By CRISTINE MEIXNER

Express Editor

SPECULATOR - Under the redistricting plan drawn up by state lawmakers earlier this year Hamilton County will move back into state Sen. Hugh T. Farley’s district starting Jan. 1.

The new 49th Senate District includes eastern Schenectady County, western Saratoga County, Hamilton County, Fulton County and the northern two-thirds of Herkimer County.

Farley, who spent his childhood in Indian Lake, has represented Hamilton County before, until redistricting in 1992. He has been a state senator for 35 years.

He is being challenged in the Nov. 6 General Election by newcomer Democrat Madelyn C. Thorne.

FARLEY (R,C,I), of Niskayuna was first elected in 1976. His special interests are banking, economic development, libraries and senior citizens.

He says the biggest issue is reducing the tax and regulatory burden of government to make New York a more viable place to do business.

“My focus continues to be on taking steps to revive the economy, to help businesses create jobs and to reduce excessive taxes, fees and regulations. I’ve been encouraged by the progress we’ve made the past couple of years by working in a bipartisan manner to cut spending, lower state taxes and reject new fees. I will continue to push for more action in these areas,” he says.

Farley is chairman of Majority Program Development. He also serves as vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Banks and is a member of the Aging, Education, Ethics, Health, Finance, Rules and Social Services committees.

He has authored many laws benefiting senior citizens, including the nation’s first hospice law, the prohibition of mandatory retirement policies and repeal of the state income tax on the first $20,000 of pensions and annuities.

Farley led efforts which, in 2002, established a Volunteer Physicians Project in Schenectady, offering free basic medical care to the uninsured.

Farley’s environmental accomplishments include laws to provide strong criminal penalties for the illegal release of hazardous substances, to regulate the bulk storage of hazardous substances and to strengthen the state’s water pollution control program.

As chairman of the Banks Committee Farley developed laws that protect homeowners against problems with mortgage escrow accounts and helped develop laws to protect senior citizens from predatory lending and deed theft. In 2008 he sponsored the law that strengthened the regulation of subprime mortgages, encouraged lenders to work to prevent foreclosures and cracked down on fraudulent mortgage practices.

He is a staunch defender of personal privacy rights.

THORNE (D,WF) is director of pastoral care for Schenectady County’s Glendale Nursing Home. Previously she worked in the graphic arts and document management fields.

“We can’t cut and slash our way to prosperity,” she says. She hopes to “relieve the un-mandated burden from counties which will reduce property taxes for homeowners.”

The biggest issue is job creation, she says, “which will be addressed by low-interest loans and grants for small businesses. Another factor is workforce training so people can take advantage of jobs as they develop.”

Thorne also says, “We need to invest in our schools and invest in our infrastructure.

“We need representatives in Albany who really understand the challenges families are facing and are willing to fight to preserve the middle class.”

Thorne is a board member of the Advisory Council to the Schenectady County Department of Senior and Long Term Care Services and The Umbrella of the Capital District and a former board member of Y-Knot Sailing Association, a sailing program for the disabled.

She is a member of Schenectady County Friends of the Library, RISE Reading Service for the Print Disabled and the Animal Protective Foundation.

Thorne created and produced the “Abilities” radio program.

She supervises community service workers at Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons High School.