Fort Hamilton Station, NY (10/18) The Conservative Party released its ratings for the 2010 legislative session today in order to keep the electorate apprised of how their legislators voted on 25 key bills acted upon in the current year.

The Conservative Party tracks legislation throughout the session, issues support and opposition memos, and determines, at
an executive committee meeting, which key issues, including spending, crime, education and various other topics that
affect the lives of New Yorkers, will be used. “We believe that it is necessary to keep the public informed of these key votes and let the taxpayers be aware of how elected officials spend our money. We often look beyond the budget bills to consider how other legislation effects school budgets, health coverage and how unfunded mandates increase the cost of doing business in New York,” said Mike Long, State Chairman.

“A review of the twenty-five bills we used in this year’s ratings will show voters where the legislature is wrong on the issues and some show where they have hindered the growth of jobs and other ways New Yorkers are forced to give up their hard earned pay”, said Long. “The ratings give voters a scorecard on how their individual legislator voted and how many times they force local governments, already reeling from previous unfunded mandates from the Legislature, to raise taxes in order to continue to pay for many programs that should be reduced, and for new programs that should not be enacted” Long continued.

“New York voters need to make choices on election day and our ratings are a microcosm of thousands of bills introduced and considered during the legislative session,” Long stated. Members were well aware of the fiscal crisis New York faced and yet the Democratic controlled Senate and Assembly did nothing to control spending, the sad fact is they raised taxes to continue spending at levels New York residents cannot sustain. They have ignored the economic reality that the revenue stream has evaporated while they continue to increase taxes on items forcing New Yorkers to find other places and ways to make their purchases. There is only one way to resolve the fiscal morass: elect officials who will cut spending. New Yorkers should review our ratings and vote for those who voted against the out of control spending and against costly programs that do not work. Unless significant changes are made, New Yorker’s will continue to leave New York as fast as they can, and those who stay won’t be able to sustain the state. Businesses that can no longer support ever increasing costs will close, and more New Yorkers will lose their jobs.” Long stated.

The 38.22% overall rating of the New York State Senate breaks down to 64.96% for Republican/Conservative Members and 13.57% for Democrat/Working Families Party Members. The Assembly, led by Speaker Sheldon Silver and the Working Families Party, who endorse a majority of the 107 Democratic Members, averaged 27.22% overall. The 42 Republican Members averaged 69.41% while the Democrats averaged a paltry 10.66%.

“When you vote on November 2, please consider these ratings and vote accordingly. You can make the difference by casting your vote for those who understand your plight,” Long concluded.

(Ratings are online at https://www.cpnys.org/node/63 If you have a problem downloading, please call: 718-921-2158 or 518-356-7882 for a copy of the Ratings. Thank you.)