People Over Politics

Working Together for Real Solutions to Real Problems

I believe that state government should be a place where we come together to create solutions and remove roadblocks to real-life issues that impact us all.

Our families need quality housing with the infrastructure to support it. We must have accessible and affordable healthcare, mental health and addiction services, childcare, and education. Our communities need crime reduction, and we must give discretion back to our judges. We need to provide incentives for volunteer firefighters and EMS workers. We must protect our environment and its natural resources, have access to clean water, upgraded waste-water treatment facilities, and safe roads to travel on.

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People Over Politics

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THE 100TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT HAS BEEN MY HOME FOR THE PAST 28 YEARS.

My husband, Jonathan Drapkin, and I raised our children, Jack and Jordan, here, and I am proud to call it home.

I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Government from Wesleyan University (as the Captain of the Women’s Ice Hockey Team) and a Juris Doctorate from Brooklyn Law School.

I began my legal career working as counsel at the New York City Council to the Housing and Buildings Committee, General Welfare Committee, and Speaker Peter Vallone’s Special Commission on the Homeless.

I wrote legislation and staffed public hearings on the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, conditions in city-owned housing, and incentives for private developers to produce affordable housing.

After moving to Sullivan County, I became Director of Special Projects for Assembly Member Jake Gunther, where I championed the one-of-a-kind Adopt an Exit Program in the State of New York on Route 17 (I-86).

In 2004, when she was first elected, I became Legislative Director for Assembly Member Aileen Gunther. In that position, I wrote proposed legislation, reviewed bills, and worked to advance them. I also provided direct services to constituents in Orange and Sullivan Counties.

In 2008, I formed the Law Office of Paula Elaine Kay, specializing in municipal law, real estate, land use and zoning, corporate law, estate planning, emergency services organizations, and not-for-profits.

For the last 20 years, I have represented the Planning and Zoning Boards of the Town of Thompson, first as Deputy Town Attorney and later as Consulting Attorney.

The projects I reviewed included Resorts World Catskills, The Kartrite Resort and Indoor Water Park, Monticello Motor Club, and YO1, as well as numerous housing developments and improvements to the Thompson Square Mall.

I was the Town Prosecutor through 2021, working closely with law enforcement personnel. In addition, I represented the Town of Fallsburg as the Town Attorney where I handled Town Board, Planning Board, and Zoning Board matters, including helping shepherd the Town through a major Comprehensive Plan Update.

Giving back has always been a part of who I am.

I provide pro bono work for local community organizations and not-for-profits.

I am a member and past President of the Rock Hill Business and Community Organization and Rock Hill’s Sullivan Renaissance Committee.

I also volunteered in various positions for my children’s public schools or extracurricular activities, and I am a former President of a local homeowner’s association.

I am the only candidate for NYS Assembly 100 who is a member of the majority party and the only candidate who can deliver the funding and legislation that we have come to expect from Albany.

I can’t do it alone.

Working together, we can choose the best path and common-sense approaches to our real community concerns. People Over Politics.