The race for Westchester County Board of Legislators District 1 — which includes Cortlandt and parts of Peekskill and Yorktown — pits incumbent Democrat Colin Smith of Peekskill, who is seeking a fourth two-year term, against Republican Elena Muniz-Walker, a Peekskill resident seeking her first elected office after an unsuccessful bid for Peekskill Common Council in 2025. We sent each candidate written questions. Their responses are unedited except for formatting. (Candidates are listed in alphabetical order.)
Elena Muniz-Walker has lived in Peekskill for 38 years. She retired in December 2013 as director of product development engineering for an international manufacturer after a 34-year career spanning design, production, purchasing, training and budget analysis. She also served as an adjunct professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology, supporting student internship programs. Muniz-Walker has completed training in advocacy, Social Security benefits and older adult leadership. She has been a member of Peekskill’s Office of Emergency Management since 2019 and received congressional recognition as a Hispanic Changemaker in 2025 for her community work.
What are the most important issues facing Westchester County, and why are you the most qualified to address them?
The issues facing Westchester are infrastructure, development, affordability, taxes, and public safety. Westchester is experiencing significant housing and commercial development, but businesses are closing. Housing affordability and growth must match the demand with investment in drinking water, stormwater and flood mitigation, roads, transportation, and pedestrian safety. Working with municipalities, State, and federal government to secure funding and ensure development strengthens infrastructure and provides measurable benefits to the communities.
Property taxes, utility costs, and the cost-of-living pressures working families, seniors, and longtime residents. By advocating for fiscal discipline and responsible spending we can protect essential services. Prioritizing public safety, supporting our police, fire and emergency services while addressing traffic safety, pedestrian concerns, and quality of life issues.
My experience and training qualify me to serve as county legislator. Westchester needs commonsense balance to work to end the waste of tax dollars. Legislators engage in the $2.5 billion budget covering DSS, Medicaid, Section8, Parks, DPW, and county police. It requires a balanced approach to controlling increases in property taxes and sales tax without diminishing services or jeopardizing safety. As legislator I would strongly advocate for the communities I represent and work with local representatives to assist in bringing back to the communities aid or programs to better serve constituents.
If elected, what will be your top priorities over the next year? In addition to goals stated, [my] top priorities would be to collaborate with the legislators to evaluate safer alternatives to renewable energy that does not involve our reservoirs or deforestation of green open spaces. Work on a reasonable and fair contract for county police officers. Finally work towards an agreement for an equitable retirement for our probation officers.
On a personal level, what is the most important piece of advice you have received? The most important piece of advice I received is to work by putting 100% of yourself into it. Half measures do not work to get results. This includes proficiency in English and maintaining my [Spanish-language] skills to fully communicate throughout my career.
Born and raised in Peekskill, Colin Smith is an attorney, small-business owner and lifelong Westchester County resident seeking a fourth term representing District 1 on the Westchester County Board of Legislators. A graduate of Peekskill High School, Cedarville University and Pace Law School, Smith began his legal career as a Bronx assistant district attorney before opening his own law practice in Peekskill. His public service includes serving as vice president and president of the Peekskill Board of Education and as a member of the Peekskill Common Council. As a legislator, he chairs the Committee on Legislation and the Affordability and Economic Development Task Force.
What are the most important issues facing Westchester County, and why are you the most qualified to address them? Affordability is the central challenge facing Westchester. Housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation, and utility costs place tremendous pressure on working families and seniors. And when young people cannot afford to remain in the communities where they grew up, the consequences extend well beyond any one household.
We must also maintain safe communities, protect our environment, and ensure that economic opportunity reaches people throughout the county. Our prosperity means little if substantial numbers of our neighbors cannot share in it.
My experience as an attorney, former prosecutor, school board leader, municipal official, and county legislator allows me to approach these problems from several directions. I understand the need for sound legislation, responsible budgeting, and cooperation among levels of government. Through my law practice, I also see what happens when the systems intended to help people become too expensive or difficult to navigate.
If elected, what will be your top priorities over the next year? My first priority will be to advance concrete recommendations through the Affordability and Economic Development Task Force. That means listening to residents, employers, educators, and community organizations, examining the evidence, and identifying measures the county can take to reduce costs and expand opportunity.
I will focus on housing options that working families and seniors can afford; access to childcare; and stronger connections between education, job training, and employment. Small businesses and nonprofits must also have a meaningful place in that work.
I will continue to scrutinize county spending, support essential services, and advocate for investments in infrastructure and environmental protection. Fiscal responsibility requires us to consider both the immediate cost of a decision and the price our residents will pay if we neglect necessary work.
On a personal level, what is the most important piece of advice you have received? The advice that has stayed with me is to listen before speaking and never assume that a title gives you all the answers. People living with a problem often understand its consequences better than those charged with solving it.
For me, public service begins with that recognition. It means being accessible, taking people seriously, and remaining willing to reconsider a position when the facts warrant it. And it means remembering that holding office is a responsibility entrusted to us by our neighbors.
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