Leader Kolb in the News
Thompson eyes state budget effect
By Julie Sherwood, staff writer
(photo provided)
Canandaigua, N.Y. —
Details on how hospitals will fare under the state budget expected to pass this week won’t be certain for a while, as finance officers review numbers in the coming weeks. But a few elements became clear in Sunday’s closed-door deal struck on the tentative budget for hospitals and other health-care
facilities.
For one, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Legislature have agreed on a 2 percent cut in Medicaid reimbursement, something that was expected before Sunday. For another, the Legislature has struck from the budget Cuomo’s proposed cap on medical malpractice payments.
Mark Prunoske is chief financial officer and senior vice president of finance for Thompson Health, which includes Thompson Hospital in and the M.M. Ewing Continuing Care Center in Canandaigua.
Prunoske said Friday the 2 percent cut in Medicaid reimbursement would have its biggest impact on revenue for the 188-bed Continuing Care Center. The not-for-profit residential health care facility offers skilled nursing, medical adult day health care and short stay care. At the center, Medicaid accounts for 68 percent of the business, he said. At Thompson hospital, it accounts for less than 10 percent. All together, annual revenue for Thompson Hospital and Continuing Care is about $105 million. With the Medicaid reimbursement cut, revenue for the hospital would decrease by $127,000; for Continuing Care, it would decrease by $212,000.
“With long-term care seeing the biggest impact,” said Prunoske, it’s cause for concern, though not alarm.
“Ultimately, we can’t compromise on patient quality. We have to treat everyone for the services they are here for,” he said. At the same time, with less revenue, “we are looking at all the services we offer,” he said, to decide which, if any, cost more than the center can afford to maintain.
As for the Legislature failing to agree on a cap on medical malpractice payments for doctors and hospitals, that could be a source of unraveling the budget deal. On this issue, which gets mixed reviews among various groups ranging from doctors to consumers and lawyers, Prunoske said even a plan for driving down medical premiums for malpractice could take a long time to kick in, anywhere from a year or more.
Thompson is a member of the Healthcare Association of New York State, a non-profit organization representing healthcare networks and hospitals statewide. The advocacy organization helps “look out for our interests,” said Prunoske. Hospital representatives also remain active in lobbying efforts, he said, which include recent meetings with local Albany lawmakers.
They include Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua, and state Sen. Patrick Gallivan, R-Elma. “Both listened, they were receptive,” he said. Kolb, in state government for a number of years, “is very supportive of Thompson,” said Prunoske. With Gallivan, he added, “we have struck up a good relationship.”
Seizing The Moment Brian Kolb’s quest to make the most of the Assembly minority.
Manhattan Media
Andrew J. Hawkins
March 25, 2011
There are two framed quotes hanging outside Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb’s ninth-floor legislative office. One is so well-known by Assembly Republicans that many can recite it by heart.
“It does not require a majority to prevail,” said Samuel Adams, “but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people’s minds.”
The other quote is short, and oddly sourced.
“The cause is just,” said Russell Crowe—not a line from Gladiator, mind you, but from a state legislative clerk with a famous name. Kolb said he liked it well enough to frame it and hang it under the Adams quote.
Both quotes exemplify Kolb’s approach to the job he has held for close to two years now: eternally optimistic about the course he has charted for his members, pragmatic about the challenges they face, and determined to continue pushing conservative causes that, until recently, seemed more in the realm of science fiction than reality: a property tax cap, reduced government spending, ethics reform.
That approach, he said, has served him well so far.
“I focus on solutions and ideas to problems,” Kolb says, “not just complaining about them.”
At a recent meeting with representatives from McLane Co., a food service supply company that stocks chain restaurants like Applebee’s and Panda Express, Kolb was mostly silent, listening as his fellow business men and women (Kolb is the former president of Refractron Technologies, a company that manufactures “technical ceramics,” and a co-founder of the North American Filter Corporation) tick through the litany of problems of growing a business in New York. They want tax relief. They want exemptions from onerous government regulations. And they want Kolb to come visit their plant. Please.
But there are no immediate solutions to discuss. After all, Kolb is just the minority leader in a chamber dominated by Democrats. His members chair no committees, have zero sway over the budget and cannot even introduce their own bills without Democratic co-sponsorship. Even the Republican conference newsletter is edited by Democrats before being mailed out.
But the winds of change are blowing, and the McLane people are hopeful that Kolb, with his business-friendly smile and a handshake that seems to suggest lower taxes, may be rising up the ladder of influence.
The Assembly Republicans are having something of a moment this year. Kolb’s conference recently grew by almost 40 percent, which, for the first time in 20 years, has deprived the Assembly Democrats their veto-proof majority. The Republicans are back in control of the Senate. And Gov. Andrew Cuomo is talking about capping taxes, consolidating government agencies, slashing spending and ending unfunded mandates, all of which the Assembly Republicans claim as ideas that originated in their conference.
Much like Bill Clinton is touted as the nation’s “first black president,” many of them hope—with apologies to George Pataki—that Cuomo, despite his name, office and party affiliation, may turn out to be the state’s first Assembly Republican governor.
On Feb. 16, more than four months after the general election, the state Board of Elections certified Tom Kirwan, a former New York City narcotics officer and ex-Assembly member, as the winner in the race for his old district seat, the 100th. The decision was a milestone for Kolb, both symbolically and politically. With Kirwan’s win, Kolb’s conference stands at 51 members, robbing the Democrats of the needed votes to override a veto from the governor.
But so what?
“It’s still 51 to 99,” said one Assembly Democrat.
“Irrelevant,” chuckled another Democrat.
And why would the Democrats want to override one of Cuomo’s vetoes, Democrats wonder. Besides, next year the economy will be better, Obama will be back on the ticket and the Tea Party will havecooled down substantially since its debut three years ago. By the time voters go to the polls in November, 2010 may seem like a distant fever dream. The Democrats might even pick up a few seats, winning back those areas in and around urban districts like Buffalo and Rochester that they lost by ignoring some of the larger trends afoot.
Very few Democrats were willing to talk openly about their colleagues across the aisle, citing ongoing budget negotiations. But some Republicans sense a growing fear among the once dominant majority conference. Not fear of a takeover, which is hardly imminent, but fear of actually having to acknowledge the Republican conference’s existence.
“I don’t think it was a fluke,” Kolb said of 2010. “We were outspent $8 million to $2 million. We had 33 incumbents come back. We didn’t lose a single incumbent. We had nine retirements and we won every one of those….Between the special election and general elections, we took 11 seats that we’ve added to our conference, on the least amount of money spent by anybody in New York state politics.”
The freshman class of 2011 is certainly an intriguing bunch.
One of those members is Nicole Malliotakis, a former flack at Con Edison who defeated Janelle Hyer-Spencer in her Brooklyn/Staten Island district to become Republican Assembly member number two within the five boroughs. (Lou Tobacco, a fellow Staten Islander, is the other.) Knocking out Hyer-Spencer was a priority for the Assembly Republicans, and Malliotakis accomplished just that. She is often touted by the leadership as exactly the type of candidate they wish they could clone: young (she is 30), ethnically diverse (she is half Greek, half Cuban) and female.
“There’s a lot of new blood and new ideas,” Malliotakis said. “It’s a good mix.”
Aside from Malliotakis though, only one other female Republican, Claudia Tenney, was elected to the Assembly last year. The conference’s leadership acknowledge that this is a problem.
Instead, the conference added a lot of candidates like Kirwan, a 77-years-old white guy and ex-lawmaker to boot. Or Dean Murray, the first elected Tea Party activist elected to office in New York. Or Steve Katz, a veterinarian who won Greg Ball’s former Assembly seat and says he is uninterested in making friends with the Democrats who control the chamber, or for that matter, even following Kolb’s lead of polite opposition.
“I hear from the different leaders that it’s not right if you’re in someone’s house to kick the host in the shins – okay?” Katz said by phone from his home in Mohegan Lake, N.Y., where he was laid up with a broken leg. “I don’t agree with that at all. Whose house are we talking about here? The people’s house?”
In a tone that sounds distinctly like Carl Paladino, Katz said he has not discussed his shin-kicking strategy with Kolb, but believes he and the other 16 freshmen members of the conference need to speak with one voice in opposition to Silver and the Democrats.
“Silver been here for 18 years,” Katz said. “I’m a businessman. If he were working for me, he’d have been fired.”
No offense to Steve Katz or the rest of the rootin’-tootin’ freshmen Assembly Republican gang, but Silver is not going anywhere. If anything, he is probably happy about losing nine seats of his conference, his members argue. Ninety-nine members, after all, are much easier to manage than 107.
So all the talk about victories and milestones among Assembly Republicans is probably premature. Unless, as many believe they will, the conference can grow even more in 2012.
“No one said 51 would be realistic,” said Assembly Member Will Barclay, co-chair of the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee. “I think there’s still seats out there that could help us get to 60.”
Barclay said he has not discussed with Kolb yet what the conference’s goals for 2012 would be, nor have they begun to map out a strategy in earnest. But he and many others in the minority seem to believe that future victories are not just a pipe dream.
As of January, RACC has just under $200,000 in its account, and another $54,000 in its housekeeping account. By comparison, the Assembly Democrats have over $750,000 in their housekeeping account and a $26,000 deficit in their campaign account.
Michael Fitzpatrick, a Suffolk County Republican who often brags about being the most conservative member of the chamber, said New York City could keep its 68 Democratic members. The state’s other Assembly Democrats, though, should be worried.
“There will be some members in rural and suburban districts, who are going to be looking over their shoulder more often, as they should,” Fitzpatrick said.
Many of the pick-ups last year were marginal Democrats in suburban or exurban swing districts. Democrats wonder whether there is any low hanging fruit left for Republicansto pick.
“One of the things that happens in an election like that, the number of marginals that you have decreases,” said one Assembly Democrat.
Assembly Republicans are unlikely to get much help from the state GOP, despite Chairman Ed Cox’s effusive praise for the minority conference and what they have been able to accomplish with so little. Much of the fundraising and candidate recruitment will be left to RACC, which has struggled to raise as much the Democrats.
The real battle in 2012 will be in the State Senate, where Republicans hold a slim two-seat majority. Republican operatives predict that whatever funds are raised in the state over the next two years will go toward strengthening the party’s hold on that chamber, with little left over for Assembly races.
Cox said that despite limited resources, there will be a trickle down effect for Assembly Republican candidates in 2012.
“Every time we make a campaign stop and get earned media, we make sure our Assembly candidates are there,” Cox said.
The conference can continue to serve as a back bench—although Kolb prefers “farm team”—for races for higher office. Members are quick to note that George Pataki was once an Assembly Republican, as was Teddy Roosevelt. Fifty-one members are, technically, 51 candidates for State Senate, for statewide office, for Congress.
Marcus Molinaro has already tossed his hat into the race for Dutchess County executive. Likewise Jane Corwin for Congress. And if Democratic Reps. Bill Owens, Brian Higgins or Tim Bishop decide to pose for any shirtless Craigslist ads anytime soon, there will be a crop of local Assembly Republicans eager to fall in line.
Bob Oaks, who chairs RACC along with Barclay, said that so many of the conference’s members have moved on to higher office, he sometimes feels like the reluctant parent, watching his children graduate to bigger and better things.
“You may not like seeing where they’re going, but you can’t help but be positive and encourage it,” said Oaks. “Obviously losing people, it means another election. We know that’s part of the effort…It makes the burden a little bit greater.”
But then there is redistricting, Armageddon for Assembly Republicans.
James Conte, a Long Island Republican and minority leader pro tempore, remembers the post-1990 redistricting—a time he calls “the great unequalizer.” That year, the conference was positively swelling with 56 members. But after the lines were redrawn, several Republican members were forced to run against each other in primaries. The same thing happened in 2000, when the conference lost one upstate seat and one in Long Island.
“We’ve been here before,” Conte said. “We’ve always been backtracked by a very partisan redistricting plan.”
A district like the 127th, which is represented by Assembly Republican Peter Lopez, is ripe for redrawing, say sources close to the redistricting process. Lopez’s district, which was once held by former gubernatorial candidate John Faso, covers five different counties: Otsego, Deleware, Schoharie, Greene and Columbia. In other words, a few too many.
“How do you work a district like that?” said one Democratic source.
On the Assembly floor in early March, the Assembly Republicans huddled in the southeastern corner of the chamber, laughing and snacking on fruit from the break room. Few seemed to be paying much attention to history-in-the-making on the other side of the aisle. They didn’t need to.
The Democrats were in the process of electing three new members to the state Board of Regents, among them the panel’s first openly gay member, James Cottrell. Democrats from both the Assembly and Senate spoke in praise of the new members. But the Republicans were having none of it. And as Silver began calling the role, one after another, they voted no.
Not on the candidates, but on the institution.
Many argued the Board was unnecessary and duplicative, performing many of the tasks that could be done by the state education commissioner. Some skipped the vote, complaining that the joint-session of the Assembly and Senate to elect the new board members wrongfully put all the power in the hands of the Democrats. Others griped about only being told about two of the new members just hours before the vote.
Privately, the Republicans bragged that without the Senate Democrats in the room, the Assembly would lack the necessary votes to elect the members.
Assembly Republicans often boast about being an incubator for ideas. That while they lack the power to pass legislation or lead the chamber, they still put out policy proposals that eventually worm their way into the main conversation. They claim credit of workers’ compensation reform during the Spitzer administration, as well as killing the ex-governor’s plan to give drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. This time around, they are taking credit for a few of Cuomo’s ideas: government consolidation, mandate relief, property tax relief.
“They keep coming up with new ideas and advancing them,” said Tom Reynolds, a former Assembly Republican, congressman and chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee. “They may not have their name on it, but they’re going to get some results.”
This is how the Assembly Republicans can stay relevant through the 2012 elections, Kolb said. And they have not abdicated their role as thorn in the side of the Assembly Democrats. Not by a long shot.
Take for instance the recent letter sent to Cuomo arguing for an extension of the millionaires’ tax. Only 69 of the 99-member majority conference signed the letter. In the past, Silver might have gotten more of his marginal members—those representing rural and conservative districts—to sign on in support of extending what Kolb calls “the success tax,” but not this year.
“They’ve lost cover for some their marginal members,” he said. “That makes a difference in the dynamics of what bill might come out or not come out.”
Bragging about restricting the number of Democrats who chose to sign on in support higher taxes for the wealthy shows just how desperate the Assembly Republicans are for a voice in state government.
To be sure, at the end of the week, when each member makes the long (or short) trek back to the district, the burdens lift and the frustrations evaporate. There, Assembly Republicans can still hold their heads up high. In Albany, the majority party sneezes, and the capital press corps falls all over itself to cover it. At home, Assembly Republicans field requests from TV new reporters (TV!) for interviews on local talk shows.
But once Monday rolls around, it’s back to Albany. And back to the minority.
“Where do we go next?” Kolb asked.
Last year they made out like gangbusters, sure. But their ability to hold the line or grow the conference is, like most things in the Assembly, completely out of their hands.
“I’d like to think we did a pretty darn good job of taking advantage of the right time, with the right message, with the right candidates,” Kolb said about 2010. “Can that happen in 2012? Well, big question mark.”
Last-ditch pitch made for millionaires tax
Written by Nick Reisman nreisman@gannett.com
Source: ITHACA JOURNAL, March 15, 2011
ALBANY — Despite a day of noisy protests at the state Capitol and support from powerful Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a tax on high-income earners faces a dim chance of being enacted into law.
The tax, which would affect those making more than $1 million a year, is a modification of the surcharge currently in place on single filers who make $200,000 or more and couples whose joint income is $300,000 or more.
That tax is set to expire at the end of the year, a sunset date that is backed by both Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Senate Republicans.
And GOP lawmakers and Cuomo, a Democrat, have been steadfast in saying they would not accept a re-approval of the current tax or adjusting to include those with higher incomes.
But liberal legislators were able to push Silver, D-Manhattan, to include a tax on millionaires, which would bring $700 million in revenue.
Silver said Tuesday that including the tax in the budget would help close the $10 billion deficit projected for 2011-12 and go toward reducing the hole that is expected in 2012-13, about $2.2 billion.
“We provide the mechanism that we balance the budget this year and balance the budget next year,” Silver said.
Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua, Ontario County, said the inclusion of the tax was merely a “political statement” by Silver.
“The governor said no, the Senate Republicans said no and we said no,” Kolb said. “So I don’t know how it stays.”
Earlier in the day, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County, rejected any notion that the tax would be approved by his conference, even if it was linked to a long-sought cap on property taxes.
“We’re not going to support the millionaires tax increase. It’s a tax increase and I’m extremely pleased that Governor Cuomo continues to say, ‘No way,”‘ Skelos said.
An attempt to pass a similar tax to the Assembly version in the Senate fizzled quickly last week.
Sen. John Bonacic, R-Mount Hope, Orange County, introduced a tax bill, but fellow GOP lawmakers rushed to say they would not support the provision.
Business groups bitterly oppose a millionaires tax, saying it drives industry and jobs out of the state. New Yorkers live under one of the highest tax burdens in the country, according to the Tax Foundation.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, an activist group of about 100 protestors supporting the millionaires tax held a noisy demonstration outside of Cuomo’s second-floor office in the Capitol, demanding to speak with a top-level aide in the governor’s office.
At one point, the group spotted Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy and chanted, “We want Duffy! We want Duffy!”
The protest — which included a man wearing a mask resembling New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — lasted for about 30 minutes before Cuomo’s communications director, Richard Bamberger, accepted a packet of information from the group.
“The people are listening and they’re clear on the message,” said activist Agnes Rivera. “He (Cuomo) is calling this a budget crisis, but it’s really a revenue crisis.”
Cuomo was in Essex County on Tuesday and had no public schedule.
Kevin Frisch: For GOP, a triumphant trifecta
Source: Henrietta Post.com
By Kevin Frisch, columnist
In politics, as in life, sometimes you just get dealt a really good hand.
New York’s Assembly minority leader, Republican Brian Kolb of Canandaigua, held such cards during the previous legislative session. Democrats controlled not only his chamber but the state Senate and the governor’s mansion — and they made a botch of pretty much everything they touched: The governor had to resign; his successor was ineffective; the Senate was temporarily overtaken by a GOP coup; annual budgets were indefensibly bloated; and nary a step was taken in the direction of government transparency or reform.
All Kolb had to do was talk common sense — which he did, beating the drum for a Constitutional Convention and more responsible budgeting, among other things — to seem like the only grown-up in Albany. The fact that he was not only on the right side of the issues but that his targets were of the opposite political persuasion — well, I never heard him complain about it.
Congressional Republicans find themselves holding a similar hand as they size up President Obama across the Capitol Hill poker table.
Sent to Washington on a declared mission to cut spending, a’cutting they have gone. The bill passed in the Republican-led House to fund government operations for the rest of this year includes $61 billion in spending reductions (down from the $100 billion initially sought, but still quite a chunk). Score one for the GOP.
The targets of those cuts, by and large, are agencies and programs towards which conservatives are traditionally hostile: Public Broadcasting, Planned Parenthood, Head Start, home-heating aid. Score another for the GOP.
And estimates are that the cuts will prop up unemployment in the next two years by eliminating jobs totaling anywhere from 200,000 (Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s estimate) to 700,000 (Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi’s estimate) — thus bedeviling President Obama’s efforts to hold the White House. Score one more for the GOP.
No public servant is going to hope for high unemployment, I’m not suggesting that level of cynicism in Republican budget-cutting proposals. But it is widely believed a jobless rate above 8 percent is an all but insurmountable hurdle for a sitting president seeking re-
election. Writing of Friday’s dip in the unemployment rate, Paul Bedard of U.S News & World Report said, “The surprise job growth was exactly what several economists and political advisers said would have to happen if Obama was going to be able to shake off concerns about joblessness and keep his job.”
So if persistent unemployment is the cost of reining in government spending by terminating initiatives they didn’t like in the first place, well, one could imagine Republicans swallowing that pill with a feigned frown.
Delivering on spending cuts. Doing away with long-reviled programs. And complicating the president’s re-election efforts. That’s a pretty good hand.
As they size each other up while gambling over a government shutdown, it will be interesting to see what cards Obama plays.
Messenger managing editor Kevin Frisch’s column, Funny Thing …, appears each Sunday in the Daily Messenger. Contact him at (585) 394-0770, ext. 257, or via e-mail at kfrisch@messengerpostmedia.com.
Kolb wants constituents to share views on key state issues
Auburn Pub.com
Auburn Public Citizen
By Robert Harding AuburnPub.com | Posted: Wednesday, March 2, 2011 1:36 pm
Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb wants to hear from you.
Kolb unveiled his 2011 legislative survey late last week and invited those living in the 129th Assembly District to participate.
The survey consists of 12 questions. Some questions are on general issues (i.e. “Is New York State on the right track?”) while others focus more on specific issues (questions on the 2011-12 budget, same-sex marriage and hydrofracking are examples).
Here is a full list of the topics covered, and the complete survey is below:
- Is New York State on the right track?
- Has the recession ended?
- Did the recession affect you?
- 2011-12 state budget
- Closing state budget deficit
- Property tax cap
- People’s Convention (constitutional convention)
- Redistricting
- Ethics and government reform
- Same-sex marriage
- Hydrofracking
- Telephone town hall
Kolb also made the survey available on his Facebook page.
There are a few ways to submit your survey. You can mail your responses to Kolb’s district office at 607 West Washington St., Suite 2, Geneva, NY 14456. You can also fax your responses to (315) 781-1746, or e-mail your responses tokolbb@assembly.state.ny.us.
Here’s the survey. (And yes, you could print this out and send it to Kolb if you wish.)
Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb: 2011 Legislative Survey
Kolb sends letter to Cuomo with recommendations for redistricting bill
Source: Auburn Public Citizen
Auburn Pub.com, Mar 1, 2011
By Robert Harding
Nearly two weeks ago, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his program bill, Redistricting Reform Act of 2011, that would create an independent redistricting commission.
After Cuomo’s announcement, I spoke with Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb. Kolb said at the time that he didn’t see the Assembly GOP supporting Cuomo’s bill. He thought a few changes needed to be made to the legislation that would allow the Assembly Republicans to support it.
On Monday, Kolb announced that he sent a letter to Governor Cuomo outlining his recommendations for the redistricting bill.
In a statement, Kolb said if the recommendations are included in the bill, he will back it.
“Last Friday, I sent Governor Cuomo and my fellow Leaders a letter outlining my modifications to the legislation,” Kolb said. “My recommendations called for Long Island, the North Country and Southern Tier having a redistricting public hearing, ensuring that inmates are counted where they are incarcerated, as our State Constitution requires, making certain the Redistricting Commission does not provide any advantage to either Democrats or Republicans, and that both the Legislative and Executive Branches have an equal say on the Commission and its composition. Once these recommendations have been considered and included as part of any final redistricting bill, I will gladly co-sponsor the measure. Assembly Republicans have been long-time advocates of an Independent Legislative Redistricting Commission and I have continually called for it as one of the many non-partisan reforms that should be considered during a ‘People’s Constitutional Convention’ to fix our broken state government.”
I have included Kolb’s letter below, but here is a summary of his recommendations:
- Increase the number of members of the Independent Redistricting Nominations Committee from eight to 10 members and decrease the number of gubernatorial appointments from four to two.
Kolb added that the governor should be required to select one Democrat and one Republican for the committee.
Cuomo’s legislation calls for an eight-member nominations committee and the governor would make four of those appointments.
Kolb argued that this portion of the bill Cuomo put forth would favor one political party.
- Require a supermajority vote of seven of the ten members to select each person included in the nominations pool. According to Kolb, this will “ensure that at least one appointee of one of the two legislative leaders, opposite the party of the sitting governor, would have to vote in favor of each person selected to the nominations poll, achieving a truly bi-partisan selection process.”
- Kolb asked that two items be included in the bill’s language, including a section that would count inmates in the districts they are being housed, not their home district.
- Kolb wants to see the Independent Redistricting Commission conduct at least one public hearing on Long Island, in the North Country and Southern Tier. Kolb acknowledges in his letter that Cuomo calls for public hearings to be held in several parts of the state, but the three aforementioned regions are excluded.
Kirwan returns, Assembly GOP is ‘super minority’
Source: Albany Times Union
Capitol Confidential
Jimmy Vielkind, Capitol bureau
At least, that’s the term Republican State Chairman Ed Cox used to describe the 51-vote Assembly Republican conference, whose ranks have swollen over the past several election cycle. Cox says this is important because it blocks Democrats from overriding a gubernatorial veto with a strict, party-line vote.
Kirwan, a retired state trooper, represented the 100th District for several terms before losing, narrowly, to Frank Skartados in 2008. His election just cleared several legal challenges.
Here’s the release from the Assembly Republicans.
Assembly Republican Leader Brian M. Kolb (R,I,C-Canandaigua) and
his colleagues today welcomed returning Assemblyman Tom Kirwan
(R,C,I-Newburgh) back into their fold at a public swearing-in ceremony at
the New York State Capitol in Albany. The Hon. Catherine Bartlett, Court of
Claims Judge and Acting Supreme Court Justice, presided over the event.
Kirwan’s wife, Verna, held the Bible as the Assemblyman took his oath of
office.Kirwan, a lifelong resident of the City of Newburgh, represents the 100th
Assembly District, which is comprised of the Town and City of Newburgh in
Orange County, the cities of Beacon and Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County, and
the Ulster County towns of Marlboro, Lloyd and Shawangunk.“I am happy to welcome my good friend, Tom Kirwan, back to Albany today,”
Kolb said. “Tom has always been known as a true reformer and man of the
people. No matter what the issue – whether he’s fighting to keep violent
criminals off our streets, working to pass a responsible, on-time budget, or
advocating for reform of government dysfunction – we can always count on Tom’s
honesty, integrity and intelligence. We are truly blessed to have him on our
team once again.”Prior to his political career, Kirwan served for 28 years as a
New York State Trooper, retiring as a Lieutenant in the Bureau of Criminal
Investigations. He spent his last four years with the State Police in
Manhattan, as part of the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, where he
investigated mid to upper level drug dealers in New York City.“It’s great to be back,” Kirwan said. “I’d like to thank Leader
Kolb, the entire Assembly Republican Conference, for their continued
friendship and support, and – most importantly – my wife Verna for a
lifetime of love and encouragement. I always enjoyed my time in Albany, and
it will be fun to be working with the Governor, who’s practicing what this
Conference has been preaching for two decades. And last but not least, I’d
like to thank Judge Katie Bartlett for taking time out of her busy schedule
to perform this ceremony.”
Auburn Public Citizen
Auburn Pub.com
EYE ON ALBANY by Robert Harding
Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb and the Assembly Republican Conference will welcome their 51st member on Monday.
Tom Kirwan will be sworn in at 1 p.m. Monday.
Kirwan was recently named the winner of the 100th Assembly District race, defeating incumbent Democrat Frank Skartados.
Online producer RoberHarding’s Eye on Albanycolumn appears Sundays inThe Citizen. Head to
auburnpub.com/eyeonalbany
to read his blog. Harding can be reached at 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding
Viewpoints: Put 2 percent property tax cap in budget
By Brian Sampson
UNSHACKLE UPSTATE
Source: Utica Observer Dispatch
Posted Feb 25, 2011 @ 05:33 PM
During his first month as governor, Andrew Cuomo moved aggressively to deliver on his vital campaign pledge to build a “New New York.”
We were pleased that the governor made the first bill of his administration a measure to cap real property taxes at 2 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. Days later, the state Senate overwhelmingly passed the bill with bipartisan support.
We were hopeful that the bill would have received the same support in the lower house. However, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assembly Majority Leader Ron Canestrari recently said that property tax relief is not an immediate priority, and indicated that the issue should be addressed after the state budget is enacted.
The governor can force action on a property tax cap by including his proposal in his budget amendments, which are due in early March. Last June, as attorney general, Cuomo publicly called on Gov. David Paterson to include a property tax cap in his budget extender bills.
Then-Attorney General Cuomo was correct in pushing this process last year, and Unshackle Upstate is calling on Gov. Cuomo to do something very similar and include his property tax cap bill in his 30-day budget amendments.
The widespread support for a real property tax cap is evident. A January Siena Research Institute poll found that 83 percent of New Yorkers support a property tax cap. The bill passed the Senate with support from all parts of the state, including New York City. Several senior Assembly Democrats have come out in support of a property tax cap, including Assemblyman Joe Morelle and Assemblyman Robin Schimminger. Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb has indicated that the entire membership of his conference – now 51 members – support the 2 percent property tax cap.
This year, the governor is attempting to cut spending, and proposes reducing aid to local governments. If there is no property tax cap in place, these local governments – now looking for new revenue – may simply raise property taxes on homeowners and businesses to make up for the loss of funding from Albany.
We cannot allow this tax shift to happen.
The taxpayers and businesses of New York cannot afford any further delays and uncertainty; it is time to deliver on the promise of property tax relief. Gov. Cuomo has shown true leadership on this issue by making a property tax cap one of his top priorities. Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos has done his part by putting the bill on the Senate floor for a vote. Since the Assembly has not yet followed suit, Gov. Cuomo has the power and responsibility to make this issue a part of the budget discussion and get it enacted into law.
We will continue our fight and advocacy for a property tax cap of 2 percent in the halls of the Capitol and in the communities throughout the state. Our efforts will not stop until real property tax relief is delivered to residents and businesses of this state.
Brian Sampson is executive director of Unshackle Upstate, a bipartisan coalition of more than 80 business and trade organizations representing upward of 70,000 companies and employing more than 1.5 million people. It is based in Rochester.
Copyright 2011 The Observer-Dispatch, Utica, New York. Some rights reserved
Eye on Albany: Hanna opposes Cayuga’s land in trust request
The issues involving the Cayuga Indian Nation of New York’s application to place 129 acres of land into federal trust has captured the attention of local, state and federal officials for years.
Now, the new congressman representing the counties impacted by the Cayuga Indian Nation’s application is sharing his views on the issue.
Rep. Richard Hanna represents the 24th Congressional District, which includes all or parts of Cayuga and Seneca counties. In a letter dated Feb. 14, Hanna wrote to Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk to express his opposition to the pending application.
Echo Hawk heads the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs.
In his letter, Hanna said the application “would have a serious negative economic and political impact on localities in my district.” Hanna cited the BIA’s Final Environmental Impact Statement released last fall that said the towns affected by the application would see a loss of 0.4 to 2.61 percent of their tax base.
“As a federal representative for Cayuga and Seneca counties, I believe that the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) released late last year by your agency did not appropriately include the legitimate and serious concerns of local leaders, residents, community groups, and businesses in the counties,” Hanna wrote in the letter. “I further maintain that the FEIS was insignificantly changed from the draft version released in 2009.”
According to the FEIS executive summary, the Cayugas want the land into trust to “address the Nation’s need for cultural and social preservation, political self-determination, self-sufficiency, and economic growth as a federal recognized Indian tribe.” The land the Cayugas are looking to put into trust is located in the the Town of Seneca Falls in Seneca County and two Cayuga County municipalities: the Town of Springport and Village of Union Springs.
The tribe would use the land to continue operating two gas stations, two convenience stores and a car wash, according to the FEIS executive summary. The tribe also plans on re-opening two closed gaming facilities if their application is approved.
At the conclusion of his letter, Hanna called on the BIA to reject the Cayuga application “as soon as possible.”
For Hanna, this marks the first time he has shared his views on the issue affecting the tribe and local communities.
Shortly after winning the election over Michael Arcuri in November, Hanna said he would be looking into learning more about the land-into-trust application and the impact it would have on communities in his district.
In an interview with me earlier this month, Hanna said he hopes to get this resolved during his first two-year term and that he is committed to getting this settled.
“I am someone who is looking forward to an opportunity to be part of the resolution of this,” he said. “It’s dragged on way too long. It is a very scary issue for a lot of locals as the tribes buy up land, potentially take it off the tax rolls and all that ensues around that.”
In other news:
• Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb is calling for an immediate vote on the property tax cap legislation that recently passed the New York State Senate.
Kolb said in a statement that the property tax burden New Yorkers face is “crippling our economy and hurting homeowners” in calling for a vote on the bill to take place.
“I am calling for an immediate vote on a property tax cap and urging Governor Cuomo to call on Speaker (Sheldon) Silver to bring the property tax cap to the floor,” Kolb said. “Assembly Republicans introduced a property tax cap bill years ago and we are prepared to vote today.”
• Kolb and his Assembly Republican colleagues will welcome their 51st member now that the 100th Assembly District race has been decided.
Tom Kirwan won the race after an appellate court decision and incumbent Democrat Frank Skartados conceded the race.
Kirwan’s victory not only represents an increase of nine members for the Assembly GOP from last year’s membership, but it also marks the end of the Democratic Party’s veto-proof majority in the Assembly.
• Colin Schmitt, chairman of reform-minded group New Dawn NY, will join me for a live discussion at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Schmitt will be online to discuss his group’s initiative targeting double-dipping by politicians, along with other issues.
Participate in the chat by heading to auburnpub.com/citizenlive. You can send me your questions ahead of time torobert.harding@lee.net or on Twitter @robertharding.
Online producer Robert Harding’s Eye on Albany column appears Sundays in The Citizen. Head toauburnpub.com/eyeonalbany to read his blog. Harding can be reached at 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding
