Fundraisers galore

   'Tis the season for fundraising.

   The festivities get under way when Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos of Rockville Center makes the local rounds tonight. Following an airport press conference, Skelos will make the required appearance before the Conservative Party's annual bash at Lucarelli's Banquet Center in Lackawanna. He then heads to Amherst for the party's big spring dinner, which also ranks as a major attraction on the statewide political tour.

    The Conservatives' "Spring Get-Together" usually serves as a real indicator about who's in and who's out, who's hot and who's not in the upcoming political season. With designating petitions set to hit the streets in about a month, political observers expect the Conservative gathering to provide a decent hint about who will be serious about running this year.

   On the Democratic side, Assemblyman Sam Hoyt hosts a major luncheon event on Friday at E.B. Green's Steakhouse at the Hyatt Regency Buffalo for Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. The affair cements a long and close political relationship between Hoyt and the attorney general, whom many predict could emerge as the Democratic candidate for governor next year should incumbent David A. Paterson's numbers continue to fall.

-- Robert J. McCarthy 

Comments

[Karen Snyder]

Same Ole... Same Olde...

Wouldn't it be nice to get fresh faces with new ideas.

The Cuomos want to be like another political monarchy.

Guiliani will try too. After all he believes the crooks on Wall Street deserved their bonuses.

I think Chris Collin could beat them all and reform NYS government.

[James]

How much will Republican Sharon Townsend be making at her new big State job. And what about the new Republican Purchasing Agent that Chris Collins hired, how much is her salary? Or, are you just interested in the salaries of Democratic appointees?

[OPMike]

Regardless of who wins the elections - Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, nothing is going to change in New York State. Public employees have a choke hold on the state taxpayers and they are not about to let go.

Here are some 10 year NYS budget facts:

Pensions payments have increased from $6.8 billion to $13.4 billion
Health care spending has increased from $24.6 billion to 42.4 billion
Education spending has increased from $5.4 billion to $11.9 billion
Total spending has increased from $65.7 billion to $120.9 billion

Looking back over the past 25 years, the picture is no better. State spending and taxes have increased every year for the past quarter century.

[waj]

Until we get fresh new reasonable laws governing the rules of campaign financing, campaigns costing mega-millions (and it's steadily rising costs), can ONLY be financed and obtained through and by corporations, who are making record profits. They CAN and WILL bend all the rules to the max to support the ones who will support them, even if, that candidate is TRUELY SERIOUSLY BAD for the overall picture and health of an areas sustainment. These corporations look for easily controllable, easily manipulated "puppits" that'll keep them rolling in the overflow of easy record profits. They will inturn, make sure they get elected and the power.

[James]

Ranzenhofer isn't telling you the whole story. The democrats actually are sponsoring the bill to restore the middle class rebate, the bill is now in Finance. Ranzenhofer is too busy sponsoring bills to benefit upstate.

[HapKlein]

In the past fifty years we have allowed money to be the key to elections. At the same time we have allowed freedom to be stifled by money. Our elected officials at every level have to spend over half their time raising money for the next election.

One result of this is the growth of staffs who read and write the bills their candidate will support or oppose. For those who favor term limits, the staffs do all their representatives work in California. The complexity of doing public legislation does not allow a person to learn the details of the legislative process for at least two years and by that time they are in their final term. So the staffs do public policy except when another referendum is orchestrated by special interest groups and nobody wins most of the time.

Now in New York we have financial giants like Bloomberg and Colisano using their fortunes to achieve their own political views and success. I like Colisano but I don’t like the way he wants to use money to get his handpicked candidates elected. Besides he has upped the ante and now Hoyt has to use more than half his time to raise money in competition.

Colisano might eventually wear down Hoyt’s long term success in his district but I have discovered over the years that of all our local assembly folk Sam Hoyt and Robin Schimminger fit their constituents like a glove fits the hand. They know their people and represent them carefully.

That is what politics is all about. Except, we must find some way for public financing all elections and stop the wealthy from controlling too many outcomes.

[Agent in Charge]

REWARD $800.000.00 CASH

Most recently a State Supreme Court Justice in New York State has been under investigation for wrong doing in Custody Matters. A reward of $800,000.00 Cash is offered for information leading to the Arrest, Conviction & De-Benching of Justice John F. O'Donnell of 312 Rivermist Drive or 25 Delaware Ave,Buffalo, NY 14202. Please send your information along with your contact information to the following: All information will be kept confidential to Federal Law Enforcement Agencies.
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PO Box 2720
Buffalo, NY
14240-2720