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Peter Harckham

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Pete Harckham
Member of the New York State Senate
from the 40th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 1, 2019
Preceded byTerrence Murphy
Member of the
Westchester County Board of Legislators
from the 2nd district
In office
January 8, 2008 – June 1, 2015
Preceded byUrsula LaMotte
Succeeded byFrancis T. Corcoran
Personal details
Born (1960-09-16) September 16, 1960 (age 64)
Clarkstown, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Other political
affiliations		Working Families Party
Independence Party of New York
SpouseJin-Hee Stevens
Residence(s)South Salem, New York, U.S.
Alma materDickinson College (BA)
WebsiteOfficial website

Peter Harckham (born September 16, 1960) is an American businessman and politician from the State of New York. A Democrat, Harckham represents Senate District 40 in the New York State Senate. He was first elected in 2018, defeating incumbent Terrence Murphy. The 40th district includes parts of Rockland, Putnam and Westchester counties in the Hudson Valley.

Before serving in the Senate, Harckham was a member of the Westchester County Board of Legislators and served in the administration of Andrew Cuomo.

Background

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Harckham grew up in the Hudson Valley, residing in Rockland County for most of his childhood.[1] He attended Clarkstown High School North, before attending Dickinson College, where he graduated in English.[2]

Harckham began his career in the advertising sector, working on Madison Avenue in the 1980s.[3] Today he continues to work in media and advertising, and owns his own business based in the Hudson Valley.[4]

Prior to elected office, Harckham served as President for a not for profit housing corporation that builds affordable housing in northern Westchester County.[5] Prior to that, Harckham served as Vice Chair of the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation, a San Francisco-based private foundation that supports the sustainable management of natural resources.

In 2007, Harckham was first elected to the Westchester County Board of Legislators, winning again in 2009, 2011, and 2013.[6] He ran unsuccessfully for the New York State Assembly in a 2010 special election.[7] He served for four terms as a county legislator, including two terms as Democratic Majority Leader. As County Legislator, he created tax breaks for first responders, lowered county taxes, and approved term limits for county legislators.[8][9]

In 2012 he was a pledged elector for president Barack Obama in the electoral college.[2] In 2015 he left the legislature to work in the administration of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo as assistant director of the Office of Community Renewal. In that position he helped administer grants in the lower Hudson Valley.[5][10]

New York Senate

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In 2018, Harckham was recruited to run against incumbent Republican state Senator Terrence Murphy. Murphy had represented Senate District 40 since 2015.[11] While the district was competitive, Murphy was believed to be a formidable candidate who was less vulnerable than some of his GOP colleagues.[11] However, in an overwhelmingly Democratic election year, Harckham defeated Murphy, 51% to 49%.[12][13]

Harckham was sworn in on January 1, 2019, by Governor Andrew Cuomo.[14] In the Senate, he is serving as Chair of the Environmental Conservation Committee.[15][16]

Harckham was reelected to the Senate in 2020 in a race against former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino.[17] Astorino conceded three weeks after election day.[17] The count was delayed due to an increase in mail-in voting due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as a lawsuit filed by Astorino prior to election day challenging the security of the election.[18]

Harckham serves on the Committee on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse and the Joint Senate Task Force on Opioids, Addiction & Overdose Prevention.[19] He is also a member of the Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs committee. In the Senate, he has authored several environmental bills including Save the Huson to clean up the Huson River,[20] and the protection of wetlands and drinking water supplies in New York.[21]

Electoral history

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Westchester County Legislature

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Westchester County Legislature 2nd District 2007 General Election[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Peter B. Harckham 5,726 49.94%
Working Families Peter B. Harckham 190 1.66%
Total Peter B. Harckham 5,916 51.59%
Republican Peter Michaelis 4,591 40.04%
Independence Peter Michaelis 496 4.33%
Conservative Peter Michaelis 464 4.05%
Total Peter Michaelis 5,551 48.41%
Total votes 11,467 100%
Democratic gain from Republican
Westchester County Legislature 2nd District 2009 General Election[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Peter B. Harckham 5,903 81.99%
Independence Peter B. Harckham 1,031 14.32%
Working Families Peter B. Harckham 266 3.69%
Total Peter B. Harckham (incumbent) 7,200 100.00%
Total votes 7,200 100%
Democratic hold
Westchester County Legislature 2nd District 2011 General Election[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Peter B. Harckham 5,160 48.66%
Independence Peter B. Harckham 418 3.94%
Working Families Peter B. Harckham 261 2.46%
Total Peter B. Harckham (incumbent) 5,839 55.06%
Republican Peter Michaelis 3,969 37.43%
Conservative Peter Michaelis 796 7.51%
Total Peter Michaelis 4,765 44.94%
Total votes 10,604 100%
Democratic hold
Westchester County Legislature 2nd District 2013 Independence Party Primary[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Independence Peter B. Harckham 164 57.14%
write-in Andrea Rendo 118 41.12%
Write-in 5 1.74%
Total votes 287 100%
Westchester County Legislature 2nd District 2013 General Election[26]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Peter B. Harckham 6,312 47.33%
Independence Peter B. Harckham 411 3.08%
Working Families Peter B. Harckham 313 2.35%
Total Peter B. Harckham (incumbent) 7,036 52.76%
Republican Andrea Rendo 5,331 39.98%
Conservative Andrea Rendo 968 7.26%
Total Andrea Rendo 6,299 47.24%
Total votes 13,335 100%
Democratic hold

New York State Assembly

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New York's 89th Assembly District 2010 Special Election[27]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Robert Castelli 5,244 41.60%
Conservative Robert Castelli 918 7.28%
Independence Robert Castelli 804 6.38%
Total Robert Castelli 6,966 55.26%
Democratic Peter B. Harckham 5,329 42.28%
Working Families Peter B. Harckham 310 2.46%
Total Peter B. Harckham 5,639 44.74%
Total votes 12,605 100%
Republican gain from Democratic

New York State Senate

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New York's 40th Senatorial District 2018 Democratic Primary[28]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Peter B. Harckham 11,647 53.51%
Democratic Robert T. Kesten 10,119 46.49%
Total votes 21,766 100%
New York's 40th Senatorial District 2018 General Election[29]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Peter B. Harckham 59,560 49.44%
Working Families Peter B. Harckham 1,777 1.47%
Women's Equality Peter B. Harckham 818 0.68%
Total Peter B. Harckham 62,155 51.59%
Republican Terrence P. Murphy 49,730 41.28%
Conservative Terrence P. Murphy 6,550 5.44%
Independence Terrence P. Murphy 1,681 1.40%
Reform Terrence P. Murphy 360 0.30%
Total Terrence P. Murphy (incumbent) 58,321 48.41%
Total votes 120,476 100%
Democratic gain from Republican
New York's 40th Senatorial District 2020 General Election[30]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Peter B. Harckham 77,412 47.92%
Working Families Peter B. Harckham 5,466 3.38%
Independence Peter B. Harckham 939 0.58%
Total Peter B. Harckham (incumbent) 83,817 51.88%
Republican Rob Astorino 69,867 43.25%
Conservative Rob Astorino 7,276 4.50%
Rebuild Our State Rob Astorino 545 0.34%
Total Rob Astorino 77,688 48.09%
Write-in 49 0.03%
Total votes 161,554 100%
Democratic hold

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "Record-Review: Harckham Touts Experience 'as a distinct advantage'". Pete For NY. 2018-09-03. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  2. ^ a b "Pete Harckham declares victory over NYS Sen. Terrence Murphy". lohud.com. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  3. ^ "Harckham and Michaelis Face Off Once Again". North Salem Daily Voice. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  4. ^ "Voter's Guide: Harckham, Murphy contend for 40th state Senate District". The Poughkeepsie Journal. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  5. ^ a b "Westchester Legislator Harckham takes state post". lohud.com. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  6. ^ "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Peter B. Harckham". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  7. ^ "Our Campaigns - NY Assembly 89 Special Race - Feb 09, 2010". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  8. ^ "Harckham Proud of His Legislative Record". Lewisboro Daily Voice. 2011-11-03. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
  9. ^ 'https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/westchester-county-legislators-pass-term-limits-bill/'
  10. ^ "Pete Harckham Announces Bid for NY State Senate District 40". PRWeb. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  11. ^ a b "Murphy vs. Harckham: Senate District 40 could swing Senate majority from GOP to Democrats". lohud.com. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  12. ^ "New York State Senate District 40". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  13. ^ "Harckham Pulls Out Victory In NY Senate District 40". Bedford-Katonah, NY Patch. 2018-11-06. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  14. ^ "Harckham sworn in as state senator for NY's 40th District". westchester.news12.com. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  15. ^ "Harckham Sworn In As New State Senator". TAPinto. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  16. ^ "About Pete Harckham | NYSenate.gov". www.nysenate.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
  17. ^ a b Failla, Zak (2020-11-24). "Rob Astorino Concedes To Pete Harckham In State Senate Race". White Plains Daily Voice. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  18. ^ Lungariello, Mark. "Rob Astorino-Pete Harckham: It'll be a while before we know election winner. Here's why". The Journal News. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  19. ^ "About Pete Harckham".
  20. ^ Galt, Phoebe (2023-08-18). "NY Gov. Signs Bill to Stop Radioactive Waste Dumping In Hudson River". Food & Water Watch. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
  21. ^ Todd (2022-04-12). "Freshwater wetlands protected in state budget". Mid Hudson News. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
  22. ^ "Our Campaigns - Westchester County Legislature 02 Race - Nov 06, 2007". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
  23. ^ "Our Campaigns - Westchester County Legislature 02 Race - Nov 03, 2009". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
  24. ^ "2011CanvassGeneral111108.pdf" (PDF). www.citizenparticipation.westchestergov.com. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
  25. ^ "2013CanvassPrimary130910.pdf" (PDF). www.citizenparticipation.westchestergov.com. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
  26. ^ "2013CanvassGeneral131105.pdf" (PDF). www.citizenparticipation.westchestergov.com. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
  27. ^ "Statement of Canvass - 89th ASSEMBLY DISTRICT - Special Election" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  28. ^ "2018 Election Results | New York State Board of Elections". www.elections.ny.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
  29. ^ "Certified Results from the November 6, 2018 General Election for NYS Senate" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  30. ^ "2020 Election Results | New York State Board of Elections". www.elections.ny.gov. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
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