District 10 Candidate: Beth Davidson, Democratic/Working Families

District 10 Democratic and Working Families candidate Beth Davidson is a freelance writer and political consultant who has worked for 15 years for nonprofits and political organizations around the country. She previously worked for the MS Society, New York City; EMILY’s List; the National Campaign to Prevent Pregnancy and Dan Klores Communications. She has a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of
Michigan and lives in Nyack with her husband and two children, both of whom attend Nyack Public Schools. She has lived in Nyack for almost 20 years. Davidson served two terms as a Nyack Public Schools Board of Education Trustee (2017-2023), where she helped pass six tax cap-compliant budgets and several important policies on homework, and sexual harassment prevention. She also serves as a Member of Clarkstown Democratic Committee and has served on various nonprofit boards throughout Rockland, including the Soar Mentorship Program, the Children’s Shakespeare Theatre, and Leadership Rockland. For the past three years she has served
on the race committee for the Women’s Distance Festival, the tri state area’s largest women-only 5K benefiting the Center for Safety and Change. She is endorsed by the Rockland County Building Trades, the Sierra Club, Eleanor’s Legacy, Planned Parenthood Hudson-Peconic Votes, NYS Young Democrats, the Working Families Party and Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund.

Davidson implores voters to think of the gender gap in county legislature. “Firstly, there are only 3 women out of 17 members of the County Legislature, one being Hon. Harriet Cornell, who is retiring from District 10 after an extraordinary four decades of service. I think my perspective as a mom and community advocate…will empower me to engage all stakeholders to craft budgets policies that serve our communities efficiently and effectively.”

“Rockland faces serious challenges, from an affordability crisis to the need for a bold Climate Action Plan, strong policies to stem inappropriate and unsafe development, and more. Comprising the Village of Nyack, Central Nyack and pieces of New City, Valley Cottage, West Nyack and Bardonia, Legislative District 10 is one of the county’s most diverse and dynamic—and I believe as a longtime community advocate and two-term trustee for Nyack Public Schools I am uniquely qualified to bring people together to solve the problems we face, like: Affordability—the number-one issue I hear as I knock doors. How do we help ensure our parents can live out their retirements here in dignity, and that our children can raise their own families here? As a school board member I helped pass school tax relief for seniors and volunteer first responders, and as a county legislator I will actively look for ways to make Rockland more affordable, starting with pressing our state legislators to eliminate the MTA payroll tax for Rockland, as we lack reliable transit into NYC.”

Davidson plans to address Rockland’s housing crisis by “promoting a diversity of housing, from safe and accessible housing for our lower-income neighbors to affordable rentals for young people and seniors alike, affordable single-family homes for first-time homebuyers and for teachers, first responders and other hardworking Rocklanders. Any new housing should be safe, environmentally sustainable and, ideally, linked to transit.”

She will also aim to “protect Rockland’s water supply by advocating directly with New York State and the Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen regulations against PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ in our drinking water; improving our aging water infrastructure to address low water pressure and water quality; and engaging Veolia as a partner when looking at large developments, whether there will truly be enough water to serve
those communities.”

Additionally, Davidson plans to address the delivery of mental health services and the need for green space, particularly in the hamlet of Central Nyack.