Rockland Reporter

Former Pomona Mayor Brett Yagel has announced his run to represent Rockland County in the State Assembly.  

“Here in the Hudson Valley, we’ve seen first hand the dangers of the disastrous policies coming from Albany: bail reform, non-citizens voting, criminals roaming our streets and scandals out of the governor's mansion. I’m running for State Assembly to stop this mess,” Yagel said in a statement announcing the run. “The rule of law, making the correct decisions and defending our rights are some of my top priorities. The mess in Albany and Washington won’t stop me. I’m running because Rockland needs a leader in Albany to protect our future and stand up for what’s right.”

Yagel is a graduate of New York University - Polytechnic School of Engineering. He works as a publications engineer for the Trident nuclear submarine program at Lockheed Martin Corp.

He is running against incumbent Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski (D-Rockland) in the 96th Assembly District.

“I’m running for State Assembly!! I’m all in for the battle ahead to help save this state! Send me to Albany to shake things up!” Yagel said in a tweet. 

Yagel is also focused on fixing what he terms “bloated state government.”

The topic dominates his first video of his campaign.

Read the text of Yagel’s campaign video below:

New York State has one of the highest tax burdens in the nation. Yet millions of New Yorkers live in wretched poverty. We spend more than any other state to educate our children. Yet, New York ranks in the bottom half of the country in math and reading scores. Our state used to be a safe place to live and raise a family. Today, thugs and drug dealers roam our streets because Albany politicians let them out of jail.

I’m Brett Yagel, two-term mayor of Pomona, graduate of Polytechnic University, publications engineer at Lockheed Martin.

I understand government, business and keeping the community safe. Here is my truth. Taxes are too high because New York’s bloated bureaucracy. We have more bureaucrats per capita than California a state twice our live. Here is an idea, fewer bureaucrats, more help to the people who need it. For decades Albany has been throwing money at failing schools without demanding results. Every child deserves access to a school that works. Parents deserve choice  — charter schools, nonprofit schools, Catholic schools, private schools — so that every child who graduates can get a job, keep a job, or go to college. And about those skyrocketing crime rates, there is a reason we have prisons. It is where we put bad people. Only in Albany would they think it is a good idea to let them out. In my book if you do the crime you do the time.

I'm Brett Yagel. Want to shake things up in Albany? Send me.