Claudia Braymer

GLENS FALLS — Glens Falls 3rd Ward Supervisor Claudia Braymer said she is running for the 114th Assembly District seat to “serve with purpose.”

Braymer officially declared her candidacy on Sunday to represent the district, which includes all of Warren and Essex counties and portions of Saratoga and Washington counties.

Assemblyman Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, is not running for his seat because he is seeking to replace the retiring Sen. Betty Little, R-Queensbury, in the 45th Senate District.

Braymer said Sunday that she wants to be a voice for the North Country, which is currently difficult in the Democrat-led Assembly.

“A lot of times what’s happening is the minority members are not able to influence the legislative proposals in a way that will reflect our values and concerns,” she said.

Braymer cited the example of bail reform. She believes that the state needed bail reform, but there are concerns with how this legislation was implemented and its effect on this area. Local elected officials have criticized the reforms, which eliminated cash bail for certain nonviolent crimes.

Braymer’s top priorities include increasing affordable housing, expanding broadband access and combating climate change.

“That does affect one of our biggest economic drivers, which is natural resources, and it’s affecting our winter tourism, and it also is increasing things like ticks and Lyme disease,” she said.

Braymer cited teamwork and tenacity as skills that she uses every day as a county supervisor. She said she has worked across the aisle to find solutions to county problems and worked on initiatives such as promoting sober boating, reducing water pollution, increasing public use of the county-owned railroad corridor and implementing numerous clean energy initiatives, according to a news release.

Braymer said her legal background is an asset as she understands how state agencies and processes work.

Braymer will detail more of her plans at two formal kickoff events scheduled for Jan. 14. At 3:30 p.m. she will be in Glens Falls at the Crandall Public Library community room and at 6 p.m., she will be in Lake Placid at 2683 Main St. in the third-floor conference room.

Braymer is married with two young children. She graduated Penn State University, where she played rugby and was a member of the USA Women’s National Rugby Team in 2006 and 2010. She also played for the Albany Sirens when they won a national club championship.

There are 39,614 registered Republicans compared with 23,576 Democrats in the district as of November, according to the state Board of Elections.

Republican candidates who have announced so far that they are running for the Assembly seat are: Queensbury Supervisor-at-Large Doug Beaty, Horicon Supervisor Matt Simpson. Former Supervisor Evelyn Wood is also weighing a run, but has not formally announced.

Michael Goot is a reporter with The Post-Star, reach him at mgoot@poststar.com.