State Senator Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick visits Lawrence

State Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick spent the last six months in Albany. Now returning home, she is getting personal with her District 9 constituents by having one-on-one sessions at select areas.

Her newly launched Mobile Office Hours came to Lawrence on June 28 at Peninsula Public Library. She visited Long Beach session last month.

“You’re in Albany from January until early June and we ended around June 10, but now, the rest of the year, I will be in the district,” she said. “During the summer into the fall, I really want to be more engaged in the district holding events, so I think in the summer and the fall, I’ll be able to be more engaged.”

Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, a lifelong Malverne resident, former village trustee and deputy mayor, brought a local-government view to Albany politics after she won the seat last November.

Now in new territory, she said the experience is very different. But, her experiences as a certified public accountant, an attorney, business owner and a mother of four have allowed her to speak out and advocate on different issues.

“The transition is very different from local government to the state level,” she said. “I am very honored to be a senator. I speak out and ask questions because it’s okay for me to not know because I did come from local government to now the state level. I really have enjoyed it and I love doing this.”

Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick shared a proud moment as a state senator, opposing Gov. Kathy Hochul’s controversial housing plan to build 800,000 new homes and affordable apartments over the next decade.

“Speaking out on the housing issue that would have changed Nassau County and getting that to not go through in the budget was an incredible accomplishment,” she said. “A lot of people on Long Island spoke out against it. The fact that I’ve been able to speak out about different issues, I think is a good start for a new senator.”

Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick told a story about how one person joked with her saying she had spoken the most in the first two weeks than someone else had spoken in five years.

“I don’t know if that’s good or bad,” she chuckled.

Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick said the constituents she spoke with spoke about various topics that concern them, such as the housing plan, traffic, state of the economy, safety and general direction of the state.

“It makes me more confident to speak out when legislation is passed that affects those issues,” she said. “Now I’m in touch with my constituents and that’s why I think is important about these mobile office hours is knowing that I’m representing what their interests are and that I’m in touch with what they want.”

Lawrence mayor Alex Edelman attended the senator’s mobile office hours and thought the idea of her meeting with her constituents was a great opportunity for the community. 

“I think it’s a great idea,” he said. “I think it’s a great opportunity to find out who you district senator is and what they are capable of for the community. The senator was nice enough to give everybody 10 to 15 minutes for discussions and it was very nice.”

Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick said she plans on continuing her district tour. She will announce her next date on her Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts.