Government in any state is an easy target for citizen
criticism. But in New York, the criticism is justified. Run by a handful of
political leaders, deliberations and decisions often made in secret, dominated
by money and special-interest influence, New York makes a mockery out of
democracy.
           This year,
in particular, New Yorkers may feel that it makes little difference whom they
vote for, particularly in the governor’s race. It has been a lackluster
campaign, and for this newspaper, the endorsement decision in the governor’s
race has not been an easy one. Change — dramatic change — is clearly needed
in Albany, not just in the way state government operates, but also in direction.
The Pataki administration — with unwise tax cuts, a feeble
economic-development vision, and a stunning coziness with business interests
— has taken the state down a path from which it will take years to recover.
           In theory,
Carl McCall could be the change agent. But his weak campaign raises serious
doubts that he would be. To the editorial staff of this newspaper, the person
whose vision represents the best hope for the state is Green Party candidate
Stanley Aronowitz.
           Aronowitz,
of course, will not be elected. He knows it, and we know it. And we recognize
that many readers will consider a vote for Aronowitz a wasted vote. If the race
were close, we would endorse McCall, who clearly is a better choice than
Pataki. But unless things change dramatically in the next few days, Pataki will
defeat McCall soundly.
           It is
important that voters send a message to leaders of the major parties: this
state is on the wrong track. Crucial decision-making is dominated by corporate
interests. The gap between rich and poor widens, racial segregation
intensifies, needs of urban communities are ignored.
           The Upstate
economy has been weak for years, and neither major-party candidate has come up
with proposals that will change things. We’re on the verge of a fiscal crisis,
and the major-party candidates act as though it will solve itself. Whoever is
governor will have to find a way to balance the budget while protecting New
York’s most vulnerable citizens and its vital resources.
           This year’s
gubernatorial campaign is essentially over. George Pataki will be re-elected
next week. Now it is time to seek new voices, to restore the faith of
disillusioned voters. That can begin with strong public support for the Green
Party.
The Aronowitz vision
A professor of sociology at CUNY, Stanley Aronowitz is a
knowledgeable first-time candidate. Strongly, consistently progressive, he
supports abortion rights, supports full rights and benefits — including
marriage — for gays and lesbians, and wants the Rockefeller Drug Laws
repealed.
           He says he
recognizes that money isn’t the be-all, end-all answer to urban school
districts’ problems. But he says the state needs to raise new taxes to put
urban and rural districts on par with wealthier districts.
           He wants a
moratorium on prison construction and objects to the use of prisons as
economic-development measures. “You can just as well build better health
facilities or better educational facilities or better recreational facilities,”
he says.
           He supports
raising the minimum wage dramatically, starting at least at $8 and moving
toward $10 over three years.
           He wants
New York to regulate guns “like we regulate alcohol and other things.” He wants
“fairly rigorous standards for the sale of guns.”
           “That would
not prevent people from buying guns on the black market,” he says, but it would
reduce the sale and use of guns. “The fact of the matter is that kids are
disaffected,” he says. “Lots of young people are unemployed. The programs of
the state are inadequate. There needs to be a comprehensive program which
addresses the issue of violence, which is not essentially a criminal-justice
program.”
           He wants a
moratorium on unfunded state mandates; more measures to help small, family
farms; and incentives to move away from fossil-based fuels. He believes the
state must take a bigger role in spurring the Upstate New York economy. “I
happen to think that the private sector’s ability to, by itself, generate new
economic activity in Upstate New York is exhausted,” he says.
The McCall message
In his campaign material, McCall has offered some solid
ideas. And as state comptroller, he has sometimes been an aggressive advocate
on such issues as the environment.
           Using the
leverage of the state’s pension-fund holdings of General Electric stock, for
instance, he pressed GE to agree to a PCB clean-up plan for the Hudson River.
In his campaign, he has urged a brownfield cleanup bill, refinancing of the
Superfund, and a state plan to reduce energy consumption. He wants to require
utilities to buy 10 percent of their energy from renewable sources.
           McCall is
strongly pro-choice, strongly in favor of gay rights and equal protection. He
wants insurers to offer equal coverage for mental and physical illness.
           He wants
more state aid for education. He wants to reform the state-aid formula to help
urban districts. He wants smaller class sizes. He wants the state to “fulfill
its promise” of a universal pre-kindergarten program.
           He wants
the state to negotiate discounts on prescription drugs. He wants to expand the
eligibility guidelines for the EPIC drug-insurance program for older New
Yorkers. He wants to expand health-care coverage for poor families.
           But
McCall’s negatives are important. A vice president at banking behemoth Citicorp
for eight years, and New York’s comptroller since 1993, he certainly knows how
to manage money. He also knows the state is facing a budget deficit that could
reach $10 billion, and he knows his plans to increase funding for education and
health care will cost the state money.
           But when it
comes to discussing a tax increase to realize his plan, McCall hedges, refusing
to be specific about how his goals can be realized given the reality of the
state’s finances. We need a governor who’ll give us some straight talk about
the budget.
           McCall has
often said the right things about environmental protection, human rights, and
corporate reform. Yet as overseer of the $100 billion-plus state pension fund,
he’s done odd things. The Village Voice recently condemned him for a “chilling pattern of social indifference” in
opposing laudable shareholder resolutions. On dozens of occasions, said the Voice, he cast proxy votes against the
adoption of the “CERES” code of conduct, which imposes modest “disclosure and
accountability” requirements on corporations; and he frequently abstained
(effectively a “no” vote) on shareholder resolutions that sought to improve
global working conditions and rein in excessive CEO pay.
           His
unfocused campaign and his inability to counter the astonishing hemorrhaging of
traditional Democratic support makes us worry that he would be, at best,
ineffective as governor.
George Pataki
In his eight years in office, the governor has positioned
himself as a moderate on some key issues, including abortion and the
environment. It’s important to remember that during his years in the state
legislature, he was strongly conservative, a favorite of the Christian right
and anti-abortionists.
           Maybe he
has had a change of heart. The evidence, though, is that he has become
increasingly political, fashioning his public positions to achieve his
political goals.
           Pataki took
office talking about New York’s high taxes and promising to get the state’s
economy moving forward. His legacy may well be the economy, but not in the way
he had planned. The state almost certainly faces tough economic times. Earlier
this month, the New York Times reported
that state revenue is off dramatically from the Pataki administration’s
predictions, and expenses are up.
           Pataki did
not cause all of this, of course. But he leaned too heavily on an unrealistic
stock market performance, cut taxes too much (and passed the pain down to local
government). And he hasn’t articulated a plan to pull us out of decline.
           Since he
took office, New York’s poverty rate has increased. The state’s debt level has
continued to climb. Unfunded state mandates have increased, driving up the cost
of local government.
           A
tough-on-crime crusader, Pataki brought the death penalty back to New York and
eliminated parole for violent offenders.
           He has
fought a suit to make state aid to urban school districts more equitable —
despite clear evidence that New York’s public-school systems rival those of the
South in the first half of the 20th century in segregation and inequality. He
reneged on a promise to fund universal pre-kindergarten programs.
           Pataki’s
administration has saved some significant natural areas through conservation
easements and (occasionally) outright purchase. The Pataki record on toxics and
environmental enforcement is less than stellar, though. For example, he’s been
pushing an inadequate cleanup standard for brownfields; the standard would
allow too much pollution to remain at some former industrial sites.
           In some
important areas, Pataki’s record is one of unfulfilled promises. He continues
to say that he favors gay rights and reform of the Rockefeller Drug Laws. But
he is completing his second term as governor, and he has done little to bring
about those changes.
           Pataki’s
pro-business leanings go well beyond making the state “business friendly.”
Media coverage over the years paints a picture of an administration doling out
favors and political appointments to friends and major contributors. The state
health department’s record is one of lax enforcement and coziness with business
interests.
           And
Pataki’s attitude toward the public has veered into arrogance. He has permitted
no serious newspaper interviews during this campaign — not with this
newspaper, not with the Democrat and
Chronicle, not with the New York
Times. On the few occasions when the media have had a chance to question
him — at Pataki-instigated press conferences to announce vote-winning
handouts, for instance — he has turned aside campaign-related questions with
asinine answers: “I’m proud of my record on….”
OVOB
If it weren’t for his money, few people would be taking the
campaign of Our Very Own Billionaire seriously. But money talks, and impresses,
and so the media are treating Tom Golisano as a contender.
           For the
most part, Golisano’s vision is straight-down-the-line, no-nonsense CEO: reduce
spending, operate more efficiently, make the state more business-friendly. He
wants to restrict Medicaid, reduce workers’ compensation benefits. He’s been
quoted as favoring a reduction in education spending, but in a New York Times interview, he was less
clear, saying he’d insist that school districts operate more efficiently before
giving them more money.
           Golisano
favors “initiative and referendum,” letting New Yorkers initiate and vote on
proposed laws, as Californians do. He wants the Rockefeller Drug Laws repealed
and wants anti-drug efforts focused on prevention and treatment, not
incarceration.
           Golisano
has caught the fancy of some media types who see in him a way to reform state
government. But the state’s governance problems run deeper than one person. And
the governor’s responsibilities — and influence — are great. A vote for
Golisano would be a peculiar protest indeed. The message it would send is the
worst possible message: money rules.
           We already
know that from Pataki.
This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 5, 2002.
