By Jason Kaplan
Kevin Hines won’t be seeking re-election as Orange County Legislator once his term is completed, but he’s making the most of his final year in office. After encouragement from colleagues to vie for the position, he was elected to serve as legislative chair.
“I’m happy to have the support of a majority of my colleagues,” Hines said. “They wanted to see change as did I. I’m glad we accomplished our goal. I’m excited about the new position.”
Hines, a lifelong resident of Cornwall, was first elected to serve in 2010 following a successful recruitment campaign by the late Senator Bill Larkin, former Assemblywoman Nancy Calhoun, and Hines’ predecessor Alan Seidman. As director of negotiations for the law firm Finkelstein & Partners, he believed he could continue helping people by running for office.
During his tenure, Hines has served on a number of committees including: Public Safety and Emergency Services; Ways and Means; Rules, Enactments, and Intergovernmental Relations; and Personnel and Compensation. From 2012 to 2023, he served as the chair of the Public Safety and Emergency Services Committee.
As chair, Hines is responsible for assigning the 21 legislators to eight statutory committees, as well as subcommittees. For the first time, four committee chairs will be held by women.
Hines’ role also entails moving and driving the agenda, as well as working any ideas, brought to him by the legislators, through the various committees. One of the major reasons he ran for the chairperson position is to make sure everyone’s opinion matters.
“There was a feeling in the legislature that not everyone’s opinions and ideas mattered,” Hines said. “The redistricting was done in a horrific fashion. It was an epic fail. That put a lot of this stuff on the radar. Leadership was going to do it as opposed to getting ideas from others. That was happening in other areas as well. Already we’re totally inclusive, hearing opinions from everybody regardless of political party or where they live within the county.”
Hines has a number of goals he wants to accomplish this year. The biggest task will be allocating the rest of the American Rescue Plan money - $76 million awarded by the federal government. Money has already been spent on a new medical examiner’s building, as well as Department of Public Works equipment.
The legislature is in the process of creating a Workforce Housing Task Force that will go hand-in-hand with economic development.
“We have a tremendous number of job opportunities for people to live and raise a family, but the hard part is finding a place they can afford to live. [We need to] ramp up workforce housing so people can afford to live and raise a family here.”
Enhancements will continue at the 911 center with regards to dispatching and communicating with police agencies. A program called Niche will make real time license plate readers available to officers. This will allow data to be shared instantaneously with other agencies and the district attorney’s office once an arrest is made. Hines said this will help in the discovery process because evidence will be turned over in a timely fashion.
Computer security against hacking remains a big issue, as well as maintaining the mobile DMV.
Hines will also maintain a vested interest in Cornwall three bridge projects. The Main Street bridge project, by Chadeayne Circle, continues to move along and should be complete in the next six to seven months. The other two projects - the Main Street bridge by Cornwall Middle School and the one on Hasbrouck Avenue - have already been designed. The second Main Street bridge will be next, but it’s unclear how long it will take to complete. The project will require coordination with the school district and using Curie Road as a detour. The Hasbrouck Avenue bridge shouldn’t be a big project. Hines believes that can be completed with a prefabricated plate.
Hines had already made up his mind to not run for re-election this year, but redistricting solidified that decision. Hines originally represented Cornwall, Cornwall-on-Hudson, and portions of New Windsor and Blooming Grove. Under redistricting, his constituency would include a small portion of Cornwall and a large portion of New Windsor into the Town of Newburgh. He believes District 12 would be better served by a New Windsor resident.