The Cuomo challenge

by Jerry Kremer  

   

 

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has finally announced his candidacy for the position of Governor after many months of anticipation. There is nothing surprising about his agenda for 2011 but it's bad news not just for Republican officeholders but for Democrats as well.

 

Cuomo has adopted many of the pledges that all of the announced Republican contenders would have trumpeted. He has embraced tax caps, campaign finance and ethics reform, consolidation of state functions, reducing the size of government and has opposed more state borrowing.

 

The Cuomo platform has the familiar tone of former President Bill Clinton's promises. Clinton was a master at co-opting the Republican agenda and it is no surprise that Cuomo, who has had plenty of time to prepare for his coming out party, has effectively pulled the rug out from under Rick Lazio and Steve Levy.

 

In the next week the Republican wannabes will proclaim that they can do it better. But Cuomo has seized the populist high ground and as Attorney General he has already proven he can get things done. Lots of things can happen in the months to come but absent some chaotic event, Cuomo faces no real challenge to his November election.

 

For the Democrats, Cuomo's announcement is a mixed bag. The party is starving for a fresh message after two years of missed opportunities on the part of Gov. David Paterson. Democrats may be trembling in Washington, but with a two-to-one enrollment margin in New York, all they needed was a new contender and, in Cuomo, that have gotten the face they need.

 

Incumbent members of the state Assembly and state Senate have a more challenging headache. They wanted a new person at the top of their ticket but Cuomo threatens to upset policies that have been around for over a hundred years.

 

There is nothing more sacred to office holders than the chance to redraw their district lines, an opportunity that comes but once every ten years. Each political party wants to make their incumbents safe from challenges but Cuomo has a different idea.

 

He intends to push for an independent redistricting commission to draw future lines, which is the Albany equivalent of root canal work.

 

Besides promising to take away political protection from incumbents, Cuomo will be circulating a pledge form asking candidates to sign onto his reform agenda. Reminiscent of the Republican Contract with America, Cuomo intends to put his own fellow candidates on the hot spot by threatening to oppose them if they don't sign on to his New NY Agenda.

 

If that isn't enough to make the party in power nauseous, Cuomo had promised to dramatically limit the influence of lobbying groups who give away millions of campaign dollars. Campaign dollars are the mother's milk of politics and reform of that system is a direct threat to the party in power.

Win, lose, and draw on mini-Tuesday

by Anthony Figliola  

   

 Long Island Business News (May 20, 2010) 

 

Republicans, Democrats and even tea party believers were watching Tuesday's elections in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Arkansas viewing it as a litmus test for November's midterm elections.  All three groups had to be a little disappointed.

 

In Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District, Democrat Mark Critz, a former Congressional staffer defeated Republican Tim Burns in a special election to fill the seat left vacant by the late Rep. John Murtha.  Democrats were able to hold onto the seat in spite of a recent poll that showed President Obama's approval rating at 35 percent in a district that John McCain carried in 2008.

 

For Democrats this election holds out hope that they can still keep many at their seats and perhaps the anti-establishment trend advancing by the tea party movement might not be strong enough for Republican's to take back the House.

 

For Republicans, things just keep getting worse.  In Kentucky, the state Republican Party led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, failed to defeat newcomer Rand Paul in the state's Senate primary. Paul, who had the backing of the tea party walloped his opponent, Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson.

 

Paul attributes his win to the fact that people are tired of the status quo. However, the road ahead will be tough for Paul as a recent polling memo, reported that 53 percent of Grayson supporters would not vote for him because of his tea party leanings. That has to help the Democratic candidate.

 

The Democratic primary fight for U.S. Senate in Arkansas ended in a draw between incumbent Sen. Blanche Lincoln and Lt. Governor Bill Walter, forcing a run-off election that is scheduled for June 8. However, polls have Republican candidate Rep. John Boozman ahead of both Democrats by almost 20 points in the general election.

 

Tuesday's elections uncovered great strife within the national Republican Party. Instead of working as a unit, they have broken off into smaller divisions and have begun to eliminate their brethren in divisive primary fights. But it also reinvigorated the Democrats and gave them hope that they can still win in November in spite of Obama's low approval ratings and their votes on healthcare.

 

The question that eludes both parties is how will these newly minted Republican/Tea Party candidates fare in a general election and how much of an impact will "yes" votes on healthcare and the stimulus money have on Democratic incumbents.

 

For the Republicans the road ahead got a little bumpier. For the Democrats the road ahead has one or two less potholes, but there are still quite a few.  And for the tea party, they still need to prove they are a real organization and not just a group of disenfranchised Republican's angry with their party, so for now the road ahead is a dirt road.

Corporate America just doesn't get it - "All politics is local"

by Anthony M. Figliola Big companies like Goldman Sachs, Citibank, Wal-Mart and others are finding out that their existing lobbying efforts are not as effective as they once were.  Government advocacy is no longer just about one-on-one meetings with public officials.  It's about educating the public and creating grassroots pressure utilizing traditional and non-traditional methods. Major restrictions on lobbyists have frustrated many corporations leaving them with few options on how to successfully advance their cause. Looking for solutions they turn to old-fashioned lobbying as their solution, only to fail.  The answer to their dilemma is simple - develop a grassroots strategy. Since the advent of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, the public now has direct access to their elected leaders without going through a gatekeeper and can influence public policy like never before.  The playing field has been leveled and access is available on the same field as other special interests. Corporations must move past traditional high-powered Washington lobbyists with hallway access to elected leaders.  Many corporations are coming to learn that there are just so many personal favors that a K-street firm can call in from a handful of legislators. Businesses must adopt a broader strategy that enlists the support of those outside the Beltway with real interests in their organization's legislative goals. There are a handful of companies that do grassroots and some have even mastered it.  Philip Morris, many years back developed the most successful, corporate grassroots lobbying operation in America.  They believed that "all politics is local," and that any successful operation must have a bottom-up approach. Others have copied the tobacco industry's outreach and have enlisted outside allies for their efforts. Careful targeting of potential friends is the key to a good grassroots operation, plus having the right people in the trenches helps too! The Empire Government Strategies team has used this strategy successfully to help pass legislation; oppose government regulations and a variety of other victories at both the federal and state level. Most U.S. corporations focus on hiring a few top lobbyists who tell them to spend....spend... spend... in the hopes that their contributions will counteract any opposition from the public.  As evident by the current push in Congress for financial and campaign finance reform, spending on the few does not work. There is a better way and many groups from organized labor to environmentalists have been mastering this effort for years.  If corporate America truly wants to remain in the game it needs to adapt to the outside world and adopt a comprehensive grassroots approach. The days of using lobbyists as door-to-door salesmen are over.

Shared Sacrifice

by Jerry Kremer

Hats off to five Long Island school district teacher unions who have decided to freeze their raises for the coming year.In some cases the unions have also agreed to hold back on their annual step increases which results in a further saving of tax dollars.

For countless years the school community on Long Island has been one of the state's most aggressive regions in asking for more state aid. The Long Island members of the state legislature in turn, have demanded and gotten continuing increases in school aid, even in years when there were few dollars available.

Between now and Memorial Day two things are needed to help the state wipe out its $9 billion budget deficit. Unions throughout the state should be willing to forego their salary increases for the next two years. This shared sacrifice shouldn't come from teacher unions alone. It should come from state employee unions who have to pitch in at a time when their cooperation is needed the most.

If the various unions that rely on taxpayer funding agree to freeze their raises the state legislature will have at least $2 billion (and possibly more) worth of savings as they attempt to eliminate the current budget gap. These savings along with some serious cuts in state expenses might be the formula for a balanced budget in 2010-2011.

If the legislature can count on freezes on employee compensation, it has every right to consider borrowing some moneys to make up the yawning gap between revenues and expenses. But there is a catch. The study by Lt. Governor Richard  Ravitch condones additional borrowing but it also calls for some type of financial controls to prevent future deficits from growing even bigger.

Borrowing more moneys without any restraints on future spending is the equivalent of the state taking out a taxpayer funded home equity loan. It isn't fair and it isn't good budgeting. Sooner or later the rating agencies will call the legislature's bluff and downgrade state borrowings at an added cost to the taxpayers.

A handful of local unions have had the courage to fire a shot that should be heard around the state. If all of the unions do the same they deserve a standing ovation. If the unions are willing to give up immediate gain the legislature should be willing to give up some of its cherished power to get the state back on solid financial footing.   

Mayor Bloomberg: Horses in NYC now get 5-weeks vacation

By Jerry Kremer

OK I didn’t make this up. Mayor Bloomberg signed a bill today giving the horse carriage operators around Central Park an increase in their fees and giving the horses a guaranteed five week vacation plus two free visits a year to a vet. The horses must have a better union than we do. 

What do you think?

Click here to view the full press release:  MAYOR BLOOMBERG SIGNS LEGISLATION INCREASING RATES AND IMPOSING IMPROVED REGULATIONS FOR HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES

Empire named third fastest growing lobbying firm in New York State

Empire Government Strategies(EGS) has been named the third fastest growing firm in New York State among newly registered lobbying companies during the year 2009, according to a study released by the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG).
 
EGS is headed by Arthur Jerry Kremer, former Assembly Ways and Means Chairman and Anthony M. Figliola, former Deputy Supervisor and head of the Town of Brookhaven's Economic Development Office.
 
During the past year EGS has embarked on an intensive marketing campaign through its website using the latest technology, to assist clients in two major service areas - government relations and economic development. 
 
"We are proud to have gained such early recognition for our year of phenomenal growth and our unique government relations operation. We believe that our creative government strategies is the key to our growth and we expect that our current year figures will also reflect the uniqueness of our approach to serving our clients," said Jerry Kremer, President and Founder of EGS.
 
EGS continues to lobby in Albany for clients such as Canon USA, and the Town of North Hempstead as well as a number of major trade organizations. In addition EGS is active in seeking federal and state funds for companies that are either expanding in New York or planning to modernize their facilities.
 
"As budgets are dwindling, the number of organizations seeking government funds is at an all time high. Our team has over forty years of combined experience in assisting businesses with identifying and obtaining much needed financial resources.  Over the past year, we have helped to obtain millions in government incentives for private and not-for-profit corporations," said Anthony Figliola, Vice President of EGS.

Kremer: How to characterize state government

By Jerry Kremer

Critics of New York’s state government like to call its operations “dysfunctional.”

As a former member of the state Assembly I will vigorously defend the Legislature from those attacks, as I know they are unfair. But there is something wrong with the way things operate in Albany. I just can’t find all the right words.

As the first of many frustrating examples, let’s talk about casino gambling. Just after the Sept. 11 tragedy, the state Legislature, concerned about the economy, approved casino gambling for two regions of the state. It was hoped that the construction of a few new casinos would pour billions of dollars into the state treasury each year.

Now almost eight years later, our leaders have yet to agree on one responsible operator to turn one of our downstate racetracks into the cash cow that the state so desperately needs. There is a lot of politics involved in this process, like everything else in Albany, but the delay is ridiculous and just plain ugly.

If you want another example of an Albany foul up, let’s talk about electronic voting machines. Right up to last November’s elections, voters all over the state were using machines that date back to the 1920s. Because of the way the machines are set up many a proposition that is good for the people gets ignored and is defeated.

It is totally unfair to the voters to give them such outdated equipment when they are casting their sacred ballot.
After the Florida election fiasco in the 2000 presidential election, it was decided that something had to be done at the federal level to stop fraudulent election activities. In 2002 Congress passed the Help America Vote Act, which provided for $325 million for the replacement of older voting machines.

By the year 2006 every state, including New York, was required to have new machines to more accurately record people’s votes. There is no doubt since that time that there have been many debates over which machine is the best one and is tamper proof. But part of the slowdown was because machine manufacturers had all hired lobbyists to press their case, which only caused more gridlock.
The 2008 presidential election has come and gone and New York is still without the new equipment. Last year, machines were installed in some polling places for handicapped voters only. Regrettably, there was little publicity about the new machines, and they got very little use.

It’s not just the legislative process that can be frustrating. The state government in general is also populated by a bunch of bureaucrats that do things their way or no way. Take the Department of Taxation and Finance.

Last year Gov. Paterson gave them the responsibility to conduct a tax amnesty program to let delinquent citizens to come forward and pay up without punishment. It was estimated that the amnesty would produce $250 million.

Our neighbors in New Jersey conducted a tax amnesty program in 2009 that collected $600 million in badly needed dollars. That state promoted the program with television and radio ads and it was a smashing success. New York’s tax collectors conducted their own tax amnesty program and it was a total flop. No ads, no hype and even the state’s Web site said there is no amnesty program in the middle of the amnesty campaign.

There is no way to ignore that there is no state budget at this point in time, but that isn’t a sign of dysfunction. New York, like the 49 other states, is wrestling with a massive deficit and hasn’t summoned the courage yet to pull the trigger and make serious cuts. Eventually that will happen.

So like I said, dysfunction isn’t the appropriate word to describe the happenings in Albany. But the more you know about what happens in the government, words like ugly, sloppy, slow, wasteful and embarrassing look like better ones.

Note: Jerry Kremer is the former Chairman of NYS Assembly Ways and Means Committee and President of Empire Government Strategies