On the Issues!
Crime is the top issue affecting the 46th Senate District and New York State as a whole.
Crime is not only a matter of being safe walking down the street; rather, crime has a pervasive effect that creates a vicious cycle, negatively impacting every facet of modern life. High crime areas attract fewer visitors, forcing small businesses to close their doors- a sight we see far too often these days as we look across the 46th Senate District. Building vacancies invite further criminal activity, and declining quality of life combined with fewer amenities cause people to move away, which further exacerbates the cycle.
​
New York State has a lawlessness problem that our politicians in Albany have done nothing to improve. The root cause of this problem can be directly attributed to dangerous, pro-criminal policies implemented in the State Capitol in the last few years. So-called “bail reform” is chief among them, which has resulted in a catch-and-release practice of criminals, creating not only headline-grabbing absurdities such as ten criminals amassing 500 arrests in a two-year span or four people released with no bail after hacking up bodies with a meat cleaver since the crimes they were charged with are not bail eligible.
​
This “bail reform” law also created preventable tragedies including the 2023 murder of two people by an individual released earlier that day due to the way the bail law was set up. “Raise the age” policies have also made the Capital Region less safe. Albany County’s District Attorney sounded the alarm on this issue in July of 2023, telling local officials that the law has functionally legalized teens carrying illegal guns.
​
The good news is that the crime problem can be tackled, though the bad news is that New York’s current career politicians are unwilling to do so. Change is needed now more than ever. Elect me as Senator, and I will make crime my absolute top priority. Under my plan I will:
​
-
Demand consideration, respect and justice for victims of crimes first and foremost. Prioritizing justice for victims over coddling career criminals.
-
Remedy misguided “bail reform” policies, including: by restoring judicial discretion that will let our judges keep dangerous criminals off our streets; by prohibiting catch-and-release for repeat offenders, and; by making egregious crimes such as any crime involving a firearm, hate crimes, and domestic violence bail eligible offenses.
-
Significantly reform the “raise the age” law by streamlining the ability of prosecutors to move cases involving violent youth into criminal court rather than the more lenient family court.
-
Fight to repeal the so-called “Clean Slate Act”, which eliminated the consequences for committing crimes by automatically sealing criminal records effectively erasing any public record of a person's criminal history.
-
Oppose the culture of blaming hard-working law enforcement officers and block any measure to defund the police.
-
Crack down on chronic shoplifting and organized retail theft by increasing penalties for repeat offenders.
-
Vote to repeal the HALT Act, a misguided law which removed the ability of corrections officers to move violent and dangerous felons to solitary confinement.
-
Oppose growing anti-Semitic hate by supporting measures making crimes with anti-Semitic intent considered hate crimes.
One of the most basic responsibilities of government is to keep its borders secure.
Unfortunately, state and federal leaders have abdicated this basic responsibility, resulting in a large influx of illegal immigrants into our state and especially our region. In the 46th Senate District specifically, hundreds of illegal immigrants were relocated by New York City in the middle of the night to Rotterdam. This relocation not only led to significant local disruption and inhumane treatment of the individuals themselves, but ultimately to Mohonasen taxpayers having to foot the bill for 70 additional students without any state support.
While federal leaders have done nothing, local municipal leaders have made our state a target for illegal immigrants by adopting so-called “sanctuary city” status, which prohibits these individuals from being deported within their borders. This policy reached its unfortunate nexus on February 22nd of this year when 22-year old Laken Riley was brazenly murdered by a illegal immigrant who had been arrested by New York City law enforcement and subsequently released in 2023.
​
It is clear that our state leaders do not have a clear vision for dealing with the unfolding immigration crisis. As State Senator, I will introduce much-needed legislative oversight into the crisis, and will:
​
-
Demand school districts are made whole with increased funding for additional burdens placed upon them as a result of relocations and deportations originating out of New York City.
-
Oppose any bailout of New York City to offset the cost of its irresponsible sanctuary city policy, as proposed by Governor Hochul.
-
Support Laken’s Law requiring law enforcement agencies to notify Federal immigration authorities when arresting a non-citizen, ensuring that any migrants who commit crimes face the full weight of their actions and legal status.
-
Support legislation that would leverage state aid and state grants to municipalities in order to make cities withdraw their sanctuary city status.
Education is a key component of the economic and cultural growth of an area, and in New York State, our state constitution provides that all students should receive a sound, basic education.
It is the responsibility of state leaders, as well as school district officials, to carry out this mission. At the state level, our Governor recently failed this very basic requirement by proposing hundreds of millions of dollars of cuts to education. The Senate and Assembly proposals also fell woefully short, proposing $2.2 billion dollars for illegal immigrants while only finding $1.1 billion in increased aid for our schools.
​
I will oppose any proposed cuts in the future, but education in New York State is an issue that goes beyond just yearly budgets.
​
Fundamentally, New York State is failing many of its students, particularly in both very urban and very rural areas. These school districts, and particularly big city public school districts, are among the worst in the state not only in terms of basic educational attainment but also in crafting students into fully formed citizens prepared to engage in both career and civic responsibilities. I believe we need to make serious reforms to both school districts and to the state legislative apparatus that makes them fail. I also believe students need support that goes beyond just sound use of education aid dollars, which includes ensuring students meet the basic physical needs they need to thrive and providing support for parents of struggling students. Measures I would support as Senator include:
​
-
Demanding the state pass a budget that fully funds education. Our children should not be the sacrificial lamb for the out of whack political desires of the Senate and Assembly supermajorities. No more cuts for education aid at the expense of billions of dollars redirected to individuals that came to the country illegally.
-
Support legislation to improve school outcomes by improving the basic wellbeing of students, including measures that would create a maximum legal temperature in the classroom, information about proper nutrition as part of the curriculum, remove legal impediments for access of students to fresh farm grown foods, and other initiatives that would provide for the physical needs of our state’s kids.
-
Support a law prohibiting school district taxpayers from bearing the burden of new illegal immigrants relocated to their school district.
-
Establish a per pupil education expenditure to student success ratio that would be used to determine school district effectiveness and require an audit of school districts with a failing ratio in order to get them back on the right track.
-
Support much needed reforms to the education aid system, including:
-
A rule requiring that any cuts to education aid would require a two-thirds vote of the Senate and Assembly.
-
Requiring an independent study to be conducted every ten years regarding the sufficiency of education aid streams and potential modifications to be considered.
-
Creating an incentive-based education aid stream, rewarding both effective school districts as well as previously failed schools that have seen an improvement in outcomes.
-
-
Strengthen our BOCES system, which reaches many kids not bound for college and instead gives them valuable technical education by advocating for investments in BOCES educators and working to provide BOCES with enough staffing to continue their successful programs.
Without a doubt, New York State is in the midst of an affordability crisis that affects middle class and low income families worst of all.
Washington’s runaway inflation combined with bad state policies have led many New York families to the financial brink; four out of five New Yorkers say grocery prices are having a serious impact on their finances. State leaders are unwilling or unable to solve the crisis.
​
Families aren’t the only ones threatened by the affordability crisis. Inflation has made it harder for businesses to thrive due to rising costs which, when considering New York’s burdensome regulations, provides for the worst business climate in the state since the Great Recession.
​
Our region needs a strong leader who knows what it means to lead a business through hard times and will fight to keep New York affordable for middle class families. As our next Senator, I will:
​
-
Support measures which index income taxes to the rate of inflation, immediately providing tens of millions of dollars in tax relief to New Yorkers.
-
Vote for any version of creation of a property tax relief credit or legislation which would double the STAR exemption, creating billions of dollars in direct relief for homeowners.
-
Eliminate the $700 million tax credit giveaway to Hollywood and pass the savings on to New Yorkers via tax cuts or other economic incentives.
-
Cut taxes for small businesses and farmers by increasing the corporate tax threshold to $500,000 and expanding small business exemptions.
-
Streamline New York’s business regulations and bureaucratic process by simplifying licensing requirements, capping the number of business-burdening rules, and restoring legislative oversight of opaque state agencies responsible for these rules and licenses.
-
Work to ease the housing crisis by backing new tax incentives for developers to build in the Capital Region, mirroring the successful but discontinued 421-a program that worked in New York City.
Utility issues are also a major factor driving the affordability crisis. I fundamentally understand utilities and especially the heating business – it’s my career and life’s work. I know that New York families have been hurting since the pandemic due to inflation and poor policy choices in Albany. In the current inflation crisis, state lawmakers adopted massive new regulations on fossil fuels, attempting to electrify the economy by brute force within the next decade. This policy will not only fail and create major reliability issues, it will also accelerate New York’s affordability issues.
As a State Senator, I would support every means of reducing pain in New Yorkers’ pockets related to utility costs, including:
​
-
Eliminating harmful State-imposed electric bill surcharges that cost New Yorkers millions of dollars every year.
-
Supporting a refundable home heating tax credit for middle class individuals and families.
-
Opposing prohibitions on affordable fossil fuels used in home heating and cooking.
