Robert Castelli

He was elected to the New York State Assembly in a special election on February 9, 2010, defeating County Legislator Peter Harckham in an upset victory.[34][35][36] The previous incumbent, Democratic Assemblyman Adam Bradley, had resigned after he was elected Mayor of White Plains in 2009.[37] Castelli previously ran for the seat in 2004, but was defeated by Bradley.[38]

Political prognosticators viewed the suburban contest as a sign of a Republican resurgence and a barometer for coming fall elections, where Republicans would eventually go on to make large gains in the United States Senate, House of Representatives, and retake the New York State Senate.[39][40][41][42][43] Castelli described his victory as "an expression of voter discontent with the state capitol" and the corruption prevalent in New York's State Government.[44]

Former Governor of New York David Paterson signs Chapter 294 of the laws of 2010 in the Red Room of the State Capitol in Albany, the first law authored by Castelli, then a freshman legislator.

After serving for only eight months, the freshman legislator had to run for a full term. In the 2010 general election, Castelli held the seat by defeating White Plains City Council President Thomas Roach.[45] Winning with a slim 112 vote margin, a month-long recount was necessary before Castelli could be declared the winner, thus earning him a full two-year term representing the 89th District.[46][47][48] The 89th Assembly District has over 10,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans, and Castelli is the first Republican to hold the seat in seventeen years.[49]

His 2010 election and subsequent reelection are considered significant, as the 89th Assembly District seat to which he was elected is gerrymandered to be a Democratic district, and happens to be the home of prominent Democratic political figures including former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo, attorney Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and George Soros, billionaire financier of numerous progressive causes.[32][50][51] Castelli was also outspent by his opponents, although he attempted to overcome these disadvantages by running what he called a "grassroots, front-porch campaign."[52][53][54]

As a Republican representing a heavily Democratic district, Castelli placed a large emphasis on bipartisanship.[55][56][57][58] He decried the 2012 redistricting process as partisan gerrymandering, for which he was named a "Hero of Reform" by former New York City Mayor Ed Koch.[59] Castelli voted against the final redistricting bill, which further gerrymandered and renumbered his district from the 89th to the 93rd Assembly District, added the town of North Salem, and significantly reoriented the portion of the City of White Plains contained within the district, which packed more Democratic-leaning voters into the already heavily Democratic district which Castelli, a member of the Republican Party, represented.[33][60]

Castelli sought to earn a reputation as a reformer, and frequently challenged Albany's infamous "dysfunction" in his campaign rhetoric.[61][62][63][64] The press frequently said he is known for his independence from both parties.[33] In an editorial endorsing Castelli, The New York Times called him "the kind out outsider Albany needs."[65]

Sensing political opportunity following the redistricting process, White Plains City Councilman David Buchwald launched a challenge to Castelli, citing the district's overwhelming Democratic enrollment advantage.[66] Castelli received endorsements from every newspaper in the district and aired television and radio ads featuring Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo saying, "Assemblyman Castelli, I'll tell you how tough Assemblyman Castelli's job is. He is MY Assemblyman ... He's doing a great job representing me and this entire district."[67][68]

This is not about loyalty to a political party. This is about representing the people who you represent, the people of this state in a very difficult time in this state's history and doing what's right for the people before your political party. We're Democrats, we're Republicans, we're independents, we're liberals, we're conservatives, we're New Yorkers first. Let's remember that and act that way, and that's the spirit of Assemblyman Castelli.

— Governor Andrew Cuomo[69]

Despite running a spirited campaign where he was again outspent, Castelli could not overcome party-line voting in the high turnout for incumbent President Barack Obama, although he still managed to garner 47% of the vote in the overwhelmingly Democratic district.[70]

Former President of the United States Bill Clinton (left) and Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo (right) walk with Assemblyman Castelli (center), who represents their hometown of New Castle in the Assembly.

Castelli was known as a staunch fiscal conservative and held strong pro-business, anti-tax and limited government positions.[71][72][73] Yet he also held environmentalist views considered atypical for most Republican politicians, and his pro-conservation ideals garnered him support and endorsements from organizations such as the League of Conservation Voters and Sierra Club during all of his campaigns.[74][75][76] For instance, he was a cosponsor and vocal proponent of a ban on hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale region of upstate New York, a process for natural gas exploration which is known as "hydro-fracking."[77][78][79][80][81]

He received a perfect score on the environment from the statewide group EPL/Environmental Advocates in 2011 and 2012, on the only scorecard that grades New York State lawmakers according to their votes on the environment.[82] His score led all Republican lawmakers in both houses in each of his three years in office.[83]

A self-described conservationist, Castelli also received top marks from the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association for what they described as "his actions in defense of our civil rights," as well as from the New York State Farm Bureau, which named him to their prestigious "Circle of Friends."[84][85]

According to Patch Media, a regional outlet covering the 89th Assembly District, he "earned a reputation for being an independent voice in the Legislature, especially on tax policies that he says unfairly penalize Westchester County residents and business owners."[30]

As one of only three combat veterans in the State Assembly, he placed a large part of his legislative focus on veterans' issues.[86][87] He was credited with building the coalition that saved the five New York State Veterans Homes from elimination in the 2011 New York State budget.[88] The homes are disabled veteran and veterans gerontological elder-care facilities, which were facing steep budget cuts and potential closure of one or more of the facilities, until the cuts were averted due to efforts from twenty-seven State lawmakers.[89]

Castelli also introduced legislation to prevent the Federal government from spinning off the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Campus of the VA at Montrose to private developers, by requiring the State to step in and seize the property via grant, purchase, or eminent domain, in order that it be forever used for veteran's purposes.[90]

In 2011, Assemblyman Castelli became the first member of the Assembly Minority to have a statewide bill signed into law in 4 years. The law prohibited public employers from abolishing positions occupied by persons absent on military duty.

In his first 120 days in office, Castelli passed two pieces of legislation, the first of which was signed into law by Governor David A. Paterson as Chapter 294 of the Laws of 2010.[91] Castelli showed an uncanny ability to pass his own prime-sponsored legislation despite being a member of the Assembly's minority, which has a reputation for legislative powerlessness amid the control of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.[33][92][93]

In 2011, Castelli became the first member of the Minority since 2007 to pass a "statewide" bill, a veterans protection measure which prohibited public employers from abolishing positions of persons absent on military duty.[94][95][96] Six other Castelli bills have been signed into law, making him one of the more productive junior lawmakers in Albany.[97][98]

During the legislative session in 2012, Castelli authored and passed a bill to extend the statute of limitations for Vietnam Veterans to bring claims arising from exposure to Agent Orange and other phenoxy herbicides, which was signed into law by Governor Cuomo.[99][100] He also cosponsored and passed a bill to increase funding for the state's Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), and conduct a health impact assessment of hydrofracking before the state considers whether or not to allow the controversial process to go forward.[101][102]

Castelli also authored a bill to eliminate the Mount Kisco Urban Renewal Agency, a moribund public authority, which was called an "unnecessary mandate" for the village, that successfully passed both houses of the legislature in 2012.[103] He also authored and passed legislation to rename portions of New York State Route 120 in Chappaqua and Purchase for Staff Sergeant Kyu Hyuk Chay, and Specialist Anthony Kalladeen, soldiers from those communities who were killed in action during the wars in Afghanistan, and Iraq, respectively.[104][105][106][107]