The Dutchess County legislature includes representatives from 25 districts. Below are the elected Democrats. To find your district enter your address here.
District 4, Hyde Park, Brendan Lawler
District 6, Town of Poughkeepsie, Lisa Kaul
District 8, City and Town of Poughkeepsie, Craig Brendli
District 9, City of Poughkeepsie, Asst. Minority Leader, Barrington Atkins
District 10, City of Poughkeepsie, Randy Johnson
District 11, Rhinebeck and Clinton, Brennan Kearney
District 16, Fishkill and Beacon, Minority Leader, Yvette Valdés Smith
District 18, Beacon and Fishkill, Nick Page
District 19, North East, Stanford, Pine Plains, & Milan, Chris Drago
District 20, Red Hook and Tivoli, Kristofer Munn
Meetings of the County Legislature and its committees are posted here. Committee meetings typically being at 5:30 p.m. and the legislature meets at 6:30 p.m. Additional meetings and public hearings may be posted here.
Meetings are held at on the sixth floor of the Dutchess County Office Building, 22 East Market Street, Poughkeepsie. Get directions.
Email the county executive: CountyExec@
View from the Harlem Valley Rail Trail courtesy of Linda C. and Dutchess County Parks’ Facebook page.
But what do county legislators do?
In New York State, home rule provisions give counties rights and obligations that allow them to regulate the quality of life, provide services, and raise funds.
Dutchess is one of 19 NY counties governed by a charter. Our charter was approved by voters in 1967 and divides the government into legislative and executive branches elected by the people. (Read the charter and related provisions here.)
There are functions and services counties must provide and others that they may provide. Here are some of the programs legislators fund and oversee in Dutchess:
- Health and human services including agencies to address the needs of children and the elderly
- Agriculture and the environment
- Parks and recreation, e.g., the county has five parks and two rail trails
- Public safety, law enforcement, jails, and courts
- Transportation, e.g., public transit, dial-a-ride, park ‘n ride lots
- Land use and planning
- Licensing and permits, e.g., Dept. of Motor Vehicles
- Employment and job opportunities, e.g., civil service exams
For a more detailed discussion of the powers counties do and don’t have, see the 7-page booklet, New York County Government Overview produced by the National Association of Counties.