Issue Position: Good Government

Issue Position

1) Enact Meaningful Campaign Finance Reform: With the impending retirement of Assemblyman Jack McEneny, the race for the 109th Assembly District seat is completely open. Sadly, due to our campaign finance system, this openness is a rarity in New York State. With critical issues such as jobs, fracking and ethics oversight on the horizon, New Yorkers can't afford NOT to have accountable, independent elected officials. The pay-to-play culture of our government must come to an end. We need meaningful campaign finance reform now to ensure that New Yorkers have a real choice in each and every election statewide.

2) Enact Intelligent Mandate Reform to help local governments and schools thrive. All too often, state government simply adds layer after layer of mandates, ignoring what has been required in years past while adding new requirements. State government should take responsibility for the many programs it requires, and put real focus into efforts to help local governments become more efficient. In some areas this means getting out of the way by removing outdated requirements; in other areas, it means taking bold action to help move reform forward. The proposed tax cap won't work unless the State holds up its end of the bargain, and some real work goes into reforming the multilayered overlap of governments and rules. Local leaders should be at the head of this effort, and every agency of state government should be charged with helping them.

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