Weishaupt running for Dutchess County DA on GOP ticket, looking for positive changes ency

RED HOOK — After working for 36 years in the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office, Matt Weishaupt, chief assistant district attorney, has decided he’d like to go a step further and is running on the Republican ticket for the position of district attorney (DA) when current DA William Grady retires at the end of 2023.

“I am running because I want to lead the office in a different direction,” said Weishaupt. “At a time when the legitimacy of our criminal justice system is being questioned, community engagement to rebuild trust is essential. We must invite community input to determine the best approach to combat crime. I will develop an office Facebook page to increase transparency with the public. Facebook will also create a platform to share information about our office and will have links to other government agencies that are regularly used by the public.” 

He noted the main challenges facing the office are the 2020 criminal justice reforms passed by the New York state. Bail reform and Discovery Law changes have had a tremendous impact on police and prosecutors.  

“I will ensure efficiency in working with the existing laws while working toward modification to bring a better balance to our criminal justice system,” Weishaupt said.  

A resident of Red Hook, Weishaupt has spent his entire career in law enforcement. He attended Catholic schools right through college, St. Joseph’s School in Kingston, then Coleman High School. After that, he earned his undergraduate degree at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he majored in criminal justice. His hands-on experience in law enforcement came about as he did volunteer work for the Ulster County Sheriff’s Department, then did part-time work as a deputy and in the communications department. 

In January 1982, Weishaupt became a full-time police officer with the New Paltz Police Department. While there he started graduate school at John Jay College of Criminal Justice where he earned 21 of 36 credits towards a master’s degree in police administration. In July 1984, Weishaupt was admitted to the Bridgeport School of Law and left John Jay College of Criminal Justice to start law school. 

Weishaupt completed his first year of law school at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut and took a position with the New Haven Office of the FBI in June 1985. He applied for a transfer to Albany Law School in June 1985 and was accepted. 

Weishaupt was transferred from the New Haven Division of the FBI to the Albany division of the FBI, where he then worked full-time while also attending Albany Law School full-time, earning his law degree in May 1987.

In 1987 he left the FBI and went to work for the Westchester County DA’s office, leaving there in June 1988 to join the Dutchess County DA’s office, and has been there ever since. 

He feels that changes should be explained and discussed with the people, in church halls, at community events, and in conjunction with the police and other agencies,

He is a member of the Mid-Hudson Hate and Bias Regional Council, having been asked by the Governor’s Office to take part in the council.

A married father of four with two sons and two daughters, Weishaupt finds time to teach as an adjunct as local colleges, something he loves and has done for many years. He is also deeply invested in local charities, and has recently been seen at events for Millbrook-based Angels of Light, which helps Harlem Valley families with serious illness, and at a ramp-building for Habitat for Humanity in Millerton.