The two candidates in the hotly contested 40th State Senate race debated each other in Yorktown Heights tonight.

The debate was hosted by the Westchester County Association and held at the Yorktown Stage.

Two new polls have been released in the hotly contested 40th State Senate race between Republican Assemblyman Greg Ball and his Democratic opponent, Westchester County Legislator Michael Kaplowitz.

A new poll taken by Siena College finds the two are virtually neck in neck, with Ball leading Kaplowits 45-44% with a margin of error of nearly 5 percentage points. According to the Siena College Poll, Ball led Kaplowitz in Putnam and Dutchess Counties, while Kaplowitz lead Ball in his home County of Westchester.

And, a new Iona College Poll commissioned by the Westchester County Association and RNN-TV showed Ball had a 10 point lead over Kaplowitz 45-35%, with 20% of those questioned saying they are undecided.

Westchester County Legislator and State Senate hopeful in the 40th District, Democrat  Michael Kaplowitz was in Peekskill Tuesday where he received the endorsement of the pro-choice and pro-family planning community. Representatives from Planned Parenthood, NARAL, Choice Matters and New York ChoicePac were on hand to endorse Kaplowitz for "his steadfast dedication to protecting and improving reproductive health services for women and their families."

Hilltop Hanover Farm, an organic farm and environmental center located in Yorktown Heights, has been spared from the chopping block and will not be sold. That was the word today from Westchester County Legislator Michael Kaplowitz (D-Somers) who announced the County Board of Legislators voted unamimously Monday night not to sell the 180 acre property that was purchased by the County in 2003.

Kaplowitz, whose district includes the farm  says, "Legislators have recognized that the farm is an invaluable asset economically,environmentally and education-wise." He adds, "We, as stewards of the land and the historic heritage of Hilltop Hanover Farm,remain the rightful owners of the facility forever and ever."

Board Chairman Ken Jenkins had suggested the County consider possibly selling the farm and County Executive Rob Astorino said it will be considered as a possible cost-saving measure. Over the past few years, it has cost the County $500,000 to operate the farm. Kaplowitz says it's expected the farm will turn a modest profit of $60,000 this year. The facility he says is leased to a school and operates various environmental and educational classes dealing with organic farming. It also operates a farm stand in the Spring, Summer and Fall seasons.

Kaplowitz used a farm analogy in  saying the move would've been penny wise and dollar foolish. Said Kaplowitz, "Selling your seed corn this year simply to eat,does you nothing next year when you don't have an asset next year to grow the corn."

Somers Town Supervisor Mary Beth Murphy (R-Somers) Thursday announced her candidacy in the 40th District State Senate Race.

Murphy has served as Somers Supervisor since 1998. Said Murphy, "Hudson Valley Families want comonsense, straightforward solutions to New York's problems. Household budgets are stretched to the limit. We must reduce property taxes, eliminate wasteful State spending and grow our economy."

Murphy says her strong work ethic, coupled with the ability to work across party and county lines, makes her uniquely qualified for the job.

Westchester County Legislator Michael Kaplowitz(D-Somers) has tossed his hat into the ring for the 40th District State Senate Seat that's being vacated by Vincent Leibell.
Speaking on the steps of the historic Putnam County Courthouse on Tuesday, Kaplowitz said he's running for Senator because of escalating property taxes and because "Albany has mismanaged our finances, spending $9.2 billion dollars more than they take in and running out of cash to pay the bills, even threatening to delay our tax refunds and local school aid."

Kaplowitz painted himself as a fiscal conservative, saying his experience as a Certified Financial Planning Practitioner will be of benefit to taxpayers as he works to cut wasteful spending. Said Kaplowitz, "I saved Westchester County over $110 million dollars in wasteful spending, I helped preserve the County's AAA bond rating, saving millions more in higher interest costs. As a State Senator I will save money for Putnam and Dutchess taxpayers as well.

Kaplowitz joins Greg Ball (R-Patterson) who held a rally to kick off his Senate campaign yesterday.

Westchester County Legislator Michael Kaplowitz (D-Somers) held a news conference Wednesday  calling for pension reform, saying overtime should not be counted when calculating pension benefits for new public employees.  Kaplowitz says State lawmakers should create a "Tier six" sistem, in which  employees would contribute  to their retirement funds, and funding  could then be matched by State or County governments.