The Overlook is conducting a series of interviews with candidates running in the Nov. 3 election, offering readers an opportunity to hear directly from those seeking to shape their communities. In this installment, reporter Isabella Schoonover interviewed Kate Leon, who is running for Ulster County Legislature District 3, which includes parts of Saugerties, Ulster, and Kingston, on the Democratic and Working Families party lines.

Leon, 35, lives in Lake Katrine with her husband and two children, a 7-year-old daughter and an infant son, Hugo. She works as a digital organizer for the Ironworkers International Union and is communications chair of the E.R. Crosby Elementary School PTO. She also serves on the Ulster County and Town of Ulster Democratic committees. Outside work, she enjoys boating, swimming, hiking, and grilling with her family.

Leon faces incumbent Jason Kovacs, who is running on the Republican and Conservative party lines. Kovacs offered to answer questions by email but did not respond after The Overlook explained that interviews for the series were conducted by phone or in person.

Answers have been trimmed for length and repetition.

What is the single most important issue affecting Ulster County District 3, and how do you plan to address this issue?

Leon: The single most important issue is the cost of living. I do not think there is a silver bullet for that. However, I’m committed to doing what I can at the county level to ease the burden of the cost of living on regular families.

I think my approach prioritizes the people who live and work here, regular people, because that’s what taxpayer dollars should be going to. Services for us, so I support measures like the temporary suspension of the county gas tax that was in place over the summer. Little things that we could do at the county level that are practical to make life a little bit easier, I think are important.

How would you help Ulster County residents learn about local government decisions, including taxes and spending, and have a say before those decisions are made?

Leon: In my district, we are made up of a lot of different small neighborhoods that are on the outskirts of the larger local cities, like Kingston and Saugerties. So, I think bringing information to the people where they are is very important. There are small neighborhood associations, like one I’m attending tonight, the Glenarie Lake Park Improvement Association, they meet regularly. And I’m going there as a neighbor because I happen to be part of that neighborhood, but trying to meet folks where they are because government buildings can be intimidating.

For a lot of people, to trek out to Kingston to attend something isn’t practical because of work schedules, family obligations, or just comfort level. So, it’s important to do more as legislators to get out there and meet people where they are, because I think we are in this role communicators to the people, or another way to put it is ambassadors for the county in our own districts.

How have you solicited feedback from people in the past?

Leon: In the spring, I started knocking on doors when I put in my hat in the ring to run for office, and at that time, the election was six months away, but I was just getting a baseline. So when I would knock on those doors, I would just ask people, “What are the issues you care about?” so that I could build a platform of what I wanted to tackle once elected.

So I knocked on several hundred doors, probably getting feedback from, not just Democrats, actually, mostly independent voters and some Republicans, because otherwise you’re just preaching to the choir.

Is there a single most common piece of feedback that you got across party lines?

Leon: I think people have different needs based on what they’re dealing with in their daily life, and that’s what makes the role of governing challenging.

Not everybody wants the same thing. People who are senior citizens are concerned about aging in place, or being able to retire in a way where they have the services they need. People who are renters are concerned about the possibility of landlords doing insane rent hikes with no one, no laws to reel them in. People who are higher earners and who have businesses are concerned about taxes, and all these things are valid because that’s what people are facing.

It’s also doing the imperfect science of balancing different people’s needs and deciding how to best address things with limited resources. It is not an easy job. We’re signing up for it, but I try to live my life doing challenging things that can make a difference.

What is your position on Ulster County’s current spending and budget priorities? Where do you think the county should prioritize spending, and where should it spend less?

Leon: I think when I heard the recent budget proposal, I thought it was a good attempt at addressing so many different issue areas that need attention.

Again, with limited resources, obviously I want all of our residents to feel taken care of. But with the cuts at the top levels of government, the reality is we’re going to be short somewhere. So I think that County Executive Metzger has done a good job at allocating a portion of funding to different important issues, while keeping things fiscally responsible.

What are those important issues you are referring to?

Leon: The important issue is housing. I think that’s a key one where I think we need attention because we just do not have enough housing that’s affordable for middle-class families, and what we’re seeing from that is just a bleed out to where the lack of housing for middle-class families at median income, is having folks slip down the ladder into unhoused status, and that’s just a shame in this day and age that working people can’t afford a home.

So I think that boosting the stock of affordable housing and middle-income housing that regular people can afford when they’re working full-time, is crucial. So I like to see all the initiatives that are going on there, like with Willow Landing and some of the other new housing stock that’s been funded and brought in. And I think we need to continue funding that work.

How do you plan to move the needle on affordable housing in the district?

Leon: I think we need to be innovative. I think reusing, reutilizing existing spaces can be an approach we can look into. There’s talk about reconceptualizing the Hudson Valley Mall into something like mixed-use housing. I’d like to see projects like that bring in more housing stock and also more jobs that are full-time, benefited jobs that go to local people.

I think we need those sort of integrative approaches that tackle more than one issue at once—housing, jobs—and are environmentally sensitive, because it’s reutilizing an existing space versus building something new in the green space that we all love and want to protect and want to build on sparingly.

With limited local employment opportunities paired with high housing costs, many residents have been forced to leave the region for work or rely on remote jobs to stay. How do you plan to bring more local jobs to Ulster County?

Leon: I think we need to strike a good balance between keeping the character of communities that we love as tranquil, quiet places, and attracting and supporting new businesses to bring in the type of jobs we’re talking about: jobs that are full-time benefited.

In my district, there is empty commercial space on Kings Highway. I’d like to see that used by more employers for manufacturing, so that we have more business. Like Markertek is one that’s on Kings Highway that’s providing jobs. I want to see more like that, and more partnership between county government and the business community.

I know they did some joint ventures with Ulster Strong to do listening sessions this year with local businesses. I think that those were fruitful, and I think our region has a lot to offer in regard to strengths for economic development.

We have close proximity to Albany and New York City. I think we just need a little bit more strategy and some funding behind Economic Development. That county department I think could use more focus and support.

Why do you identify with your political party, and how would that affiliation inform your approach to government?

Leon: I’ve always thought of the Democratic Party as a party of the people. I think the Working Families Party in New York State represents something similar, which is why I’m running on both of those lines. I’m a people person. All the work I’ve ever done has been human-centered.

So I started my career running after-school programs straight out of college. Then I worked at the women’s shelter, went on to helping people connect with jobs and workforce development. Now I’m a union organizer. And so over corporate interests, developer interests, things like that, I care about my neighbors and seeing that they have the best possible quality of life. I think the Democratic Party and the Working Families Party both represent that.

What is your vision for the future of District 3?

Leon: My vision for the future is a future where we can protect the things that we love about living here. That means the natural beauty. That means somewhere that we’re able to live and not get priced out of, so that we’re able to maintain that. Folks who have been living here can stay. Things stay beautiful, and that we build in the areas that need attention, such as bringing in jobs for local people, and increasing the housing stock.

And I am committed to keep listening when I’m elected, and I think now more than ever that’s super crucial because this district is at a crossroads, where we are going to be facing threats of being priced out, to put it bluntly. And I want people to be prepared.

I want people to know, I can call Kate, and she’s gonna fight for us. She’s gonna give me information I need to fight for myself. And so that’s why I ran for office right now, even though it wasn’t the most convenient time. I welcomed my baby boy Hugo two months ago in the middle of campaign season, and I ran for office while carrying a baby because I thought it was so important to step up and be that leader who’s gonna steer District 3 through this crossroads.

Isabella Schoonover is a staff reporter for The Overlook covering Woodstock, Saugerties, Hurley, and surrounding Ulster County communities. Send correspondence to isabella@theoverlooknews.com.