New York's 99th State Assembly district

State Assembly District 99
Type	District of the Lower House
Location	southern New York
Region served	parts of Dutchess, Putnam, and Westchester Counties
Assemblyman	Steve Katz (R)
Parent organization	New York State Legislature
Website	Official Site

New York State Assembly, District 99 is located in the southern part of the State of New York in the USA. District 99 is north of New York City and is composed of parts of Dutchess, Putnam, and Westchester Counties. It is encompassed by New York's 40th State Senate district and New York's 19th congressional district.

District 99 is currently represented by Republican Steve Katz.

Components: Past and Present

2001-present:

Dutchess

Town of Pawling, village of Pawling, hamlet of Holmes

Putnam

Town of Carmel, halmets of Mahopac, Mahopac Falls

Town of Patterson, hamlets of Putnam Lake, Towners

Town of Southeast, village of Brewster, hamlets of Dykemans, Peach Lake, Tilly Foster

Westchester

Town of North Salem, hamlets of Croton Falls, Purdys

Town of Somers, hamlets of Amawalk, Baldwin Place, Granite Springs, Heritage Hills, Lincolndale, Shenorock

Town of Yorktown, hamlets of Crompond, Croton Heights, Huntersville, Jefferson Valley, Kitchawan, Mohegan Lake, Shrub Oak, Yorktown Heights

1983-2001

Parts of Dutchess, and Putnam

1973-1983:

All of Putnam, and Part of Westchester

1966-1973

All of Putnam, and parts of Dutchess

1812-1966:

All of Putnam

1777-1812:

Part of Dutchess

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Representatives

Representative	Party	Years	Note
William S. Clapp	Republican	1873
Hamilton Fish, Jr.	Republican	1874
William H. Christopher	Republican	1875
Hamilton Fish, Jr.	Republican	1876-1879
George McCabe	Republican	1880
Samuel H. Everett	Republican	1881
Robert A. Livingston	Republican	1882
James Wilton Brooks	Republican	1883
Henry Clapp	Republican	1884
Robert A. Livingston	Republican	1885
Henry Mabie	Republican	1886-1888
Hamilton Fish, Jr.	Republican	1889-1891
William Ladue	Democrat	1892
Hamilton Fish, Jr.	Republican	1893-1896	Elected to Congress
Emerson Addis	Democrat	1897-1898
Adrian Dean	Democrat	1899
William Everett	Republican	1900
John R. Yale	Republican	1901 - 1913
Hamilton Fish III	Republican	1914 - 1916
John P. Donohoe	Republican	1917 - 1920
John R. Yale	Republican	1921 - 1925	Died in Office
D. Mallory Stephens	Republican	1926 - 1952	retired
Willis Stephens Sr.	Republican	1952 - 1982	retired
Vincent Leibell	Republican	1983 - 1994	elected to New York State Senate
Willis Stephens Jr.	Republican	1994 - 2007	defeated in 2006 primary
Greg Ball	Republican	2007 -

2008 election

While no challenger has officially filed to take on the district's freshman incumbent legislator, several names have emerged in the media as potential challengers contemplating a bid.

Republican candidate

Main article: Greg Ball

On March 17, 2008, Ball announced that he would be a candidate for reelection during an event at an Irish restaurant in Yorktown Heights, flanked by new Westchester GOP Chairman Douglas Colety, Putnam GOP Chairman Anthony Scannapieco, Jr., and Westchester County Executive candidate Rob Astorino.^[1][2] Ball highlighted the fact that his campaign had received the most money and more contributions from individual donors then any other incumbent minority Assemblyman in the last quarter of 2007.^[3] In a speech to supporters, Ball stated that "I'm a maverick Republican. I came into this business from outside the political machine. That makes me a target for Albany insiders."^[4]

Candidates

Main article: John A. Degnan

John Degnan, former Mayor of the village of Brewster, New York, stated he was in the race in May 2008. He has been endorsed by the Southeast Republican Committee (unanimously), and won the Putnam County Republican Committee's backing by a vote of 97-50. The Westchester Republican Committee narrowly endorsed Ball over Degnan, while the Pawling Republican Committee—the only Dutchess GOP committee in the 99th Assembly District—chose not to endorse either candidate. Though a lifelong Republican, Degnan was also subsequently backed by the Putnam County Democratic Party Committees, and leading Democrats in Westchester County.".^[5]

Former candidates

Main article: Mike Kaplowitz

Although no challenger has officially filed to run against the freshman incumbent Greg Ball, there had been speculation in the media that County Legislator Mike Kaplowitz, who failed in a 2006 bid for State Senate, will be challenging Ball. In April 2008, Kaplowitz ruled out challenging Ball.^[6] 2006 challenger Ken Harper is also said to be mulling a second run at the office.^[7]

2006 election

The 2006 New York State Assembly election for New York's 99th District matched conservative Republican Greg Ball and Democrat Ken Harper against the Conservative and Independence Party incumbent Will Stephens. The Democratic Party of New York had targeted the seat as a potential pickup after the incumbent was defeated by a wide margin in the primary by a strong, well-funded challenger.

On September 12, 2006, in the Republican Primary for New York's 99th District, Ball defeated Stephens in a landslide with 70.4% (5,165 votes) to 29.6% (2,176 votes) for Stephens, the lowest vote total for any incumbent running for reelection to the State Assembly that day.^[8]

Despite Willis Stephens name remaining on the ballot, Ball went on to win a plurality of votes in the general election on November 6, 2006. His upset victory earned him the title of "Newsmaker of the Year" from one local publication and he also shared a front-page cover The Journal News with fellow upset winner John Hall the day after election day.^[9]

The Republican primary

The primary campaign was a bitter one, with Ball railing against the 'machine politics' of Willis Stephens and Putnam County. The Ball campaign out raised Stephens by a significant margin, giving him a visible presence in local newspapers and television outlets. According to the last filings prior to the primary, Stephens had $13,198.38 on-hand, while Ball had $86,117.03 of the money he has raised remaining. Stephens drew criticism for not returning campaign contributions from the Victory Fund-a political action committee that took contributions from indicted trash magnate James Galante.

On September 12, 2006, in the Republican Primary for New York's 99th Assembly District, challenger Greg Ball, defeated the incumbent Willis Stephens, by a mammoth margin: 71% for Ball, 29% for Stephens. Stephens claimed he had been the victim of a negative campaign, citing mailings that were distributed calling him a 'country-club liberal' and hilighting his close relationship with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.^[10] However, Stephens himself drew criticism when he refused to repudiate a letter about challenger Greg Ball which falsely claimed Mr. Ball had received a dishonorable discharge from the United States Air Force.^[11] Ball did not dispute that he ran hard for his seat, knocking on 10,000 doors prior to the primary.^[12]

General election

Republican candidate

Main article: Gregory R. Ball

Greg Ball, a retired Air Force Captain and Vice President of Exceed International Development Corporation, scored a major upset when he defeated the incumbent Stephens in the September 12th primary by nearly a three to one margin.

The Ball campaign picked up steam since Stephen's wayward email referring to his constituents as 'idiots', and another letter purported to be sent by the Stephens campaign which claimed that Captain Ball received a dishonorable discharge, which was discredited when a copy of Captain Ball’s DD-214 showed he had received an honorable discharge. Stephens insisted neither he, his staff nor anyone associated with his campaign had knowledge of the letter and his involvement was never proven.

Democratic candidate

Ken Harper, the Chairman of the Putnam County Democratic Committee, ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination. He is known for writing frequent letters to the editor in local newspapers.^[13] Harper had failed in six previous bids for public office including Putnam County Executive in 1998 and 2002, Putnam County Legislator in 2003, Patterson Town Supervisor in 1997 and 1999, and Paterson Town Councilman in 2005.^[14] Although in other years, the previous incumbent had been challenged by only token opposition, this would be the first that the seat would be competitive in over a decade. Harper received funding of over $250,000 to Ball’s from the New York State Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee (DACC) for the campaign.^[15] However, he was unable to prevail.

Ball criticized his opponent after he pointed out to The Journal News that a League of Women Voters brochure inaccurately listed Harper was a college graduate.^[16] Ball said a note that appeared after Harper's name, stating that the Democrat graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1982 with a bachelor's in English, was false. Both a university spokesman and Harper confirmed that fact, stating that Harper attended the institution, but that there was no record of him having received a degree.^[17] Harper stated he never misrepresented himself as a college graduate and was not responsible for the content of the panthlet.

Third-party candidates

Main article: Willis Stephens

Six-term incumbent Will Stephens II, 48, ran for re-election in the Republican Primary in September 2006 for the seat once held by his father and grandfather. After losing the Republican Primary, due to New York's electoral fusion system, the Assemblyman had vowed to remain in the race on the Conservative and Independence lines. Ultimately, Stephens decided to withdraw from the race altogether, instead taking a nomination for Supreme Court Justice in Queens, in order to allow Ball ballot access on the Independence and Conservative lines.^[18] Although Stephens attempted to have his named removed from the ballot, Harper, the Democratic nominee, sued the State Board of Elections claiming that Stephens had filed a certificate declining his nomination eight days too late.^[19] The New York Court of Appeals eventually ruled that Stephens name should remain on the ballot.^[20]

Electoral history

State Assembly – 99th district, 2006 – General Election[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Greg Ball	20,956	50.8%	Republican hold
	Democratic	Ken Harper	17,155	41.4%
	Independence, Conservative	Willis Stephens, Jr. (I)	3,228	7.8%

State Assembly, 99th district, 2006 – Primary Election[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Greg Ball	5165	70.4%	Challenger pickup
	Republican	Willis Stephens, Jr. (I)	2176	29.6%

State Assembly – 99th district, 2004 – General Election[23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Willis Stephens, Jr. (I)	26,626	100%	Republican hold

State Assembly – 99th district, 2002 – General Election[24]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Willis Stephens	26,310	91.7%	Republican hold
	Right to Life	Frank X. Lloyd	1,372	4.7%
	Working Families	Elizabeth S. Felber	1,027	3.6%

State Assembly – 99th district, 2000 – General Election[25]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Patrick R. Manning	36,062	73.0%	Republican hold
	Democratic	Maurice Salem	13,342	27.0%

State Assembly – 99th district, 1998 – General Election[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Patrick R. Manning	26,758	71.9%	Republican hold
	Democratic	Dana L. Robideau	10,504	28.1%

See also

• List of members of the New York State Assembly

Notes

1. ^ "St. Patrick's Day Brunch". Ball for Assembly. Retrieved on March 16, 2008.
2. ^ "Ball launches re-election". Tara Rosenblum, Anchor. Evening edition. News 12 Networks Westchester. N12WC. 2008-03-16.
3. ^ "A1887. New Yorkers on the Ball". New York Board of Elections. January 2008.
4. ^ "Top stories: Westchester assemblyman kicks off election campaign". News 12 Networks. March 16, 2008.
5. ^ Gross, Eric. "Degnan aims to kick out Ball". Putnam County Courier. May 15, 2008.
6. ^ Risinit, Mike. "Kaplowitz says no". Journal News. April 10, 2008.
7. ^ Couch, Janet. "Pawling and Dover Democrats celebrate Hall's victory and the holidays". Pawling News-Chronicle. December 22, 2006.
8. ^ "Primary 2006". NY1 News. September 2006. http://www.ny1.com/ny/Election/2006primary/index.html?page_name=assembly. 
9. ^ "Gregory Ball: Newsmaker of the Year". North County News. December 30, 2006.
10. ^ Risinit, Mike. "Strange bedfellows". The Journal News. August 10, 2006.
11. ^ "Ball Defeats incumbent Stephens for GOP Line in Assembly Race". The Journal News. September 2006. http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060913/NEWS02/609130362/1020/NEWS04. 
12. ^ Confessore, Nicholas. "Scolding Peers, Legislator Draws Notice". New York Times. February 10, 2007.
13. ^ Leiter, Maria Theodore. "Ken Harper Announces Candidacy for County Executive". Putnam County News and Recorder. July 24, 2002.
14. ^ "Past Election Results ". Putnam County Board of Elections. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
15. ^ "Query: DACC expenditures 2006". New York State Board of Elections. http://www.elections.state.ny.us/plsql_browser/CONTRIBUTORB_COUNTY?NAME_IN=Democratic+Assembly&position_IN=ANYWHERE&date_from=&date_to=&CATEGORY_IN=OTHER&office_IN=12&county_IN=ALL&amount_from=&amount_to=&ZIP1=&ZIP2=&ORDERBY_IN=D. 
16. ^ "Candidate Actually Admits Attending Penn". October 25, 2006. Retrieved on February 24, 2008.
17. ^ "Assembly candidates spar over college credentials". The Journal News. October 25, 2006. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?s_site=thejournalnews&f_site=thejournalnews&f_sitename=Journal+News%2C+The+%28Westchester%2C+NY%29&p_theme=gannett&p_product=WJNB&p_action=search&p_field_base-0=&p_text_base-0=Assembly+candidates+spar+over+college+credentials+&Search=Search&p_perpage=10&p_maxdocs=200&p_queryname=700&s_search_type=keyword&p_sort=_rank_%3AD&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date%3AB%2CE&p_text_date-0=. 
18. ^ "99th Assembly District Race - Now the Fun". Newscopy.org. September 14, 2006. http://www.newscopy.org/2006/09/99th_assembly_d.html. 
19. ^ Risinit, Mike. "Stephens stays off ballot". The Journal News. October 27, 2006.
20. ^ "HARPER v. NY STATE BD. OF ELECTIONS, 34 A.D.3d 919 (3d Dept 2006) No. 501448". New York Appellate Division Reports. November 2, 2006.
21. ^ "NYS Board of Elections - Assembly - Vote - Nov. 7, 2006". New York State Board of Elections. Retrieved on February 22, 2008.
22. ^ "September 12, 2006 Primary Vote Assembly Districts". New York State Board of Elections. Retrieved on February 22, 2008.
23. ^ "NYS Board of Elections - Assembly - Vote - Nov. 7, 2004". New York State Board of Elections. Retrieved on February 22, 2008.
24. ^ "NYS Board of Elections - Assembly - Vote - Nov. 7, 2002". New York State Board of Elections. Retrieved on February 22, 2008.
25. ^ "NYS Board of Elections - Assembly - Vote - Nov. 7, 2000". New York State Board of Elections. Retrieved on February 22, 2008.
26. ^ "NYS Board of Elections - Assembly - Vote - Nov. 7, 2000". New York State Board of Elections. Retrieved on February 22, 2008.

External links

• New York Board of Elections Campaign Finance Database
• Newscopy.org, Political Website with extensive coverage of the 99th AD race