Krueger Welcomes Bill Perkins to State Senate

Perkins to be Inaugurated Saturday

"I am very excited to have Bill Perkins as my new colleague in the State Senate.

Bill is a man who has spent decades fighting for what he believes is right. That can sound cliché in today's cynical political world, but have just one conversation with him and you know that he is passionate about his work.

Bill is a man who has shown time and again that he is not afraid to speak up and speak out. And he is also a man who is smart and savvy enough to recognize that solving different problems calls for different approaches.

Even before actually taking his Senate seat, Bill became someone my office wanted to work with. Weeks before Governor Pataki left office, Pataki single-handedly approved a series of giveaways for landlords at the cost of tenants well-being. Bill was there, joining myself and other elected officials in co-authoring a letter to then Governor-elect Spitzer, calling on him to refuse passage of Pataki's proposals.

We won that fight—the first real victory for tenants in a long time. Pataki's regulatory proposals were fully rejected by the new administration.

From his very first day in Albany, Bill has brought the voice of his constituents into the Senate chamber. His very first session day as Senator, he stood up and praised Wesley Autrey, the subway hero—and one of Bill's constituents—thanking Mr. Autrey for inspiring New Yorkers across the state with his act of selfless bravery.

And just a few days later Bill jumped in, head-first, taking the City to task for placing homeless children in households that had not been tested for lead, a serious health hazard.

Not bad for a new senator.

Bill is in Albany for all the right reasons, and I cannot wait to see what he is going to do next."