Thank you so much to all the students from the Peekskill School District for participating in this inauguration ceremony today.I am also most grateful to my staff (Victoria Cafarelli, Jessica Salinas, and Acacia Mauriello) as well as Laura Belfiore from the Peekskill City School District for all of their work putting together this program.

I owe a big thank you to the voters who once again put their trust in me and have given me the opportunity to continue representing the 95th district in the New York State Assembly. I am eager to continue my mission of building healthy communities, which can only be accomplished with many partners at the federal, state, county and local levels, which includes public sector partners like our school districts as well as private sector partners like our local not-for-profits and our political committees, representatives of which are also in attendance today as we heard earlier in the program.

I’m here at Peekskill High School because I want to share this experience with young people. While this is a ceremonial inauguration, it is an important opportunity for the next generation – that’s you guys – to learn about who your representatives are and how accessible we can be. The purpose of representative government is for local people - your neighbors and community members - to take your perspectives into account when making laws and use those perspectives to make government work for all of us.

It takes a lot of thoughtful, smart, hard-working, dedicated people to make government work the way it is supposed to. And it can certainly be tempting, especially in times like these, to retreat from civic engagement. I know a lot of people were very disappointed in the results of the presidential election, including me. That disappointment was made all the more poignant recently with the passing of former President Jimmy Carter - the contrast between this great humanitarian and our incoming president could not be more stark.

I know that Jimmy Carter was way before your time, for the students in the room, but as I am sure you know by now, Carter rose from humble beginnings as a peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia to become a state senator and a governor before becoming president of this great nation. As a public servant, he never hesitated to work for and fight for and speak about what he thought was right. Not for himself, but for the people he represented.

With any election there are lessons to be learned and new goals to set to address those lessons. Clearly, it has never been more important for people to remain informed and engaged in our democracy, and to understand how each of us can play an important role in its success.

I am here today because if there is one thing I want our young people to know, it is that all politics is local. People say it all the time, but today you can see it! There is so much we can do to make the world a better place, if each of us starts right in our own neighborhoods, leading with kindness.

My career in public life started when I was a stay at home mom. I began learning about advocacy while serving on the board of my sons’ nursery school, and then as a PTA mom, making sure we had strong schools not just for my kids but for all the students.

From there I moved on to endeavors like co-founding the Ossining MicroFund with my friend, the Honorable Catherine Borgia – helping people with a hand up rather than a hand out.

I took a position in the office of my predecessor, Assemblywoman Sandy Galef, starting as her Communications Director and then becoming her Chief of Staff. I ran for Ossining school board and was elected to serve three terms. Later I ran for and won the seat of Ossining Town Supervisor, and was elected to that role four times before becoming your Assemblywoman for my first term in 2023.

Along the way, I learned so much about how people work together to get things done in the world. And I developed lots of relationships with a large, diverse network of people who are all interested in making the world a better place and making life better for the people (and animals!) who inhabit it and live in our communities. That network extends from my next-door neighbors, to organizers of groups like Open Arms for Refugees and Hudson Link CHHOP and Fred’s Pantry, the NAACP and New Era Creative Space, to the United States Congress! At my first inauguration, then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer swore me in, serving in the role that D’Andre and Ella serve in today.

It’s because of everything I learned and everyone I met each step of the way - with all of their unique perspectives that inform my own – that I have been able to be a responsive, productive and effective representative for the 95th Assembly District in Albany. Bringing back $1.7 million in state funding to support ADA-accessible playground equipment and resurfacing at parks throughout Peekskill. Securing more than $440,000 in additional grant funding for organizations like the Peekskill Youth Bureau, the Field Library, the Peekskill City Schools, CHHOP and so many more. Helping to deliver more than $70 million in infrastructure funding for priorities throughout the district, including supporting Peekskill’s successful application for $10 million from the Mid-Hudson Momentum Fund. And passing legislation to improve quality of life in our local communities and protect precious natural assets like the Hudson River, just to name a few initiatives that have helped Peekskill.

And just to get back for a few minutes to kindness: if you want to make big things happen for yourself and others, that’s what counts. Kindness is the glue that keeps relationships together, which enables productive collaboration. It’s how my office operates and it’s really a big part of being a responsive legislator! It also happens that kindness makes people want to do nice things for you, so it’s a kindness circle and is the gift that keeps on giving! Recently Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie came back to this area to visit my colleague and neighbor Chris Burdick’s district. There happen to be two organizations which serve or will soon serve both our districts. Seeing all the good work they are doing and that is all about kindness! The Speaker increased the amounts of money designated for them both so they can continue to serve underserved populations. And that goes a long long way to making life better for all of us in our communities.

I am talking about all this good work not to toot my own horn, but to point out that you can do this too. People come from all walks of life to serve at all levels of government. And any of your experiences - whether more traditional ones like student government and mock trial, or nontraditional ones - like helping your family navigate government bureaucracy because your language skills make you their best representative - can shape you into a person who will be an effective advocate for your community.

And I also want to make sure you’re aware of our internship program, which is an excellent way to get your feet wet with government. A lot of people got their start as interns in my predecessor, Sandy Galef’s office - including my chief of staff, Victoria, and several other people in the room!

With all that said, I intend to continue to be a responsive, productive and effective legislator for all the communities in my Assembly district. I hope you’ll all join me - there is so much work to be done building healthy communities and defending our rights at this critical time. I encourage you to continue to reach out and share your opinions and let my office know how we can be of assistance to you and your families; I can be reached at levenbergd@nyassembly.gov or (914) 941-1111.