Assemblymember Didi Barrett (D-Columbia, Dutchess) announced that her swearing-in ceremony took place at the Red Devon on Sunday, January 25 in Bangall. She was reelected to a second full term to represent the 106th Assembly District, which covers Columbia and Dutchess counties.

“I’m honored to be able to continue serving as an advocate in Albany for the best interests of the people of Columbia and Dutchess counties,” Assemblymember Barrett said. “With some of the hardest working people anywhere in the state and some of the best farms in the nation, our region is a vital economic driver. I look forward to continue working with my colleagues and the governor to make sure we get the funding we deserve to help grow our local economy and make smart investments in our future.”

Assemblymember Barrett came to elected office after a career as a community activist, writer and longtime leader of not-for-profit organizations. Barrett’s commitment to the area’s families, farmers and small businesses is evident through her continued opposition to the power lines project and her work to get an all-important Lyme disease bill signed into law. She is passionate about the community’s strengths – its strong agricultural tradition and rich cultural resources – because they are so important in creating jobs and the value they serve as jumpstarts to the region’s economic engines.

“When I look ahead to the next two years the two words that keep coming to mind are stewardship and sustainability, Barrett said. “Stewardship of the spectacular resources that surround us here in the Hudson Valley and ensuring that we move forward with a future that is sustainable both environmentally and economically, protecting the things we love about our region while nurturing them to be the economic drivers we know they can be. Essential to this is ensuring we have the good-paying jobs to keep our hard-working families in the region, that we work to attract students who come to college in the Hudson Valley to stay here after they graduate and that we encourage young people who go away for school to come back here to raise their families.”