Letter to the Editor: Support for Peter Harckham for Assembly seat
Peter Harckham
See details of NCCTV’s replays of the 45-minute event in “Read more.”
February 5, 2010
by Jane Lindau
I am writing to you today to ask that you help get the word out to get people to vote in a very important special election on Tuesday, February 9, 2010.
This election has come about because our former Assemblyman, Adam Bradley, moved on to become Mayor of White Plains in January. The 89th Assembly district needs a strong new Assemblyperson to represent us in Albany. I am writing to urge you to vote for Peter Harckham to fill that seat. I am supporting Peter because I believe that he is the right person to get our tax burden reduced and to help us navigate the fiscal crisis in Albany, while protecting our schools and the environment.
County Legislator Peter Harckham has called on state legislators to ease the property tax burden on local governments. If passed, the budget cuts proposed in the Governor’s 2011 Budgets could mean steep property tax hikes for Westchester residents as local school districts try to make up for the losses in their budget proposals this spring. Among the cuts proposed in the Governor’s budget is $718,805 in school funding for Chappaqua.
Harckham, whose reputation as a bipartisan consensus builder has allowed him to successfully fight for fiscal responsibility in county government, is a longtime champion of quality public education in Westchester. “Westchester residents already pay among the highest property taxes in the nation, and in these difficult economic times, it is essential that we have leadership in Albany that will work to find fiscally responsible ways to keep our communities affordable while ensuring that our children’s education is never put at risk,” he said.
Harckham calls for an end to unfunded mandates from Albany
Harckham has also called for putting an end to unfunded mandates that cost county taxpayers millions of dollars every year. Citing Medicaid, which will cost Westchester residents $207 million in property taxes this year, as a primary example, Harckham said, “We could reduce the county portion of property taxes tomorrow by a third if New York funded Medicaid like 48 other states do. Only New York and North Carolina pass these costs on to property tax payers.”
In addition, 12 northern Westchester towns in the East of Hudson NYC watershed are facing combined costs of $80 million in order to meet mandated phosphorus reduction targets for drinking water as part of the new MS-4 Stormwater Permit. Said Harckham, “It is vital that Albany finds a way to ease the tax burden on New Yorkers by putting a stop to unfunded mandates and finding better, more cost effective ways to pay for important infrastructure without passing the cost on to property taxpayers. Unfunded mandates from the state and federal government are hitting Westchester’s residents directly in their wallets at a time when our national and state economies are already facing serious crises. We need fiscally responsible leadership in Albany that will step up to the plate and finally put an end to unfunded mandates.”
Peter is running for the Assembly because it’s time for a fresh, bipartisan approach that will ease this crushing burden for New York’s families and communities. Please vote on Tuesday, February 9th, and spread the word to everyone you know to vote for Peter Harckham. The regular polling places where you vote for local and federal elections will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Sincerely,
Jane Lindau, co-chair of the New Castle Democratic Committee
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Candidates’ Night was filmed by NCCTV and is now being shown in “video on demand” (view anytime on your computer) and on Verizon Channel 45 and Cablevision Channel 75 at these hours:
Friday - 2/5/10 7pm, 10:30pm
Saturday - 2/6/10 1am, 7am, 11am, 7pm, 11:30pm
Sunday - 2/7/10 9am, 3pm. 9am
Monday - 2/8/10 2am, 8am, 1pm, 7pm, 10:30pm
Tuesday - 2/9/10 1am, 7am, 11am
