Tuesday, July 03, 2007
A Letter from Gov. Spitzer
The Legislative SessionMake Your Voice Heard
Dear Andy,
I came to Albany in January with an aggressive agenda to enact the reform our state sorely needs.
When I was elected, many doubted that I would be able to change the status quo enough to put into effect my administration's ambitious plans. It hasn't been easy, but we have achieved significant success.
Over the past six months, we have managed to push through substantial gridlock in the state legislature to make some huge advancements for New York:
In addition to making a historic investment of $1.7 billion in education, we have targeted assistance to the districts that need it most, and tied investment to accountability and reform.
We created the first building blocks to universal health care by expanding Child Health Plus to cover all 400,000 uninsured children, and vastly simplified Medicaid enrollment.
Property taxes have been reduced by $1.3 billion, and 60% of New Yorkers will see benefits within the next year.
Our beleaguered upstate cities will receive $200 million for economic development, technology innovations, and assistance in fighting crime. Major downstate projects- like the redevelopment of Ground Zero and the expansion of Stewart Airport- have been pushed through legislative gridlock and are finally underway.
Lawmakers and government employees are now subject to comprehensive Ethics and Lobbying Reform that prohibits them from taking gifts from special interests and makes them accountable to the people of New York State.
A lot has been accomplished, but there is still so much to be done- from major environmental initiatives like cleaning up brownfields, to the revamp of the Wicks Law, to campaign finance reform measures that make our government more responsive- and it must be done now.
Last week, the Senate majority chose to end the legislative session and go home, rather than stay in Albany to finish the people's business.
Our state government must work as effectively and diligently as the companies, organizations and people that make New York great.
You can learn more about what's been going on in Albany by clicking here to view a presentation I've been making across the state.
I urge you to contact your legislator, which you can do from my website, and encourage him or her to return to work in Albany, and finish the business we came here to do.
Sincerely, Eliot Spitzer
Dear Andy,
I came to Albany in January with an aggressive agenda to enact the reform our state sorely needs.
When I was elected, many doubted that I would be able to change the status quo enough to put into effect my administration's ambitious plans. It hasn't been easy, but we have achieved significant success.
Over the past six months, we have managed to push through substantial gridlock in the state legislature to make some huge advancements for New York:
In addition to making a historic investment of $1.7 billion in education, we have targeted assistance to the districts that need it most, and tied investment to accountability and reform.
We created the first building blocks to universal health care by expanding Child Health Plus to cover all 400,000 uninsured children, and vastly simplified Medicaid enrollment.
Property taxes have been reduced by $1.3 billion, and 60% of New Yorkers will see benefits within the next year.
Our beleaguered upstate cities will receive $200 million for economic development, technology innovations, and assistance in fighting crime. Major downstate projects- like the redevelopment of Ground Zero and the expansion of Stewart Airport- have been pushed through legislative gridlock and are finally underway.
Lawmakers and government employees are now subject to comprehensive Ethics and Lobbying Reform that prohibits them from taking gifts from special interests and makes them accountable to the people of New York State.
A lot has been accomplished, but there is still so much to be done- from major environmental initiatives like cleaning up brownfields, to the revamp of the Wicks Law, to campaign finance reform measures that make our government more responsive- and it must be done now.
Last week, the Senate majority chose to end the legislative session and go home, rather than stay in Albany to finish the people's business.
Our state government must work as effectively and diligently as the companies, organizations and people that make New York great.
You can learn more about what's been going on in Albany by clicking here to view a presentation I've been making across the state.
I urge you to contact your legislator, which you can do from my website, and encourage him or her to return to work in Albany, and finish the business we came here to do.
Sincerely, Eliot Spitzer
