Editorial: It's time to assess our Capitol clout
While the governor has an obligation to help all parts of the state when it comes to economic development, a large part of the responsibility for making things happen rests with the people we elect to serve our region in Albany.
That puts the onus on voters to make sure their representatives are doing the job. And with an election 10 months away, it's time to seriously review local leadership and decide whether the status quo is acceptable or if change is necessary.
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<td>The Albany delegation</td>
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<td>Assembly
David Townsend
R-Sylvan Beach
First elected: 1990
Years in office: 17
William Magee
D-Nelson
First elected: 1990
Years in office: 17
RoAnn Destito
D-Rome
First elected: 1992
Years in office: 15
Marc Butler
R-Newport
First elected: 1995
Years in office: 12
Senate
James Seward
R-Milford
First elected: 1986
Years in office: 21
David Valesky
D-Oneida
First elected: 2004
Years in office: 3
Joseph Griffo
R-Rome
First elected: 2006
Years in office: 1</td>
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The seven state legislators that represent our region have a combined service record of 86 years in the Capitol. That ranges from one year for Sen. Joseph Griffo, a Republican from Rome who was first elected in 2006, to 21 years for Sen. James Seward, R-Milford, who has served since 1987.
Public service in this country wasn't originally designed to be a career. But that's what it's become, and today, many make it a job for life. With the exception of Griffo and fellow senator David Valesky, D-Oneida, all of our local representatives have held state office for more than a decade. They and other legislators across the state often run unopposed and are pretty much assured re-election, unless they manage to fall out of party favor or make a serious gaffe. That's what happened in 2004 to 20-year veteran Nancy Larraine Hoffmann, a Democrat-turned-Republican who had lost GOP support and ended up losing to Valesky in a three-way race.
While a system that gives incumbents the upper hand in an election is tough to buck, the people still have the power to make changes in leadership if they're determined to do it. We saw that in the recent Utica mayoral election. The region's current leaders in Albany all can point to political successes, but in the end, the people must decide whether they're really getting the job done.
Begin doing that now. For instance, in Gov. Eliot Spitzer's State of the State message this past Wednesday, the city of Utica was mentioned just once - and that was in reference to its high violent crime rate. The governor rattled off major initiatives planned in Buffalo, the Hudson Valley, the North Country and the Southern Tier, but there was no mention of our region. Why not? Do our leaders have his attention?
This week, Spitzer plans to visit Buffalo and deliver what he calls a "State of Upstate" address. Pay attention to it, and see what might be there for our region. Then ask local representatives how they plan to make sure it's not just another rhetorical ruse like the Marcy data center jobs or the similar project we were promised after those fell through. If we're left out again, it's time to start seriously looking for leaders who can effectively give this region the representation it deserves.