Houston seeks third term in County Legislature

MILLBROOK — Dutchess County Legislator Deirdre Houston (R-25) is running for a third two-year term in the Legislature, basing her campaign on her experience as a small business owner and being a Dutchess County resident for more than 30 years.

District 25 consists of Amenia, the Town of Washington and the Village of Millbrook, and part of Pleasant Valley. She wants to keep Dutchess County affordable for middle-class residents and senior citizens on fixed incomes, believing that smart growth  and a strong economy can co-exist.

Running on the Republican and Conservative tickets, Houston wants to preserve farmland and open space; to that end she co-sponsored the Right-to-Farm Law.

She also hopes to expand services for children, seniors and veterans; she serves on the Veterans Affairs Committee. Houston is chair of the Government Services Committee, is vice chair of the Public Safety Commission and is on the Human Services Committee.

She also serves as liaison to the Dutchess Community College Board of Trustees and to the Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County, which among her other efforts supports the FFA.

Houston gained some of her expertise in public affairs by serving on the Millbrook Central School District Board of Education for five and a half years, participating in a number of diverse committees while doing so. She’s also a former trustee of the Millbrook Educational Foundation, and is a former board member of the Millbrook Arts Group.

She co-sponsored legislation that brought ethics reform to Dutchess County, resulting in county elected officials having to now file financial disclosure forms. The legislator also supported setting term limits for all county elected officials.

Working across party lines is essential, said Houston, to accomplish work for taxpayers.

She is a firm believer in having an open-door policy and makes herself available to her constituents on an ongoing basis, maintaining a flexible schedule for local residents.

Having lived in Millbrook for more than 20 years, Houston and her husband raised their children in the village and sent them through the Millbrook Central School District. Houston owns Millbrook Floral Designs on Franklin Avenue in the village.

She often attends Millbrook Village Board and Washington Town Board meetings to keep abreast of what is happening in the area, and to give reports of what is going on in the county. Throughout the COVID 19 pandemic, she has kept her constituents updated concerning masking, vaccinations and local mandates.