Wagner, Senate Candidate, Hopes Second Time's a Charm

Written by Sarah Studley.

After a narrow margin of defeat in 2012, Democrat Justin Wagner said today he plans to challenge Sen. Greg Ball (R, C, I — Patterson) again next year for the New York Senate's 40th District seat.

"If my campaign has a theme, it’s reform. To preserve our quality of life and keep our Hudson Valley communities affordable, we need some help from Albany," Wagner said in a statement today. "Governor Cuomo has made tremendous headway, but we could do so much more with a pragmatic State Senate – not one that’s paralyzed by petty politics. That’s going to require leadership that’s ready to put families, common sense, and our communities ahead of political extremism or opportunism."

Wagner is currently a resident of the Village of Croton-on-Hudson and originally hails from LaGrange in Dutchess County, according to his campaign literature.

He is an "attorney specializing in commercial litigation."

District 40 includes parts of Northern Westchester County, as well as portions of Putnam County and Dutchess County. In Westchester, it includes the Town of Mount Pleasant (all of Pleasantville and part of Briarcliff Manor).

In his announcement, Wagner also shared former Pleasantville mayor and Westchester County legislator John Nonna, will be one of his campaign's three steering committee co-chairs. Also chairing the committee are Town of Southeast Councilwoman Lynne Eckardt and Town of Cortlandt Democratic Chair John McBride.

Said Wagner, "For decades, this Senate seat has been held by professional politicians, but what our region needs now is a State Senator who shares the values of the Hudson Valley and will work with the Governor to stand up for those values. I will fight for tougher ethics and campaign reforms in Albany and expanded economic opportunities for the Hudson Valley. My campaign will be rooted in the commonsense pragmatism that I learned growing up in the Hudson Valley and that my wife and I are raising our daughter with."