Unopposed or Unwanted?

Veronica Ung-Kono ‘18, STAFF WRITER

October 30, 2014

Not a Green Party, a Right to Life, or a Libertarian is running against the candidates for the New York Senate.

Currently Senator John D. Francisco [R-Syracuse], James Seward [R-Milford], Patty Ritchie [R-Oswegatchie], Michael Nozzolio [R-Fayette], David Valesky [D-Oneida] and Joseph Griffo [R-Rome] will be running in an election for the first time in about 16 years where opposition is nonexistent.

This means voters of Central New York will be stuck with the decisions of voters from the districts of Buffalo, Albany and across the Hudson Valley, who will either turn the chamber into an entirely Democratic institution by joining the two factions of Democrats, or allow Republicans to retain control.

A Democratically powered Senate would affect Central New York by first tipping the power Downstate, as there are only eight Democratic Senators currently representing Upstate out of the 63.

A slip in Senate control would lead to a change in the influence of Central New York’s two Senators: Senator David Valesky [D-Oneida] and John DeFrancisco [R-Syracuse] who have been following these races closely.

Both Valesky and DeFrancisco agree that they do not know how Valesky’s Independent Democratic Conference will end on November fourth.

In an interview with Teri Weaver of Syracuse.com, Senator DeFrancisco stated, “It’s like businessmen, giving to both sides of the campaign to hedge their bets…Everybody is going to court as many people as they can.”

Last summer, Senator Valesky’s IDC [Independent Democratic Conference] pledged to partner with the Senate’s other Democrats, while under pressure from Govenor Andrew Cuomo and the left wing of the Democratic party. This month, Valesky said the IDC still stands behind this pledge, as long as both factions have enough seats to control the Senate. However, he also stated that there is no guarantee the IDC will not be partnering with Republicans.

Here at Le Moyne, a growing concern over this has left many students wondering what such State Senate would entail for them. Would this mean less financial aid for us in the upcoming semesters—perhaps like the Democrats in New Jersey who have resurrected their 2012 plan to grant financial aid to unauthorized immigrant students?

Freshman Hunter Igoe said, “I think they would push more money into state universities.”

Some have also raised the question as to whether or not there would be an issue of favoritism, regarding the majority of Downstate Senators. Igoe thinks “politicians are more concerned about their own districts than the state as a whole due to the fact that they are elected by only a small percent of the state, but they would still require negotiation with the rest of the Senate.”

http://thedolphinlmc.com/news-features/2014/10/30/unopposed-or-unwanted/