Campaign Roundup: A Few Good Candidates
By Mike Connery on 10/29/2010 @ 04:50 PM
DAILY CAMPAIGN ROUNDUP … Our roundup of campaign news.
- Senate Dems to GOP: Bull - New York Senate Dems are on the air with a new ad hitting Republicans for their atrocious 4 decade history in the Senate.
- Bill Samuels: Why Electing More Women Will Help Reform Albany - In a year when Democrats are running 12 women candidates, Bill Samuels writes in the Huffington Post about the crucial role of women in delivering on reform.
- A Few Good Candidates - The New York Times comes out strong for Democratic candidates Tony Avella, Mike Kaplowitz and Didi Barrett.
- Saland Hit With Ethics Complaint After Pressuring Firefighters - Steve Saland gets caught muscling local firefighters into supporting his reelection by threatening their grants.
- Schumer Endorses Carlucci, Kaplowitz - US Senator Chuck Schumer makes his first state senate endorsements.
- A Fresh Face for Albany - It's been a long time since the Saratogian endorsed a Democrat for State Senate, but today Joanne Yepsen breaks the streak.
- State Dems: Zeldin Too Extreme for the Senate - The NY Democratic Party is out with a new web video hitting Lee Zeldin for his extremist views and supporters.
- When Principle Matters - The NY Post endorsed the reelection of Senator Craig Johnson today.
- Cuomo Endorses Savage - Andrew Cuomo has endorsed Susan Savage in her race against Hugh Farley.
- LoHud Endorses David Carlucci - The Journal News endorsed David Carlucci today.
- Pretty Angry in Pink - Hugh Farley has offended just about everybody during this final week of the campaign - from the mentally handicapped to LGBT New Yorkers to environmentalists. Susan Savage is calling for an apology.
- Albany Times Union Endorses Savage, Breslin - Two Dem endorsements in today's Albany Times Union.
- Outsiders Juice Up Ads for Quinn, Kennedy - TV ads by outside groups, including Fight Back NY, are flooding the airwaves in SD-58. This is a big race for marriage equality advocates.
- If You Like Carl Paladino, You'll Love Greg Ball - NARAL sends mailers into state senate districts on behalf of Democratic candidates.
Women's Campaign Forum Endorses Didi Barrett
By Mike Connery on 05/25/2010 @ 11:26 AM
The Women's Campaign Forum, a non-partisan national network dedicated to achieving parity for women in public office, endorsed Didi Barrett in her race to unseat twenty-year incumbent Republican Steve Saland.
This is a fitting endorsement. Didi has spent her life working on behalf of women and girls. She was the founder of Girls Inc. of New York and is spearheading the development of the new Dutchess Girls Collaborative. She has served on the boards of the New York Women’s Foundation, the Women’s Campaign Fund, NARAL-NY, and Planned Parenthood NY.
It's also a supremely necessary endorsement. Only 9 of 62 New York State Senators are women, a disparity that Barrett noted in her acceptance of the endorsement:
“I am extremely pleased to receive WCF’s endorsement,” said Barrett. “For all too long, the New York State Senate has been an old boys club that is out of touch with the needs of most New Yorkers, particularly women. The incumbent has been part of that club. Rather than his father-knows-best approach, I believe in an inclusive political process that encourages and empowers all New Yorkers.”
Didi is one of many strong women candidates who are running for Senate this year - including Susan Savage, Joanne Yepsen, Regina Calcaterra, and Kathleen Joy.
You can follow the lead of the Women's Campaign Forum and support Didi's candidacy by signing up on her website and contributing to her effort on her Act Blue page.
Poison Party?
By Mike Connery on 04/21/2010 @ 11:10 AM
Helping children is usually about as uncontroversial an issue as you can find in politics. Children are our future. Everyone is for children. Unless you're in the New York GOP.
Yesterday, as part of a package of Earth Day related legislation, the State Senate passed a bill sponsored by Brian Foley that prohibits the use of certain toxic chemicals for pesticide and weed control at schools.
Bill Before New York State Lawmakers Would Ban Use of Pesticides on School Playing Fields
Chemical companies are pressing lawmakers to vote against the bill. They say pesticides are highly regulated and safe to use.
Children are especially susceptible to pesticides because of their small size and still-developing organs, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Rather than a purely chemical approach, the agency recommends schools use Integrated Pest Management, which combines several more organic and less toxic techniques to manage pests and weeds, such as overseeding, mowing grass taller, watering less and applying “compost tea,” a liquefied form of compost.
“Put simply, IPM is a safer, and usually less costly option for effective pest management in a school community,” EPA regulators said.
It's not just safer, though. It could also save schools money in the long term:
Schools would see a slight increase in cost during the first two years of IPM, but after the third year, the price would fall about 25 percent below the costs of chemical lawn treatment, according to a study by Grassroots Environmental Education, a nonprofit public health advocacy group in Nassau County. That group has offered free training to school groundskeepers on ways to care for fields without pesticides.
Keeps kids healthy? Check. Fiscally responsible? Check. So why are 22 GOP Senators opposed to this again?
New York Senate Dems Hits Republicans on Taxes and Budget
By Mike Connery on 04/16/2010 @ 05:26 PM
Yesterday was tax day, and once again hard-working New Yorkers sent too much of their tax dollars to Albany.
While New Yorkers continue to pay more than their fair share, Republicans are sitting on the sidelines, running from decades-long record of taxing, spending and borrowing away the financial stability of our state. To add insult to injury, they are refusing to participate constructively in the current budget process, and trying to blame Democrats for their own mess.
New York Senate Dems are determined to hold Republicans accountable for these actions.
Today we launched a series of robocalls into the districts of 14 Republicans who are ducking and dodging their record on taxes while the people of New York foot the bill. Calls were placed into the districts of Dean Skelos, Steve Saland, Hugh Farley, Roy McDonald, Owen Johnson, Kemp Hannon, John DeFrancisco, Tom Libous, Joe Robach, Michael Ranzenhofer, Ken LaValle, James Alesi, Frank Padavan and Joe Griffo.
Voters in each of those districts received a call informing them of their Senator's record on the budget and taxes, and asking them to call and ask their Senator to work with Democrats to resolve our state's budget crisis.
You can listen to a few of those calls below:
Dean Skelos
Kemp Hannon
Owen Johnson
Senate Republicans bear the brunt of responsibility for landing us in our current fiscal straits. They owe it to their constituents, and to all New Yorkers, to engage in good faith negotiations to help fix their mess.
We're not going to let them run from their record any longer.
Ed Note - We're still in beta and working out the hiccups, and this post was accidentally deleted from our system on Monday April 19th. A new copy was uploaded on Tuesday April 20.
Steve Saland Has a Challenge in Didi Barrett
By Mike Connery on 04/07/2010 @ 02:26 PM
Earlier today, Didi Barrett announced that she will challenge 19 year incumbent Steve Saland in the 41st Senate District. If you're not following her campaign already, you can find her website here, friend her on Facebook, and donate to the campaign via Act Blue.
This is great news Columbia and Dutchess County residents. Saland's tenure has been a nightmare of bloated budgets and crushing tax increases. In his 19 years in office, Saland:
- Indulged in out of control spending for over a decade. Between 1996 and 2008, the state budget doubled from $62 billion to $121 billion.
- Drove New York’s finances to the brink when he supported $25 billion in risky fiscal gimmicks like sweeps and “one-shots.”
- Voted for 378 tax and fee increases or extensions since gaining office, taking almost $18 billion out of the pocket books of hard working New Yorkers.
- Helped to create the heaviest state and local tax burden in the nation.
Columbia and Dutchess County voters need a change. Here's what Didi Barrett had to say during her announcement:
Too many people have lost faith in our State Government. This is not the New York -- the Empire State -- we all thought we knew.
Until we fundamentally change the way business is done in Albany we will not be able to turn our economy around. We cannot truly help Main Street until we fix State Street.
We need a hands-on jobs program -- and the training and incentives to insure that these jobs go to locla residents. It's time to employ the old carrot and stick approach: Incentives to attract and expand local business, as well as accountability that good jobs will be created right here when taxpayer funds are involved. Companies that outsource jobs overseas should lose their tax breaks. It's just that simple.
There are real opportunities for sustainable growth in renewable energy, the agriculture economy, and cultural tourism that protect our environment and tap into the best of our region's assets.
I spoke with young farmers, who literally want to put down roots, cultivate our prime soils and feed our region and its growing appetite for locally grown products. But unless they inherit a farm, they cannot afford to buy land here. We need to support and encourage these young entrepreneurs.
We need to address runaway property taxes not by short-term band-aids, but by creating a tax structure that is fair to seniors and working families and welcoming to the small businesses that are the engine of our economy.
We need a sustainable way of funding education. This is not just about us; this is about our children. We are letting them down. Our system is simply outdated and we need leadership that will start making the tough choices to fix it.
These are not easy tasks. I know that. But I believe we are at a moment in time -- our moment in time. We have a great opportunity to rebuild a broken Albany and live up to our name as the Empire State. We are ready for a New York state government that works for us, the people, not the politicians.
I am running for the New York State Senate to bring your voices to Albany. We are going to run a grassroots campaign. We are going to show a way to move this state forward. We are going to bring change to Albany and bring jobs to New York. I hope you'll come along with us.
