New York State Assembly District 118
Data last updated 10/21/2026
Colleen Maxwell is a Democratic candidate for New York State Assembly District 118 in 2026. Her campaign biography says she grew up on a family dairy farm in Newport, worked in accounting for numerous businesses, started the WBE Nature's Footprints to help manufacturers recycle byproducts, served on the West Canada School Board, and served on the Newport Planning Board.
Committee Assignments: No committee assignments available.
Colleen Maxwell’s campaign materials for New York Assembly District 118 include limited healthcare-specific content. She supports reforming retiree health benefits for state elected officials to align with private-sector standards while preserving reasonable healthcare security, and she frames rural energy reliability as a health/safety issue for seniors and medically vulnerable residents.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Maxwell supports transitioning retired state elected officials to Medicare and supplemental coverage under standards comparable to private-sector retirees while protecting taxpayers and providing reasonable healthcare security.
SourceMaxwell supports preserving practical heating and backup-power choices for rural residents, arguing that outages in all-electric homes can place seniors and medically vulnerable residents at risk.
SourceColleen Maxwell’s Economy & Jobs platform for New York Assembly District 118 emphasizes affordability, lower tax burdens, fiscal discipline, and protection of rural economic sectors such as small businesses, farms, forestry, wood products, transportation, and manufacturing. She argues state mandates should be more flexible for rural communities so costs are not shifted to taxpayers, schools, homeowners, farmers, and local employers.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Maxwell supports reducing affordability pressures on rural families, farmers, seniors, homeowners, and small businesses, including relief from high state and local tax burdens and property taxes.
SourceMaxwell is running on bringing fiscal discipline and government transparency to rural Herkimer-area communities, according to Patriot PAC’s candidate profile for NYS Assembly District 118.
SourceMaxwell supports flexibility for rural school districts under state electric school bus and building electrification mandates, a position framed around avoiding added costs for rural taxpayers and school budgets.
SourceMaxwell supports protecting farmland from large-scale solar development and preserving agriculture as a key part of the 118th Assembly District’s economy, food security, identity, and future.
SourceMaxwell supports allowing rural residents to keep practical heating options such as wood and pellet heating, which she says can support local forestry, wood-product, transportation, and manufacturing jobs.
SourceNo explicit Immigration position was found for Colleen Maxwell, the Democratic candidate for New York State Assembly District 118 in 2026. Her campaign issues page focuses on affordability, rural mandates, energy, agriculture, and government accountability, but does not state an immigration policy position.
Colleen Maxwell frames Climate & Energy around rural affordability, reliability, and local control rather than one-size-fits-all electrification mandates. She supports flexibility for rural school districts on electric bus requirements, opposes mandates that eliminate practical rural heating choices, and supports protecting farmland from large-scale solar siting while prioritizing solar on rooftops, brownfields, landfills, and other already-developed sites.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Maxwell says New York should not impose a one-size-fits-all zero-emission school bus mandate on rural districts and supports extended timelines, technology-neutral purchasing rules, greater state funding, winter-route pilot programs, and continued use of practical alternatives such as clean diesel, renewable fuels, and propane.
SourceMaxwell lists protecting farmland from large-scale solar siting as a top priority and argues renewable energy projects should not sacrifice productive agricultural land or override local land-use priorities.
SourceColleen Maxwell emphasizes flexibility for rural school districts on New York’s electric school bus requirements, arguing that statewide mandates should account for rural routes, winter weather, infrastructure limits, staffing, classroom costs, and property-tax impacts. She supports extended timelines, technology-neutral purchasing rules, more state funding, pilot programs, and continued use of practical alternatives such as clean diesel, renewable fuels, and propane.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Maxwell says New York should not impose a one-size-fits-all electric school bus mandate that could force rural districts to choose between transportation, classroom instruction, staffing, and property-tax increases.
SourceMaxwell supports a more flexible approach to school transportation mandates, including extended timelines for rural districts, technology-neutral purchasing requirements, and continued use of clean diesel, renewable fuels, propane, and other practical alternatives.
SourceMaxwell supports greater state funding for buses and infrastructure and pilot programs based on actual winter and route performance before rural districts are required to comply with electric school bus mandates.
SourceNo dedicated Public Safety platform page or voting record was found for Colleen Maxwell, who is running as a Democrat for New York State Assembly District 118 in 2026 and is not listed as holding the Assembly seat. Her campaign materials touch public-safety-adjacent issues through emergency-response planning, emergency access, rural outage risk, infrastructure safety, and involving emergency responders in state policy design.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Maxwell supports giving local governments a meaningful role in determining emergency-response plans for large-scale solar development in rural communities.
SourceColleen Maxwell for NYS Assembly - About Colleen
https://www.colleenmaxwellfornysassembly.com/about-colleenFetched: biography, location
New York State Board of Elections - Certification for the June 23, 2026 Primary Election
https://elections.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2026/05/accessible-june-23-2026-primary-certification-amended-5.13.26_0.pdfFetched: candidate office confirmation
Transparency USA - Colleen Maxwell New York Candidate
https://www.transparencyusa.org/ny/candidate/colleen-maxwell?cycle=2017-to-nowFetched: campaignFinance
Transparency USA - New York State Assembly District 118 Election
https://www.transparencyusa.org/ny/race/new-york-state-assembly-district-118-74530Fetched: campaignFinance
North Country Public Radio - Republican candidates vying to represent NY's 118th Assembly District
https://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/53581/20260618/republican-candidates-vying-to-represent-ny-s-118th-assembly-districtFetched: votingRecord
Blue Voter Guide - Colleen Maxwell candidate page
https://bluevoterguide.org/NY/candidate_Colleen_Maxwell/756971Fetched: endorsements
Eleanor's Legacy 2026 Endorsements
https://www.eleanorslegacy.com/endorsements26-1Fetched: endorsements
Blue Voter Guide - Patriot PAC Endorsements
https://bluevoterguide.org/endorser-org/Patriot_PAC/NY/9141Fetched: endorsements
Fulton County Democratic Committee Endorsements
https://www.fultoncountynydemocrats.com/endorsementsFetched: endorsements
Colleen Maxwell for NYS Assembly - Issues
https://www.colleenmaxwellfornysassembly.com/IssuesFetched: issuePositions
Colleen Maxwell for NYS Assembly - Home
https://www.colleenmaxwellfornysassembly.com/Fetched: issuePositions
The Ballot Brief - Colleen Maxwell 2026: New York Assembly District 118
https://theballotbrief.com/candidate/colleen-maxwell-nyFetched: issuePositions
Colleen Maxwell for NYS Assembly campaign website
https://www.colleenmaxwellfornysassembly.com/IssuesFetched: issuePositions
The Ballot Brief candidate profile
https://theballotbrief.com/candidate/colleen-maxwell-nyFetched: issuePositions
The Ballot Brief New York Assembly District 118 profile
https://theballotbrief.com/state/new-york/fulton-county/new-york-assembly-district-118Fetched: issuePositions
Transparency USA - Colleen Maxwell
https://www.transparencyusa.org/ny/candidate/colleen-maxwell?cycle=2017-to-nowFetched: issuePositions
New York State Board of Elections - June 23, 2026 Primary Certification
https://elections.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2026/05/accessible-june-23-2026-primary-certification-amended-4.30.26-.pdfFetched: issuePositions
Colleen Maxwell for NYS Assembly
https://www.colleenmaxwellfornysassembly.com/IssuesFetched: issuePositions
The Ballot Brief Assembly District 118 race profile
https://theballotbrief.com/state/new-york/otsego-county/new-york-assembly-district-118Fetched: issuePositions