Despite the cold, wet weather in Cazenovia Tuesday night, nearly 100 people showed up at the Cazenovia Public Library to attend a debate between Democrat Bill Magee and Republican John Salka, the two candidates running for election to the 121st district in the state assembly.
The debate, sponsored by the Cazenovia League of Women Voters, covered issues ranging from raising the minimum wage, to state electoral redistricting, public funding of political campaigns, state school funding, casinos in New York state, alleged corruption in the state legislature, gas drilling in New York, marriage equality and how to keep residents and businesses from leaving the state due to high taxes.
The two candidates offered distinctly opposite viewpoints on how they would approach serving the upcoming term in the assembly if elected, with Magee, the incumbent, running on his record and offering a continuance of his service, and Salka, the challenger, advocating an aggressive approach to “shake things up” and fight against entrenched Albany politics.
“My message is one of frustration,” Salka said during his opening remarks, citing New York’s high taxes, abundance of oppressive business regulations and lagging student test scores. “It’s been disturbing. The things I have seen just don’t set right with me. New York is a great state, and nothing has been done to make it that way or keep it that way, and my intent is to return that pride. … Downstate politics has dictated time and time again politics in Upstate New York.”
Magee said he has had a “long career” in politics and has “probably done the most with constituent services because we know how important it is that people do their businesses without obstruction from government.” He said he has brought a lot of state funding to the 121st district. “It is my job to get the fair share passed down to you,” he said. “I’d like the opportunity to go back to Albany to work on the issues we have.”
The debate consisted of each candidate having two minutes to respond to questions submitted by audience members, with each question asked by moderator Anne Redfern, a member of the Cazenovia League of Women Voters. There were more than 80 people in attendance.
“We were very happy that there was such a good audience to provide the candidates with questions on hot topics,” Redfern said.
Following is a summary of where the candidates stood on the issues:
Raising the minimum wage
Salka said the minimum wage “should be a livable minimum wage,” but that business owners should be allowed input on any wage raise legislation because “they need to make a profit too.”
Magee said he voted against the last minimum wage raise bill in the assembly because there was no increase for young workers and the bill did not adequately consider the impact on farmers. “I’m open to further discussion on the issue,” Magee said.
State political redistricting
Magee said it “appears good” but he would like more input from his constituents the issue.
Salka said he would not vote for the ballot proposal to change state redistricting procedure, saying he sees few changes in it compared to the current redistricting system. “It’s very difficult to believe politicians will risk giving up their power.”
Public funding of political campaigns
Salka called money “the poison of our democratic process,” that corrupts both politics and sound judgment. He said he was in favor of public campaign financing because it will ensure better, more honest candidates will run for political office.
Magee said he had “a lot of reservations” about public campaign financing, saying he finds it difficult to tell taxpayers that the state will take their money for political campaigns but then not give sufficient state funds to schools or other deserving people or groups.
School funding inequity/ Gap Elimination Adjustment
Magee said the state Gap Elimination Adjustment Act — which takes away state aid from school districts in order to fill state budget gaps — should be eliminated because it is “unfair” to school districts.
Salka called the GEA and the state’s Common Core mandates “a recipe for educational disaster,” and said he will work to repeal both if elected.
More casinos in New York state
“The voters have already approved that … whether we like it or not,” Magee said. “More casinos properly operated could be good.”
Salka said he felt it was “the wrong thing to do” to approve the expansion of casinos in New York, that it is a sure way for people to lose their money and it is not a good way to create “good, sound jobs.” He said he would vote against it if the issue came up again.
Alleged corruption in the state legislature
“Alleged?” Salka said. “There’s been a culture of corruption in Albany for years and years. … It doesn’t seem like it’s going to change until we change Albany.”
Magee said he was “certainly not supportive” of what happens in Albany, “but can I change it overnight? The answer is no. There’s no question but that we need to monitor that.”
The issue of political corruption was one of the few times during the debate that one candidate actually challenged the other directly, with Salka calling out Magee for continually supporting Manhattan Democrat Sheldon Silver as speaker of the state assembly despite Silver’s numerous scandals. Recently, Silver disclosed that he made a $103,000 secret settlement in 2012 to end sexual harassment charges against a legislator; that he makes up to $450,000 annually from a private law firm that specializes in negligence law, which is written in Albany; and the husband of his chief of staff was charged with stealing millions from a charity.
“It’s embarrassing that our speaker of the assembly has so much corruption around him,” Salka said.
Magee conceded that he has regularly supported Silver for speaker, but said he had to if he wanted to successfully represent his district in Albany. Silver is renowned for seeking retribution against assembly members who oppose him for speaker.
“What am I going to do?” Magee asked.
Gas drilling
Magee said he voted for the state moratorium on gas drilling that is currently in effect and that he has opposed hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) because “that is what a majority of my district wants.” He said he does not believe hydrofracking will happen in New York state any time soon, if at all, but if it does ever occur here the state must make sure the process is safe.
Salka said gas drilling is “a very important issue,” and in the town of Brookfield, where he is supervisor, they have passed a two-year moratorium on drilling. He said he does feel, however, that moratoriums simply “kick the can down the road” in terms of addressing the issue.
Keeping residents and businesses in New York
“We should cut taxes, for one thing,” Salka said about how best to keep residents and businesses not only from leaving New York state, but also deciding to move into New York state. He said the state needs to cut waste and mismanagement in government, that greater efficiency can help bring down the tax rate. “I know there’s ways to save money in the $140 billion state budget, we just have to think outside the box.”
Magee said there is “no question” that state taxes must be reduced, particularly property taxes. He said looking at all the state mandates that are forced upon local governments would be a good place to start. “There’s a lot more we can do; I’ll continue to work to make that happen,” he said.
Marriage equality
Magee said he voted against the Marriage Equality Act in the assembly because he felt the majority of his constituents oppose it.
Salka, saying the government should not “dictate” how people live, said “if a stable family life can be encouraged, by all means let’s do it. We need to kind of grow up on this subject.”
In their closing remarks, the two candidates reiterated their positions. Salka mentioned that one newspaper quoted him as saying that if he is elected he will go to Albany and “get in people’s faces.” He laughed about it and said, “I probably will. You’ve got to be aggressive to be heard.” He said he would take his energy, enthusiasm and passion for the issues and the people of the 121st district and “shake things up.”
“I know we can do it. I’m willing to be the one to pull us all together. … We can turn it around,” he said.
Magee said that he has done a lot of good for the district for the past 19 years in the assembly, and he wants to continue doing it. Addressing Salka’s statements about confronting or fighting against the downstate politicians in Albany, Magee said “Downstate legislators can’t be ignored on legislation … they have to be worked with.”
He said he has a lot of contacts and a lot of pull in Albany, and he has used those to be successful in bring funding back to his district.
“There’s a lot of things I can still do and I want the opportunity to go back and work some more,” he said.
Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].
