RC Legislator Aron Wieder Decides Not to Run for 97th District Assembly Seat

By Sarah Morgenstern

Rockland County Legislator Aron Wieder, who seemed to be testing the waters for the past two months, has decided not run for the Assembly seat of the 97th District, which is comprised of many more Orthodox Jews after New York’s district re-zoning.

Wieder might reconsider in two years, however, "if the opportunity arises," Wieder tweeted this morning.

“After much thought, I decided not to run for the 97th assembly seat for the upcoming election,” tweeted Wieder, who, since 2011, has served on the Rockland County Legislature, representing Spring Valley.“I want to thank those who supported me throughout the process and everyone who signed my petition. 

“If the opportunity arises in two years, I might reconsider.”

Wieder, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, has lived in Spring Valley for more than 20 years: with his wife and four children.

Since 2008, when he was elected to the East Ramapo School Board, Wieder has been politically active in Rockland County.

Within three years, Wieder rose to serve as vice president and then president of the school board, where he introduced and passed a proposal that established a full-day kindergarten program and raised private funds to support the well-regarded East Ramapo Marching Band.

When a deadly earthquake struck Haiti in 2010, as the confidential assistant to the mayor of Spring Valley, Wieder fundraised hundreds of thousands of dollars from local businesses to provide desperately needed medical supplies, and Wieder sent a group of nurses on a mission to provide medical care for the people of Haiti. 

Since he was elected as a Rockland County legislator in 2011, Wieder has fought to resolve Rockland’s deficit and to reduce property taxes for Rockland County residents.