Niagara Gazette
Niagara Gazette — Amy Hope Witryol says its time to take the money out of New York state politics.
Witryol,
who is running in the state Senate's 62nd District, held a press
conference Thursday in Niagara Falls where she said there are "1,000
reasons" to change the current political campaign system in New York and
suggested there's "no greater cause of
high taxes and high unemployment than the pay-to-play culture in Albany."
"Our democracy is based on one person, one vote," Witryol said. "But, when you have a system that enables very few people to tremendously outspend opponents it reduces the quality of people who run for office and nobody wants to go up against that kind of money. It also provides information that is very often skewed and inaccurate."
Standing inside the gazebo at Gill Creek Park, in front of a campaign T-shirt bearing the slogan "Take the Money Out of Politics" and flanked by a banjo adorned with a sign reading "no strings attached," Witryol read a David Letterman-style top 10 list of reasons for campaign finance reform in New York.
The retired banker from Lewiston will run this fall with the backing of the Democrat and Working Families parties against the eventual winner of the Republican primary between nine-term incumbent state Sen. George Maziarz, R-Newfane, and one-time Niagara Falls mayoral candidate and current city school board member Johnny Destino.
On Thursday, she argued that her career in the banking industry — where she rose to hold the position of senior vice president and senior risk manager — gives her the credentials needed to help fix New York's finances and the expertise no other candidate in the 62nd Senate District race, much less any other current sitting state senator, has.
"I was the only state senate candidate last time, and I'm the only one this time around, who is making keeping money out of politics an issue," Witryol said.
Her 10 reasons for reform included the fact that candidates in New York are currently allowed to keep unspent contributions after their campaign ends, allowing them to use the dough they acquired to purchase cars and other personal items.
"All campaign finances should be returned to taxpayers at the end of every election cycle," Witryol said.
She also referenced the "cozy" relationships that exists between Albany lawmakers and the lobbyists who aim to shape legislation, suggesting those relationships have too often come at the expense of New York's taxpayers.
"Almost every night that the legislature is in session in Albany there is a fundraiser," Witryol said. "The lobbyists that politicians see during the day show up in the evening to give them money. I agree with the governor's call to ban fundraisers in Albany while the legislature is in session. Let's change the night life in Albany so they think about your life, here."
Witryol called the current campaign finance system "one of the biggest threats to democracy" and suggested its time to end other time-honored, statewide campaign traditions, including "$1,000 clubs" for donors only, "tax subsidies for big donors who don't create or retain jobs" and politicians who "spend more time raising money than they do fixing problems." She suggested a new, publicly financed campaign system is in order.
"The single biggest reason to take the money out of politics is for our children," she said. "We cannot afford more of the same political cronyism. Eighteen years is enough. We need to take the money out of politics so that Niagara County, Orleans County and Monroe County can realize their true value and potential for generations of children so they may return to work where they were raised and educated."
Maziarz currently does not represent Niagara Falls in the state Senate as the 62nd Senate District boundaries do not cover the city itself. The city is represented in the Senate at this time by state Sen. Mark Grisanti, R-Niagara Falls and Buffalo.
As a result of a statewide redistricting process, the city of Niagara Falls has been shifted out of the 60th senate district currently represented by Grisanti and into the new-look 62nd Senate district that is up for grabs this fall. The newly aligned 62nd Senate district will cover all of Niagara and Orleans counties as well as part of Monroe County.
Maziarz, who defeated Witryol in the 2010 race for the 62nd Senate District seat, enters this year's contest with $825,500 on hand for his campaign, according to the July periodic summary report from the New York State Board of Elections.
In a written statement issued Thursday, Maziarz said he has supported certain types of campaign finance reform, including requiring full disclosure of each legislator's outside income and requiring members of the legislature to relinquish outside employment. He added that he would continue to do so if he wins the election this November, though he mentioned nothing of spending limits or public funding of campaigns.
Maziarz said that his campaign has gone "above and beyond" to follow finance rules as they exist.
"I think my candidacy has earned support from donors large and small that believe in the job I am doing and approve of my record," he said. "My campaign has more grassroots supporters than large donors - a fact that I am very proud of."
Destino also sent a written statement to the Gazette on Thursday, saying he opposes the sort of reforms that Witryol supports, including publicly funded campaigns, because they would force taxpayers to financially support a candidate with policies that they oppose.
"This law would also result in the perverse situation where a candidate is paying, through their own tax dollars, for her opponent's campaign, and the more money she raises for herself, the more money she ensures is promised to her opponent," Destino said.
While Destino doesn't agree with Witryol on the fix for the problem, he did agree with her on the need to address what he described as the "climate of influence peddling" that exists in Albany.
"Money in politics is only a problem as long as we keep electing men willing to sell out their constituents to the highest bidder," Destino said. "Our system of public disclosure and the media are the greatest vanguard we have against public corruption. We have to do a better job of connect [sic] the dots between politicians and their special interest groups so the voters can make an informed and intelligent decision on election day."
high taxes and high unemployment than the pay-to-play culture in Albany."
"Our democracy is based on one person, one vote," Witryol said. "But, when you have a system that enables very few people to tremendously outspend opponents it reduces the quality of people who run for office and nobody wants to go up against that kind of money. It also provides information that is very often skewed and inaccurate."
Standing inside the gazebo at Gill Creek Park, in front of a campaign T-shirt bearing the slogan "Take the Money Out of Politics" and flanked by a banjo adorned with a sign reading "no strings attached," Witryol read a David Letterman-style top 10 list of reasons for campaign finance reform in New York.
The retired banker from Lewiston will run this fall with the backing of the Democrat and Working Families parties against the eventual winner of the Republican primary between nine-term incumbent state Sen. George Maziarz, R-Newfane, and one-time Niagara Falls mayoral candidate and current city school board member Johnny Destino.
On Thursday, she argued that her career in the banking industry — where she rose to hold the position of senior vice president and senior risk manager — gives her the credentials needed to help fix New York's finances and the expertise no other candidate in the 62nd Senate District race, much less any other current sitting state senator, has.
"I was the only state senate candidate last time, and I'm the only one this time around, who is making keeping money out of politics an issue," Witryol said.
Her 10 reasons for reform included the fact that candidates in New York are currently allowed to keep unspent contributions after their campaign ends, allowing them to use the dough they acquired to purchase cars and other personal items.
"All campaign finances should be returned to taxpayers at the end of every election cycle," Witryol said.
She also referenced the "cozy" relationships that exists between Albany lawmakers and the lobbyists who aim to shape legislation, suggesting those relationships have too often come at the expense of New York's taxpayers.
"Almost every night that the legislature is in session in Albany there is a fundraiser," Witryol said. "The lobbyists that politicians see during the day show up in the evening to give them money. I agree with the governor's call to ban fundraisers in Albany while the legislature is in session. Let's change the night life in Albany so they think about your life, here."
Witryol called the current campaign finance system "one of the biggest threats to democracy" and suggested its time to end other time-honored, statewide campaign traditions, including "$1,000 clubs" for donors only, "tax subsidies for big donors who don't create or retain jobs" and politicians who "spend more time raising money than they do fixing problems." She suggested a new, publicly financed campaign system is in order.
"The single biggest reason to take the money out of politics is for our children," she said. "We cannot afford more of the same political cronyism. Eighteen years is enough. We need to take the money out of politics so that Niagara County, Orleans County and Monroe County can realize their true value and potential for generations of children so they may return to work where they were raised and educated."
Maziarz currently does not represent Niagara Falls in the state Senate as the 62nd Senate District boundaries do not cover the city itself. The city is represented in the Senate at this time by state Sen. Mark Grisanti, R-Niagara Falls and Buffalo.
As a result of a statewide redistricting process, the city of Niagara Falls has been shifted out of the 60th senate district currently represented by Grisanti and into the new-look 62nd Senate district that is up for grabs this fall. The newly aligned 62nd Senate district will cover all of Niagara and Orleans counties as well as part of Monroe County.
Maziarz, who defeated Witryol in the 2010 race for the 62nd Senate District seat, enters this year's contest with $825,500 on hand for his campaign, according to the July periodic summary report from the New York State Board of Elections.
In a written statement issued Thursday, Maziarz said he has supported certain types of campaign finance reform, including requiring full disclosure of each legislator's outside income and requiring members of the legislature to relinquish outside employment. He added that he would continue to do so if he wins the election this November, though he mentioned nothing of spending limits or public funding of campaigns.
Maziarz said that his campaign has gone "above and beyond" to follow finance rules as they exist.
"I think my candidacy has earned support from donors large and small that believe in the job I am doing and approve of my record," he said. "My campaign has more grassroots supporters than large donors - a fact that I am very proud of."
Destino also sent a written statement to the Gazette on Thursday, saying he opposes the sort of reforms that Witryol supports, including publicly funded campaigns, because they would force taxpayers to financially support a candidate with policies that they oppose.
"This law would also result in the perverse situation where a candidate is paying, through their own tax dollars, for her opponent's campaign, and the more money she raises for herself, the more money she ensures is promised to her opponent," Destino said.
While Destino doesn't agree with Witryol on the fix for the problem, he did agree with her on the need to address what he described as the "climate of influence peddling" that exists in Albany.
"Money in politics is only a problem as long as we keep electing men willing to sell out their constituents to the highest bidder," Destino said. "Our system of public disclosure and the media are the greatest vanguard we have against public corruption. We have to do a better job of connect [sic] the dots between politicians and their special interest groups so the voters can make an informed and intelligent decision on election day."
