly what I will do if I am elected to the State Assembly.

I’m proud to be running a people-powered campaign that is focused on the issues that matter most to this district: affordability, housing, healthcare, and climate. Unlike my opponent, I will never accept donations from corporate PACs trying to tip the scales in local elections. Billionaires and Republicans shouldn’t be the ones deciding the outcomes of Democratic primaries. That’s up to voters.

My campaign is funded by an average donation of $59 and public matching, with contributions coming from hundreds of in-district donors giving whatever they can. My opponent's average donation is more than 10x higher because she is relying on a handful of wealthy donors and corporate PACs to fund her reelection. The folks fueling my campaign don’t have a spare $600 to donate to a politician who refuses to cap utility costs or protect families from eviction. They're worrying about how they're going to pay their mortgages and medical bills, and they shouldn't have to.

We need an Assembly member who’s going to fight back against corporations, not take their money. Someone who’s going to stand up against the fossil fuel industry, greedy landlords and real estate developers, and establishment politicians who are trying to take New York backwards. We deserve more from our legislators and our state government. The Hudson Valley deserves better.