County Executive's Biography
William R. Steinhaus was born on November 8, 1949. He is a graduate of Roy C. Ketcham High School in Wappingers Falls, New York, Dutchess Community College and SUNY Brockport, where he received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science in 1972. Mr. Steinhaus continued his education through graduate studies at Bridgeport University and SUNY New Paltz.
Mr. Steinhaus began his elected public service career in 1979 after his election at the age of 28 as Dutchess County Clerk and Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. He was re-elected in 1981, 1984, and 1987 and served in that position through 1991. In 1986, he was honored by the New York State Association of County Clerks as "County Clerk of the Year."
Elected County Executive in November 1991, he took office as the youngest County Executive in Dutchess County's history. Mr. Steinhaus captured nearly 70% of the vote. He was re-elected in 1995, in 1999, in 2003, and again in 2007, to an unprecedented fifth, four year term. He is the longest serving County Executive in county history.
Mr. Steinhaus has spearheaded reform in the County’s government including major department and service area consolidations. His wide-ranging cost containment initiatives have proven successful in the areas of criminal justice, health and human services, and administrative realignments. The County’s expanded service mission is being fulfilled with fewer county employees than in 1992 when he first became County Executive.
Primary emphasis has been placed on strong management and executive office leadership and on the promotion of fundamental change in the way the county conducts business. The first executive budget developed by Mr. Steinhaus produced a cut in real property taxes; the beginning of a record that achieved a county tax rate per $1,000 that is 73% lower in 2008 than it was in 1989.
The County Executive has championed the community’s job creation efforts with a comprehensive series of community and economic development policy initiatives and strategies. The centerpiece of Steinhaus’ efforts has been the creation of a strong and vibrant public-private partnership with an emphasis on teamwork, a common community mission and building a more diversified economy. These strategies and policies to recover from the 1993 IBM downsizing and its impact have helped produce significant new job growth. Mr. Steinhaus worked with Governor George Pataki to convince IBM to develop the $2.5 Billion 300MM chip fab project in East Fishkill which created over 1,000 construction jobs and produced an additional 750 IBM jobs.
As a strong and steadfast partner in Dutchess County’s business attraction and retention efforts, Steinhaus has promoted the importance of Workforce Development in overall economic development and jobs growth in the county. In 1997, he was recognized for his leadership on this issue with an appointment to Governor Pataki’s state task force on Workforce Development. He served five years on the State Board. In 2000, Steinhaus was nominated for a national workforce development leadership award by the New York State Commissioner of Labor.
In 1996, Mr. Steinhaus received a prestigious state award from the New York State Travel Industry for his outstanding leadership to promote the tourism industry in Dutchess County. Over $445 million is spent annually by travelers to Dutchess County. This benefited more than 660 local small businesses and accounts for an estimated 10,000 local jobs.
He has also helped launch initiatives for regional water systems, a historic Farmland Protection and Open Space Preservation Plan and has been a strong advocate for environmental protection. His 2007 State of the County address titled “Dutchess Goes Green” focused entirely on the environment. The Executive has championed the restructuring of our waterfronts with special focus on Beacon, the Poughkeepsie corridor of the river and Tivoli, and he was asked by the Governor to serve on his special task force to develop greater public access to the Hudson River.
County Executive Steinhaus has launched multiple new recreational initiatives and environmental preservation projects and served as a strong champion for a countywide system of trails. Two major rail trail projects are currently in progress– the Phase IV expansion of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail and construction of the Dutchess Rail Trail. The first three phases of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail were built by the Steinhaus administration beginning in 1996 with the most recent phase opened in 2007. The first phase of the Dutchess Rail Trail opened to the public in December 2007. County Executive Steinhaus was honored for his commitment to the promotion of trails and greenways with the prestigious Public Leadership Award, given to him by Parks & Trails New York, a statewide parks and trails advocacy organization in 2007.
Mr. Steinhaus has been a tireless leader in support of our cultural assets such as the Bardavon 1869 Opera House and Rhinebeck Center for Performing Arts. In 2002, County Executive Steinhaus was actively involved in recruiting the Dia Center Museum to Beacon— and now welcomes up to 70,000 visitors annually. The Mill Street Loft honored the County Executive with its annual “Friends of the Arts” award in 2007.
County Executive Steinhaus led the charge with community leaders to convince Governor Pataki to locate the future world class Rivers and Estuaries Center in Dutchess County. Mr. Steinhaus and his staff prepared the application on behalf of Beacon and Dutchess County, and submitted the proposal that won the competition. The County is a principal funder Building One, the Beacon Institute's first facility at the Denning's Point campus.
Mr. Steinhaus has long been active in community affairs, dedicated to organizations committed to health, human, family and youth services. He was an early and strong supporter working to launch the Family Partnership Services Center in the City of Poughkeepsie. In 1998, he created the Children’s Services Council, with the goal of a single countywide conversation to address the challenges and opportunities for our children and youth. In recognition of his strong youth advocacy and collaborative community initiatives to better serve youth and families, Mr. Steinhaus was named the 1999 recipient of the Association of New York State Youth Bureaus’ Award, a statewide award which is presented annually to an individual who has made outstanding and significant contributions in serving youth.
Steinhaus has served on the Dutchess County United Way Board of Governors from 1980 to 1992 and from 1995 and to 2004, rejoining the board in 2006 through the present. He was on the Executive Committee from 1983 to 1992, appointed again in 1995. In 1986/1987 he served as Chairman and Chief Volunteer Officer. His visionary Children’s Services Council received the Community Building Leader of the Year Award in 2002 from the NYS United Way. In 1985, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the New York State United Way.
In 1994, the County Executive was Honorary Chairman of the American Cancer Society “Making Strides” Walk-A-Thon and in 1995 Honorary Chair of the American Heart Association’s Walk/Run annual fundraiser. He served as Honorary Chair of the HIV “Let’s Live” fund raising drive, and was the 1998 Honorary Chairman for the American Cancer Society 3rd Annual Relay for Life. In 2008, Mr. Steinhaus was honored with the Heart Safe Champion award in appreciation of his 2007 HEART Safe Communities Initiative, the first county level initiative in the nation.
