VoterLens
New York State Senate District 39
Oxford University—PhD
Data last updated 10/21/2026
Lisa Kaul grew up in India, earned a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University, and moved to the United States in 2004 before settling in Poughkeepsie. She has worked in community-engaged education at Vassar College and has served as Dutchess County Legislator for District 6, representing the Town of Poughkeepsie, since running for office in 2023.
Committee Assignments: Environment Committee, Chair · Family and Human Services Committee, Vice-Chair · Public Works Committee · Board of Health · Resource Recovery Agency · Soil and Water Conservation District · AI Oversight Committee · Climate Smart Communities Task Force · Environmental Management Council (Ex Officio Legislator) · Airport Advisory Committee (Nonvoting / Ex Officio)
Lisa Kaul supports universal health care in New York, specifically naming passage of the New York Health Act as a way to cover everyone and lower overall system costs. Her broader health-related platform also includes defending reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy and expanding mental-health resources.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Kaul stated that one of her legislative priorities would be to pass the New York Health Act to deliver universal health care in New York State and lower overall system costs.
SourceIn a voter guide response for the New York Senate District 39 race, Kaul said lowering the cost of living includes passing universal healthcare so that everyone is covered.
SourceKaul's campaign priorities say she will defend New Yorkers' reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy as part of keeping New Yorkers safe.
SourceKaul's biography states that she serves on the board of Planned Parenthood Greater New York Action Fund, reflecting her support for reproductive-health advocacy.
SourceLisa Kaul’s Economy & Jobs platform emphasizes affordability, worker power, fair wages, safe working conditions, collective bargaining rights, and job-creating climate investments. As a Dutchess County legislator and SD 39 Democratic candidate, she also points to local actions intended to reduce costs for businesses, sustain public services, improve transportation, and support workforce-adjacent community institutions.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Kaul says she will stand with organized labor and fight for fair wages, safe working conditions, and the right to organize and bargain collectively.
SourceIn her Abundance New York questionnaire for State Senate District 39, Kaul generally agreed with making government hiring more flexible, including job-relevant exams and work-experience alternatives, while insisting labor protections and rights not be compromised.
SourceKaul said she generally supports capital-project procurement reform but wants enforceable labor standards, apprenticeships, project labor agreements, and local-hire requirements attached.
SourceLisa Kaul’s immigration position emphasizes protecting immigrant communities from detention and enforcement abuses, including due-process concerns and limits on state/local cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Her campaign also frames immigration status as a barrier that state policy should help remove for working New Yorkers.
Specific Actions & Proposals
As a Dutchess County legislator, Kaul supported the county legislature’s unanimous resolution opposing a proposed federal immigration detention facility, warning of indefinite detention without due process, lack of oversight, and harms to families and communities.
SourceKaul urged Dutchess County legislators to sign a letter calling on the New York State Legislature to pass the New York For All Act, described as restricting state and local collaboration with federal immigration authorities.
SourceKaul’s State Senate campaign said she would fight to break down barriers including immigration status, alongside childcare, eldercare, transportation, disability, and justice-system barriers.
SourceKaul’s official campaign priorities state that immigration status is among the barriers keeping working people from flourishing and says she will focus on solving those problems as state senator.
SourceLisa Kaul supports clean-energy and climate policies for New York State Senate District 39, emphasizing lower energy costs, renewable buildout, grid upgrades, public transit, resilience, and public health protections. She specifically backs faster solar/wind deployment, batteries, transmission, virtual power plants, geothermal where economical, existing nuclear operation, and public power through a Hudson Valley Power Authority.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Kaul says she supports the ASAP Act to reform utilities, accelerate wind and solar buildout, and address utility interconnection barriers that slow rooftop and community solar.
SourceKaul says she supports the GREAT Act to require utilities to use tools such as virtual power plants to better utilize the grid and lower ratepayer costs.
SourceKaul says she supports replacing the for-profit investor-owned utility model with a publicly owned Hudson Valley Power Authority that has decarbonization as a statutory goal.
SourceIn an Abundance New York questionnaire for State Senate District 39, Kaul agreed New York should prioritize public and private renewable-energy construction, grid electrification, transmission upgrades, and resiliency infrastructure to meet climate goals.
SourceKaul’s candidate profile states she will advance climate solutions that lower energy costs, create jobs, protect communities from costly climate disasters, and protect New Yorkers’ health.
SourceLisa Kaul frames education as an affordability and equity issue, saying access to a good public education should not depend on ZIP code and that community colleges are too expensive for many families. Her record and campaign materials also cite support for continued community college funding and past advocacy to keep a local elementary school open.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Kaul states that access to a good public education should not depend on the ZIP code where a child’s family lives and connects this to her affordability agenda for Hudson Valley families.
SourceKaul says community colleges are too expensive for many and identifies lowering education costs as part of her state Senate affordability platform.
SourceKaul’s campaign biography and coverage say she led a successful fight to keep her local elementary school from closing before serving on the Arlington Central School District Board of Education.
SourceIn a 2025 county legislature candidate questionnaire, Kaul wrote that Dutchess County needs a more nimble workforce and can make that available with more support for Dutchess Community College.
SourceLisa Kaul frames public safety as part of keeping New Yorkers safe through gun-violence prevention, road safety, mental-health resources, and protections for immigrant communities. Her campaign materials and local legislative record emphasize prevention-oriented safety measures rather than punitive criminal-justice proposals.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Kaul's State Senate campaign priority says she will work to keep New Yorkers safe by addressing the epidemic of gun violence.
SourceKaul's campaign says that, as a Dutchess County legislator, she successfully advocated for road safety improvements, expanded transportation, and green infrastructure.
SourceAt a Dutchess County Legislature meeting, Kaul urged legislators to sign a letter supporting the New York For All Act, described as legislation to restrict state and local entities from collaborating with federal immigration authorities.
SourceIn a 2025 re-election questionnaire for Dutchess County Legislature District 6, Kaul listed stronger communities as a priority and included investment in public safety and programs for youth, seniors, and veterans.
SourceLisa Kaul for NY Senate - About
https://www.lisakaul4ny.com/aboutFetched: biography, education, location, committees
Transparency USA - Lisa R Kaul candidate profile
https://www.transparencyusa.org/ny/candidate/lisa-r-kaulFetched: campaignFinance
Transparency USA - Friends of Lisa Kaul 4 NYS committee profile
https://www.transparencyusa.org/ny/committee/friends-of-lisa-kaul-4-nys-549093Fetched: campaignFinance
Lisa Kaul for NY Senate District 39 official campaign site
https://www.lisa4ny.org/Fetched: votingRecord
NYS Board of Elections - 2026 Primary Ballot Draw
https://elections.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2026/04/drawing-for-ballot-position-for-the-june-23-2026-state-primary.pdfFetched: votingRecord
Blue Voter Guide - Lisa Kaul candidate endorsements
https://bluevoterguide.org/NY/candidate_Lisa_Kaul/712440Fetched: endorsements
Blue Voter Guide - New York State Senate District 39
https://bluevoterguide.org/district/NY/New_York_State_Senate_District_39/51828/830Fetched: endorsements
New York State United Teachers - 2026 endorsements
https://www.nysut.org/resources/special-resources-sites/voter-guide/endorsementsFetched: endorsements
Blue Voter Guide - Planned Parenthood Greater NY Votes PAC endorsements
https://bluevoterguide.org/endorser-org/Planned_Parenthood_Greater_NY_Votes_PAC/NY/6364Fetched: endorsements
Abundance New York Voter Guide
https://voterguide.abundanceny.org/questionnaires/lisa-kaulFetched: issuePositions
VOTE411 Voter Guide
https://onyourballot.vote411.org/m/race-detail.do?id=26975086Fetched: issuePositions
Abundance New York Candidate Questionnaire - Lisa Kaul
https://voterguide.abundanceny.org/questionnaires/lisa-kaulFetched: issuePositions
Dutchess County Government - Skip the Stuff
https://www.dutchessny.gov/Skip-the-Stuff.htmFetched: issuePositions
The New Pine Plains Herald - Dutchess County Legislature Passes 2025 Budget
https://www.newpineplainsherald.org/dutchess-county-legislature-passes-629-4-million-budget-for-2025/Fetched: issuePositions
Dutchess County Legislature
https://www.dutchessny.gov/Dutchess-County-Legislature-Opposes-Proposed-Federal-Immigration-Detention-Facility-in-Chester.htmFetched: issuePositions
Dutchess County Legislature Board Meeting Minutes
https://www.dutchessny.gov/Departments/County-Legislature/Docs/Minutes-2026-02-09-Dutchess-County-Legislative-Board-Meeting.pdfFetched: issuePositions
Southern Dutchess News
https://www.sdutchessnews.com/images/Full%20Page%20Editions/SDN/12-31-25/12-31SDN.pdfFetched: issuePositions
Abundance New York Candidate Questionnaire
https://voterguide.abundanceny.org/questionnaires/lisa-kaulFetched: issuePositions
Dutchess County Legislature
https://www.dutchessny.gov/Departments/County-Legislature/District-6.htmFetched: issuePositions
New York State Senate
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S9500/amendment/AFetched: issuePositions
Hudson Valley Press
https://hudsonvalleypress.com/2026/01/21/ryan-endorse-lisa-kaul-for-ny-senate-primary/Fetched: issuePositions
Southern Dutchess News / Northern Dutchess News
https://www.sdutchessnews.com/images/Full%20Page%20Editions/NDN/10-22-25/10-22NDN.pdfFetched: issuePositions
League of Women Voters of the Mid-Hudson Region
https://lwvmidhudson.org/2026/02/24/dutchess-county-legislature-meeting-february-9/Fetched: issuePositions
Southern Dutchess News
https://www.sdutchessnews.com/images/Full%20Page%20Editions/NDN/10-22-25/10-22NDN.pdfFetched: issuePositions