Denis Slattery is reporting for the New York Daily News Orange County legislator L. Stephen Brescia, the man looking to unseat state Sen. James Skoufis, has been campaigning during the COVID-19 crisis as an Uber driver, in a car with official county plates. Republican Brescia, chairman of the county Legislature, will face first-term Democrat Skoufis in the November general election. In a recent interview with Hudson Power Broker, a conservative aggregate news site run by Assemblymember Kieran Lalor of Dutchess County, Brescia said he has been driving for the ride-hailing service and chatting with riders about his campaign for four months. Brescia uses his personal vehicle when picking up fares, and the plates on that car identify him as a county official. “Under state law, county legislators are able to have plates they pay for on their personal vehicles which identify themselves as county legislators,” Orange County spokesman Justin Rodriguez said. Rodriguez did not say whether driving a car for-hire with official tags presented an ethical issue. Brescia makes $50,000 a year as a legislator, as well as $17,000 a year as mayor of Montgomery, a job he has held since 1990. In the interview with Lalor, Brescia characterized Skoufis as soft on crime and too generous with taxpayer dollars. Read the full story in the Daily News.