SCHODACK -- Democracy for America (DFA), the progressive grassroots organization founded in 2005 by Gov. Howard Dean, has formally endorsed Linda Underwood of Castleton for Rensselaer County Legislature in District 4, the towns of Nassau, Sand Lake and Schodack. A longtime member of DFA’s local affiliate, Democracy for the Hudson-Mohawk Region (DFHMR), Underwood is a 2007 graduate of DFA’s Training Academy and completed a DFA training module at Netroots Nation in Pittsburgh in August. She has volunteered in several campaigns for candidates endorsed by DFA/DFHMR, including Kirsten Gillibrand in 2006, Ken Zalewski in 2007, Barack Obama in 2008, and Scott Murphy in 2009. “I am tremendously grateful for the DFA endorsement,” Underwood said. “DFA’s training has been essential to my running an effective campaign in my first run for political office.” Underwood is running for the Legislature on the Democratic and Working Families lines, along with incumbent Flora Fasoldt and Norman Young. Andrew White, chairman of the Stephentown Democratic Committee and a founder of DFHMR, presented Underwood with a check for $750 from DFA earlier this week. The DFA endorsement is Underwood’s fourth, having also been endorsed by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, the Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy Foundation, and the Troy Area Labor Council.

The Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy Committee Announces 2009 Campaign Grant Winners

For Immediate Release Contact: 
Shannon Coit 212.725.8825 ext. 237
Monday, September 28, 2009 ( New York City )

     Founded in 2001 by former New York State Democratic Committee Chair Judith Hope , the Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy Committee was designed to build a new generation of pro-choice Democratic women candidates, informed voters and activists in New York State.    

      Among the recipients chosen, the ERLC awarded Linda Underwood an endorsement in her race for Rensselaer County Legislature, District 4. Underwood is chosen as a recipient for the fall 2009 cycle. Underwood stated, "The Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy Committee’s endorsement is very important support to my campaign and demonstrates confidence in my ability to win this seat. I am extremely grateful to Eleanor’s Legacy."

     Since its founding, the ERLC has elected over 400 women to state and local office across New York State and equipped over 600 women with the skills they need to run and win.   The ERLC endorses progressive women candidates with a demonstrated commitment to upholding a woman’s right to choose and to promoting the values of the Democratic Party.  To be eligible, a candidate must be pro-choice, female, and an enrolled Democrat running for state or local office in the state of New York .       

     This cycle, the Board awarded 150 Grants .  ERLC President Cathy Lasry said:  "We are thrilled to be supporting such outstanding women candidates who will work hard to put our communities, and the State of New York , back on the right track again."      

     The ERLC will celebrate this year’s grantees at their Annual Fall Luncheon with special guests Abby Disney, Senator Charles Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.  This year’s luncheon honors Geraldine Ferraro with the Pioneer in Politics – Lifetime Achievement Award. ###

Longtime Schodack resident Linda Underwood announces her candidacy for County Legislature District 4.    Underwood, who will be on the Democratic and Working Families Party ballot lines, will bring a lifetime of volunteerism and service, as well as a wide range of management skills, to her position in the Legislature.

"I understand the issues and I will work to make this county a better place for the people who live here," she said. "Under one-party Republican rule, our county property taxes have skyrocketed 110 percent in the last seven years. Even more outrageous is that the majority voted themselves a 33 percent raise right after the last legislative election in 2005." One-party Republican rule has created a culture of inefficiency, rampant patronage, and outrageous salaries for political appointees with no regard to the effect on hard-pressed taxpayers, she added. Underwood said attracting quality businesses to the county must be a top priority. The county should provide guidance and assistance to local planning boards, but there has been little of that under the current Republican administration, she said.

 "I will work to bring clean, green businesses into our county to provide good-paying jobs and help stabilize our property taxes," she said. "I will also work to help protect our environment and clean up disgraceful toxic messes like the Dewey Loeffel landfill that continues to pollute Nassau Lake and the Valatie Kill." Underwood, a resident of Schodack since 1980, has owned a home in the Village of Castleton for 23 years.  She worked for Schodack Central for 18 years until her retirement in 2008, after which she was a session worker for the State Assembly.  She was elected to the Schodack Board of Education in May 2009. Underwood's volunteerism includes winter monitoring of Schodack Island State Park that helped keep it open, working with developmentally delayed adults and children, and serving as fund-raising chair for the CES Playground in 1990. Underwood earned a bachelor’s in education from Stony Brook University and a master's in education from the University at Albany. She is the mother of two Maple Hill High School graduates and is the primary caregiver of her elderly mother.