Convention Preview: Regina Calcaterra on Why She's Running
By Mike Connery on 05/26/2010 @ 01:01 AM
New York Senate Dems are in Rye this week for the State Party Convention. Tomorrow we'll unveil a slate of candidates that are ready to challenge incumbents and bring real change to Albany.
As a quick teaser to our announcement, here's video of Regina Calcaterra, the Democratic challenger to incumbent Ken LaValle in Suffolk County. Regina addresses the crowd at a New York Senate Dems reception, and talks about why she was compelled to run in 2010.
Be sure to watch through to the end to hear Regina's great knock on LaValle, and check back tomorrow to see our full slate of announced candidates.
Ken LaValle is #1 at Wasting Taxpayer Millions on Mailers
By Mike Connery on 05/11/2010 @ 05:07 PM
Ken LaValle is #1. At least when it comes to spending taxpayer money on legislative mailers. That's according to a recent report conducted by Gannett's Albany bureau, and his opponent, Democrat Regina Calcaterra, is calling him out on it.
“While New York has been careening out of fiscal control, lawmakers have been wastefully spending millions of taxpayer dollars on legislative mailers telling us how great they are – a practice that must be reined in immediately,” she said in a statement.
She added, “It shouldn’t take a investigative report by one of the country’s biggest newspaper companies to uncover how much lawmakers spend on constituent mail.”
Behind the paywall at Newsday, there's more from Calcaterra on LaValle's spending habits and how we can efficiently reform the system for legislative mailings to take advantage of 21st Century communications channels:
"The amount that the money LaValle spent on the mailers could have:
- Paid a full-year salary for between three and five teachers in Eastern Long Island Schools;
- Paid the salaries of five state troopers;
- Or paid a full year of tuition for 71 students at SUNY Stony Brook Southampton.
"It shouldn't take a investigative report by one of the country's biggest newspaper companies to uncover how much lawmakers spend on constituent mail," said Calcaterra, who is running in New York's First Senatorial District. "Every piece of mail from a New York State legislator should contain a line that clearly identifies the exact cost of the mailer to the taxpayer.
"But even that's not enough," she said. "Email, websites and social networking can clearly eliminate much, if not most, of the ridiculous cost both parties have racked up in constituent mailing. The budget for franking privileges should be cut to a fraction of what it is today. This abuse must stop now."
The Calcaterra campaign is holding the grand opening of their campaign office this weekend, followed by door knocking in the district. If you are in Suffolk County, stop in and help her out.
LaValle Flip Flops on Budget Extenders
By Mike Connery on 04/22/2010 @ 11:00 AM
Earlier this week, in a rambling speech that jumped from Albany dysfunction to schools and job creation, Ken LaValle flip-flopped on a vital budget extension vote, switching from a "yes" vote in previous weeks, and joining sixteen of his colleagues as a proud member of the Party of No.
LaValle complained about the tough choices Democrats made in slimming down the 2010-2011 budget, but his vote, if successful, would have cut funding immediately for all manner of jobs and vital services that New Yorkers rely on, including our troopers, guardsmen, corrections officers, nurses, and social service workers who care for our veterans, the homeless, and mentally disabled.
Beyond the immediate consequences of his vote, LaValle's age seems to be showing, as he's apparently forgotten about the 97 budget extenders and 11 late budgets passed during the Pataki/Bruno era of government:
- 2008: 9 days late/ 2 extenders
- 2004: 133 days late/ 12 extenders
- 2003: 42 days late/ 5 extenders
- 2002: 42 days late/ 8 extenders
- 2001: 125 days late/ 12 extenders
- 2000: 39 days late/ 3 extenders
- 1999: 126 days late/ 19 extenders
- 1998: 14 days late/ 4 extenders
- 1997: 126 days late/ 10 extenders
- 1996: 104 days late/ 14 extenders
- 1995: 68 days late/ 10 extenders
Would Senate Republicans Prefer a Government Shutdown?
By Mike Connery on 04/20/2010 @ 01:26 PM
Yesterday the State Senate voted to pass budget extenders that will fund the essential functions of government and protect vital services on which millions of New Yorkers depend. The budget extenders allow the state to continue paying our troopers, guardsmen, corrections officers, nurses, and social service workers who care for our veterans, the homeless, and mentally disabled. They provide funds for Medicaid, Social Security, and Unemployment.
Without these extenders, the state cannot function, and New Yorkers already struggling to make ends meet with take yet another hard hit. This is a big deal, with an immediate impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of the state's residents. So it's worth noting that 16 Republicans - as they have so often since they lost the majority - said 'No' to a functioning government, 'No' to services for their constituents, and 'No' to paying the first responders we rely upon in emergencies by voting against the budget extenders.
Here is the list of Republicans who voted against yesterday's bill. It's a wall of shame if ever there was one:
- John DeFrancisco
- John Flanagan
- Martin Golden
- Joe Griffo
- Kemp Hannon
- William Larkin
- Ken LaValle
- Tom Libous
- Carl Marcellino
- Michael Nozzolio
- Michael Ranzenhofer
- James Seward
- Dean Skelos
- Dale Volker
- George Winner
- Catharine Young
Here's my question. With so many New Yorkers struggling, and the state facing one of the biggest fiscal crises in recent memory, does this gang of 16 really think shutting down parts of the government and letting vital services lapse is a good idea? I wonder if their constituents would agree with their answer.
Calcaterra Takes Tax Fight to LaValle's Office
By Mike Connery on 04/15/2010 @ 08:26 PM
Earlier today, the Calcaterra campaign took the fight right to the doors of Ken LaValle's office, rallying supporters to highlight LaValle's record on taxes. Photo and statement from the Calcaterra campaign below.
Regina Calcaterra rallies supporters.
Calcaterra: LaValle's Pro-Tax Votes Make Every Day April 15 in New York SELDEN, NY - With more than two dozen supporters behind her, and in front of her opponent's district office, Regina Calcaterra, D-New Suffolk, today took aim at state Sen. Ken LaValle's more than 600 votes in Albany to raise or extend taxes and fees, adding $33.4 billion to New Yorkers' tax burden and helping to push the cost of living in Eastern Suffolk County to a near breaking point.
"For those in the First Senatorial District, many will be struggling and scrambling to pay their tax burden by midnight tonight," Calcaterra said. "And it's not just a personal income tax burden, it's a tax burden compounded by high sales tax, high government-mandated fees and high property taxes. And they can thank Sen. LaValle for voting on all of those taxes.
"For 32 of 34 years, he's been in the majority of the state Senate, and he's had the power to make change," Calcaterra said. "And, boy, has he made change for us here."
Calcaterra criticized not just the number of LaValle's pro-tax votes, but what LaValle specifically targeted for higher taxes in that legislation. From 1989 through 2010, LaValle voted in favor of levying or extending taxes on items including child car safety seats, bicycle helmets, beer, drivers' licenses, mortgage filings, hotel rooms and more. For New Yorkers, state government has "even taxed their safety, after Sen. LaValle voted to tax smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors."
She spoke in front of LaValle's district office which, it was revealed earlier this year, was a central cost to the $1 million in annual office expenses the incumbent rang up through the most recent fiscal period.
In addition, just weeks ago LaValle voted against a Senate proposal to provide $291 million in much-needed tax relief to senior citizens - which only compounded their plight of living in one of the most overtaxed states in the country. That's particularly difficult to accept, Calcaterra said, since Suffolk County property taxes have climbed by 550 percent since LaValle entered office.
Calcaterra is proposing sweeping changes to the way state agencies spend taxpayer dollars, including adoption of Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP) for all state agencies and authorities, expansion of public-private partnerships to raise revenue and continue state programs without having to raise the state tax burden constantly, and cancellation of MTA taxes and fees that were approved beginning in 2005 after LaValle's vote to tax drivers licenses and mortgage filings.
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Calcaterra Hits LaValle on Taxes
By Mike Connery on 04/07/2010 @ 04:30 PM
Behind the paywall at Newsday, Regina Calcaterra is hitting incumbent Ken LaValle over property taxes in Suffolk County:
State Sen. Ken LaValle is again running from his record, complaining about a lack of tax relief provided by lawmakers in Albany after voting against $291 million in property tax rebates for seniors.
LaValle today sent out a mass email that accused Senate leaders of doing nothing to pass a state budget. Little more than a week ago, LaValle voted against a proposal that would have provided the much-needed relief for seniors.
"After more than 30 years of voting for late budgets filled with gimmicks, one-shots, more spending and higher taxes and fees, Sen. LaValle is a couple of decades too late with his complaints," said Regina Calcaterra, D-New Suffolk, a candidate for state Senate from the First Senatorial District.
"Sen. Lavalle's Senate record during that time includes voting more than 500 times to increase taxes, fees or borrowing," Calcaterra said. "In fact, during Sen. LaValle's tenure, property taxes in Suffolk County have increased by more than 550 percent.
"For him to accuse others of blocking tax relief would be comical, were his budget votes in Albany for more than 30 years not so detrimental to residents of Eastern Suffolk County and all of New York," Calcaterra said.
"While acknowledging budget proposals so far are not perfect, Calcaterra said these problems are the result of decades of failed legislative leadership on budget issues. She is proposing significant reforms in financial reporting by state agencies and authorities, cuts in wasteful spending and greater efforts to restore fair share to Long Island taxpayers."
Republicans have presided over 44 years of corrupt deals, deficits and dysfunction. New Yorkers face one of the highest state and local tax rates in the nation, but Long Island residents in particular have suffered a heavy burden. Republicans like LaValle won't be able to run from that record this year.
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