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The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of New York State and asked of all candidates for this office.
See below for questions on
Gambling Revenue,
Redistricting,
Opportunity for Youth,
Redistricting,
Joint Committees,
Public School Financing
Click on a name for candidate information. See also more information about this contest.
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1. What programs and actions will you support to protect communities from the negative consequences of the state’s increasing dependence on gambling revenue?
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Answer from Mark J Trabucco:
All too frequently in New York, the main tool for economic development is little more than some form of tax abatement. Whenever this occurs, the costs of providing critical services to those businesses fall to the local property owner, frequently someone on fixed income. These methods simply do not work. "Taxes," wrote Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, "are what we pay for a civilized society." It is important to acknowledge that few like to pay taxes. It is also important to acknowledge that revenue from citizens, business and industry is the vital fluid that funds our schools, colleges and universities, our bridges and roads, our police, our system of public health, and, to a significant degree, our private health care system. It is the obligation of government to use the power of taxation prudently and wisely in the pursuit of a strong and vibrant public sector that is in the interest of all citizens and is the basis of a strong economy.
Unfortunately, the wise use of taxation has not been consistently applied to New York State. Leadership and imagination are lacking when the primary way we attract new businesses is by tax abatement. Other states have succeeded in growing an industrial base by using a combination of job training in tandem with industry to encourage future-oriented job growth.
Job growth is the simplest way to end our over-alliance on property taxes. We must foster and cultivate our own small- to mid-sized companies. These offer the greatest opportunity for new jobs with the least expenditure. This will stop, or at least reduce, the out-migration of our young entrepreneurs.
Property taxes have been the relief valve for the pressure of unenlightened governmental spending. As a result, New Yorkers pay the highest property taxes in the country. New York also has the second highest debt in the country. These two facts mean that we cannot continue as we have in the past.
The Senate GOP has stalled a number of reforms to New York's economic development programs. These programs, such as the Empire Zone Program and the Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs), were put in place to spark economic growth and new jobs.
Even though the Pataki Administration has provided nearly $30 billion in business tax breaks since 1995, job creation in New York continues to be well below expectations.
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2. Legislative district boundary lines are drawn by the legislators themselves and are tied directly to the advantages of party politics. Would you support the establishment of an independent commission as a more open and ethical way to create districts?
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Answer from Mark J Trabucco:
- Redistricting Reform, which eliminates gerrymandering of districts and prevents the disenfranchisement of millions of voters. Every ten years, the Assembly and Senate Districts must be redrawn based on the US Census, in order to maintain "one person, one vote" principal embodied in our constitution. However, this process of redrawing districts has become politically charged, and is often misused for political gain. We need to reform the redistricting process by creating a non-partisan redistricting panel, one that is independent and not beholden to politicians.
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3. Amid the recent reports that more and more young people are leaving upstate cities for better opportunities, what would you propose to reverse this trend?
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Answer from Mark J Trabucco:
- Bring More Jobs by Reforming Empire Zone and IDA Programs:
These programs, originally designed to help distressed areas attract new businesses and create jobs, have become mired in corruption. In fact, the State Comptroller released a study detailing how two-thirds of companies that received IDA assistance created few, if any, jobs. To remedy the situation, Senate Democrats propose to reform these programs by ensuring companies meet job creation standards in order to receive financial assistance.
- Require Developers to `Hire New York':
Another important step in the Democratic plan, this initiative will require developers who receive state or local assistance to employ local labor resources, if available, in the construction of new facilities and infrastructure, thereby creating local jobs and strengthening local economies.
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4. Legislative districts have been determined on a partisan basis. Would you support establishing an independent commission as a more open and ethical way to create the districts? Please explain.
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Answer from Mark J Trabucco:
- Redistricting Reform, which eliminates gerrymandering of districts and prevents the disenfranchisement of millions of voters. Every ten years, the Assembly and Senate Districts must be redrawn based on the US Census, in order to maintain "one person, one vote" principal embodied in our constitution. However, this process of redrawing districts has become politically charged, and is often misused for political gain. We need to reform the redistricting process by creating a non-partisan redistricting panel, one that is independent and not beholden to politicians.
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5. Do you support joint committees to reconcile differences between bills on the same issue passed by both houses of the legislature?
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Answer from Mark J Trabucco:
Yes, as proposed by the Brennan Center in 2004 and again this year. Joint committees and all committees should be used more effectivly.
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6. New York State Legislators did not address the pending CFE (Campaign for Fiscal Equity) suit during the 2006 session. What would you propose to expedite the resolution of the CFE case?
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Answer from Mark J Trabucco:
The Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE) decision in 2001 has been one of the most important rulings for New York schoolchildren in the State's history. The decision + which found large inequities present in New York City schools due to neglect and under funding + ordered the State to resolve such inequities through billions of dollars in increased aid.
According to the decision, the State was in violation of its constitutional obligation to provide a sound, basic education. Since 2001, the CFE decision has been reaffirmed repeatedly, while Governor Pataki has appealed it and Senate Republicans have failed to implement it.
While the CFE lawsuit may have been specific to New York City schools, school funding is a statewide issue, as there are urban, suburban and rural districts in upstate New York and elsewhere that face many of the same problems.
For there to be a true statewide solution to the CFE problem, however, it is clear that a change in leadership of the State Senate is needed. For far too long, the Senate GOP has failed to deliver the required level of resources to help New York's school children.
I am committed to the cause of providing a sound education to all of New York's school children, and will call for a true statewide solution to the CFE problem. Senate Democrats support an agenda which requires fulfillment of the CFE decision, and have put forth their education proposal, which:
Responses to questions asked of each candidate
are reproduced as submitted to the League.
Answers are published as submitted without editing.
The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.
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League of Women Voters of New York Education Foundation
