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Lopez: Tighten belts
By Molly Salisbury
Assemblyman Pete Lopez, (R - 127th District) invited the citizens of Taghkanic and Gallatin to a town hall meeting last Tuesday to voice their concerns and ask questions. With 18 residents in attendance, the spirited conversation lasted a good two hours. The meeting was held at the Gallatin Town Hall, “the envy of our neighbors,” said one audience member. Supervisors Linda Scheer (R - Gallatin) and Betty Young (R – Taghkanic) were in attendance.
The evening’s discussion had a theme: our new economy of scarcity. Issues brought up ranged from the questionably high cost of education and property taxes to the question of “when are we going to get high speed Internet out here?” (Answer: Soon, hopefully.)
To start off, Lopez griped a bit about his colleagues. “I’d say Albany works most like the feudal era.” He accused colleagues of doing crossword puzzles instead of paying attention to the substance of the bills they vote on. “I get frustrated when a colleague says 'I'm all caught up.' To me that means you're not vested.”
He did come out in defense of Governor David Paterson however, and spoke of him with respect. “He’s intelligent, articulate, and principled. He’s a good person.” Lopez’s support of Gov. Paterson is especially meaningful in the wake of reports that President Barack Obama’s staff members urged Paterson to withdraw from the 2010 race.
Lopez praised Paterson’s initial severe budget cuts and considers the current New York State budget to be “unsustainable.” The budget increased by 10% this year, which was funded in part by borrowing and in part by the stimulus funds. Lopez described Albany as a place where a thousand voices call out “give us more” and that Paterson “caught hell for saying ‘you can’t have it.’”
The Assemblyman doesn’t strictly advocate for ‘cuts’ — at least not in so many words. He couches — or elucidates —his vision as a two-pronged process. Lopez suggests that like our depression era parents and grandparents, we have to come to terms with the fact that our ‘culture of abundance’ is over. Then we have to reform. “It’s not about where to get more money. It’s about how to spend less.”
Refreshingly, Lopez didn’t promise sweeping fix-all mandates, but spoke about the ‘reform’ process as having conversations and building consensus. He gave an example of a money saving ‘reform’: consolidating public school administration. Lopez reiterated, “We have to change the way we do business.”
Supervisor Scheer (R – Gallatin) cited a prediction that Columbia County will lose up to 10,000 residents in the next decade. The Assemblyman’s response was broad. He made connections to the Hudson Valley’s decline to the fact the US is dependent on foreign fuel and foreign food production. “In the future, we have to make our own food, our own energy.”
But then, more concretely, he launched into a well-received presentation about how the state needs to be “friendlier to business.” Lopez wants to go business to business, get wish lists. He aligned educational objectives with business objectives and suggested, “The individuals who don’t go to college — we need to give them skills.”
Near the end of the meeting audience member Scott Stackpole queried, “Will Albany ever change the way property tax funds are used to fund schools?” This led to a lively discussion touching on all the usual fixes: caps, circuit breakers, income tax. Lopez’s answer was consistent: before we look for new or different sources of cash, let’s reform the spending patterns.
Lopez’s 127th Assembly District is a sprawling area that includes portions of Chenango, Columbia, Delaware, Greene, Otsego, Schoharie, and Ulster counties. In Columbia County, Lopez represents Livingston, Clermont and Germantown as well as Taghkanic and Gallatin. Lopez noted he drives 45,000 miles a year keeping in touch with his constituents. “I work seven days a week, 12 to 16 hours a day. But I rarely miss Sunday morning church.”
The Assemblyman received a round of applause at the end of the meeting, and someone called out, “So when are you going to run for governor?”
Lopez answered seriously. “I’m not a member of a dynasty and I’m not a millionaire” — leaving the audience to figure out the answer for themselves: probably never.
The evening’s discussion had a theme: our new economy of scarcity. Issues brought up ranged from the questionably high cost of education and property taxes to the question of “when are we going to get high speed Internet out here?” (Answer: Soon, hopefully.)
To start off, Lopez griped a bit about his colleagues. “I’d say Albany works most like the feudal era.” He accused colleagues of doing crossword puzzles instead of paying attention to the substance of the bills they vote on. “I get frustrated when a colleague says 'I'm all caught up.' To me that means you're not vested.”
He did come out in defense of Governor David Paterson however, and spoke of him with respect. “He’s intelligent, articulate, and principled. He’s a good person.” Lopez’s support of Gov. Paterson is especially meaningful in the wake of reports that President Barack Obama’s staff members urged Paterson to withdraw from the 2010 race.
Lopez praised Paterson’s initial severe budget cuts and considers the current New York State budget to be “unsustainable.” The budget increased by 10% this year, which was funded in part by borrowing and in part by the stimulus funds. Lopez described Albany as a place where a thousand voices call out “give us more” and that Paterson “caught hell for saying ‘you can’t have it.’”
The Assemblyman doesn’t strictly advocate for ‘cuts’ — at least not in so many words. He couches — or elucidates —his vision as a two-pronged process. Lopez suggests that like our depression era parents and grandparents, we have to come to terms with the fact that our ‘culture of abundance’ is over. Then we have to reform. “It’s not about where to get more money. It’s about how to spend less.”
Refreshingly, Lopez didn’t promise sweeping fix-all mandates, but spoke about the ‘reform’ process as having conversations and building consensus. He gave an example of a money saving ‘reform’: consolidating public school administration. Lopez reiterated, “We have to change the way we do business.”
Supervisor Scheer (R – Gallatin) cited a prediction that Columbia County will lose up to 10,000 residents in the next decade. The Assemblyman’s response was broad. He made connections to the Hudson Valley’s decline to the fact the US is dependent on foreign fuel and foreign food production. “In the future, we have to make our own food, our own energy.”
But then, more concretely, he launched into a well-received presentation about how the state needs to be “friendlier to business.” Lopez wants to go business to business, get wish lists. He aligned educational objectives with business objectives and suggested, “The individuals who don’t go to college — we need to give them skills.”
Near the end of the meeting audience member Scott Stackpole queried, “Will Albany ever change the way property tax funds are used to fund schools?” This led to a lively discussion touching on all the usual fixes: caps, circuit breakers, income tax. Lopez’s answer was consistent: before we look for new or different sources of cash, let’s reform the spending patterns.
Lopez’s 127th Assembly District is a sprawling area that includes portions of Chenango, Columbia, Delaware, Greene, Otsego, Schoharie, and Ulster counties. In Columbia County, Lopez represents Livingston, Clermont and Germantown as well as Taghkanic and Gallatin. Lopez noted he drives 45,000 miles a year keeping in touch with his constituents. “I work seven days a week, 12 to 16 hours a day. But I rarely miss Sunday morning church.”
The Assemblyman received a round of applause at the end of the meeting, and someone called out, “So when are you going to run for governor?”
Lopez answered seriously. “I’m not a member of a dynasty and I’m not a millionaire” — leaving the audience to figure out the answer for themselves: probably never.
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