Scott Bendett
Scott Bendett is an American politician from New York who has represented the New York State Assembly's 107th district consisting of most of Rensselaer County and portions of Washington and Columbia counties as a [Conservative Party of New York (State)|New York State|Conservative] Republican since 2023.
Biography
Bendett attended Niskayuna High School and the University at Albany and lives in Averill Park, New York.Prior to his election to the State Assembly, Bendett was the founder and owner of the Habana Premium Cigar Shoppe in Sand Lake, founding the business in 1998 as a small kiosk and seeing success as an online marketplace. He is also the CEO of the Bendett Investment Group, a real estate development firm.
Political career
Bendett began his political career being elected to the Rensselaer County Legislature in 2017.Bendett then ran unopposed to the 107th district which saw its prior assemblyman, Jake Ashby get redistricted to the 43rd District. Due to the Democrats not running a candidate, Bendett won with 97.5% of the vote after also securing the Conservative nomination. Bendett would be sworn in on January 2, 2023, at the Rensselaer County Courthouse.
Bendett has supported increasing the tax credit that emergency medical services volunteers receive in an effort to increase their numbers and retention. Bendett has also co-sponsored the Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Bill which would see the legalization of possession of psilocybin, ibogaine, and DMT in the state of New York. Bendett has supported the expansion of vocational education, including vocational classes in public high-schools. Bendett joined the calls for resignation of Jason Schofield, the former Rensselaer County Republican elections board commissioner who plead guilty to federal charges of fraudulently obtaining and filing absentee ballots.
In May 2024, Bendett was sanctioned by the Speaker of the Assembly for insensitive comments made to an international intern. While details on the incident were unclear, including when it occurred, the Assembly’s Committee on Ethics and Guidance reported that Bendett made two statements related to religion and national origin to an international intern, which the committee found to be a violation of its harassment and discrimination policy.