Quid Pro Quo: A Learned Skill

Which politician made this statement:

“This legislation will eliminate big money from campaigns and make local residents the sole concern of local candidates for offices. It will make it clear to local residents that their participation really matters.”

One would naturally believe it’s our Town Supervisor as this is Greenburgh, where Mr Feiner knows what to say to the press but does not have the ability to practice what he preaches. No, this statement is from another politician who actually got his start in Greenburgh, moved up the food chain as a County Legislator and is now the sitting Democratic NYS Assemblyman. That’s right, this statement is from Tom Abinanti, regarding campaign financing for political candidates.

Why is this important? Because Mr Abinanti just imposed another NY State unfunded mandate upon us via our school taxes. Second, because on October 30, 2014, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed into law two bills that New York State Assemblyman Tom Abinanti (D-Greenburgh/Mt. Pleasant) sponsored/co-sponsored. The first bill is the one we are taking issue with. It's not because of what is accomplished with this unfunded mandate of helping students in need of this medical treatment. Rather, because it reeks of Quid Pro Quo in a Town that sees approvals passed for fire truck donations and lawsuits when the approvals are denied because a donation is refused.

The first bill (A.7791) authorizes schools to stock and administer EpiPens to any student in an emergency even if the student doesn’t have a prescription. Assemblyman Abinanti drafted, sponsored and pursued this legislation in response to increasing reports of deaths in schools due to anaphylactic reactions. 

As we were looking into the financial records of Mr Abinanti during this election, we were stunned to find that he may be receiving payments in the form of campaign contributions from the drug company Pfizer to introduce legislation that could financially benefit their company. Knowing the inculcation of how things get done in Greenburgh, we thought we would take a look and see what else we could find.

We took a look at the Pfizer website and found that not only do they donate a lot of money to a lot of people on both sides of the aisle, they even have a political PAC set up to do so. They claim it is set up so their employees can help their local politicians. We did a search of 2014 and lo and behold, there is Mr Abinanti’s name with a $1000 donation from the Pfizer drug company (see picture below). 

 

Before we made a judgement, we went to the Campaign Financial Disclosure of the New York State Board of Elections Contribution web page and sought Mr Abinanti’s donation information. Not surprisingly, it listed the donations from Pfizer along with other businesses, PAC’s and individuals (see picture below).

Further investigation to previous election filings showed many of the same supporters routinely coughing up donation money to Mr Abinanti. But not the drug company Pfizer. Here’s the rub: Pfizer pays Mr Abinanti $1,000 through his campaign finance account in two increments of $500. Mr Abinanti sponsors and get passed a bill requiring schools to purchase EPI-Pens from a drug supplier. The drug supplier may or may not be Pfizer. Of course, many will champion that this is acceptable because after all, “it’s for the children.”

ABG cannot prove an ulterior motive between the financial payments made to Mr Abinanti and the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. But there is certainly a link that exists between the two! There's no two ways about it, the legislation he sponsored and got passed will benefit big drug companies such as Pfizer. Quid pro quo? In an economic climate as bad as what we have, shouldn’t Mr Abinanti be trying to help small businesses prosper instead of creating legislation guaranteeing humongous drug companies even more money?  Of course he should. But, if he’s obligated to Pfizer and any other companies, can we really expect anything else?

He also sponsored campaign finance legislation that would allow incumbents a gold-mine of money for campaigning if passed. This year Mr Abinanti showed that he raised $49,201.01 as of his last campaign finance filing with the Board of Elections. His legislation, if passed, promises to give him a lot more of our money so he can continue to run for office and find new and improved ways to waste our money. Would he stop taking payments from drug companies if the bill were passed into law? There's no way to tell. However, while past performance is no guarantee of future results, we think the results are kind of easy to guess. Mr Abinanti should be trying to curb taxes for the everyday person instead of trying to find new ways to waste our money for his benefit?

This Tuesday is your opportunity to make some of this right. Mr Abinanti has spent 24 years in public office and is a career politician whose primary interest has been proven to be Mr Abinanti. It's apparent he's gotten very comfortable in office. It's time to think differently. Make the right decision and maybe we can start to see A Better Greenburgh.

92nd District Candidate Responds Addendum

We've previously posted several positions that Mike Duffy, Candidate for the 92nd Assembly District had made to ABG. Here is one more that he wished to add to what he had already given us:

How I would handle tax incentives:

I've already been instrumental in obtaining tax incentives. I am a member of the Mount Pleasant Industrial Development Agency. Recently, we approved the Regeneron project in Eastview, which provided for tax incentives for Regeneron to stay in the Greenburgh-Mount Pleasant area, and greatly expand their facilities. There was a strong possibility that they would relocate out of the area.

Greenburgh, Mount Pleasant, Elmsford and Tarrytown, which are within the 92nd Assembly District, will benefit directly from the project. Approximately 400 additional jobs will be created with the expansion. Local businesses will benefit from the new employees who patronize those businesses, in addition to increased sales tax revenue.

Click the link to see the lohud article on the Regeneron project:

http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2013/04/04/regeneron-to-expand-create-400-jobs-in-mount-pleasant/

92nd District Candidate Responds

In a previous post, we discussed some of 92nd District Candidate Mike Duffy's Campaign platform. A reader posed a few questions and Mr Duffy's response is below:

Unfunded Mandates
With regards to unfunded mandates in general, I will propose legislation that mandates if the state passes the law mandating local and/or county compliance, the state pays for it. It would not be allowed to pass the costs down to county or local governments.

Medicaid
Medicaid is a federal program foisted on the states. The states' issue with Medicaid is that the 62 counties administer the program - this is unnecessary! The state should administer the program, allowing for uniform administration and a freeing up of county resources. A secondary major issue regarding Medicaid is that there is a tremendous amount of fraud in the system. Fraud raises the cost of Medicaid exponentially. Again, if the state administered the program, it would be in a better position to investigate and combat fraud. Most counties in NY have relatively small governments and the administration of Medicaid is a costly burden that needs to end.

Pensions
Public pensions are tied to collective bargaining agreements. However, often the high cost of pensions occurs due to the padding of overtime. Legislation could be enacted that would comport with the cba's (collective bargaining agreements), and fight overtime abuse.

Valhalla & the Kensico Dam
The roadway to the Kensico Dam is administered by the county, and the dam infrastructure belongs to the NYC DEP. You also have the towns of Mount Pleasant and North Castle involved. Having said all that, I would contact all the parties involved and work towards opening the dam by being persistent with all necessary individuals. I'm not saying it would be easy. What I am saying is that sitting back and nothing will accomplish nothing. I believe that intelligent persistence will result in the roadway bring opened, thus allowing a quicker commute, and relief to the traffic choked village of Valhalla.

Candidate Mike Duffy for 92nd Assembly Seat Receives Governor Pataki’s Endorsement

In a statement just released by former New York State Governor George Pataki, he had these comments to say of 92nd Assembly District candidate Mike Duffy:

“I am pleased to endorse Mike Duffy for the 92nd Assembly district in Westchester County. 

Now more than ever, New Yorkers need a representative who has the courage and integrity to take a stand against the business-as-usual Albany cronies and their failed policies. 

For three decades, Mike has served the people of Westchester County in a distinguished career in law enforcement.  

From a police officer in White Plains to Chief Investigator for the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, Mike has protected the rights and lives of New Yorkers.

As Chief Investigator for the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, Mike Duffy and his investigators worked shoulder-to-shoulder with NYPD to keep New Yorkers safe and secure in the aftermath of terrorist attack of 9/11. 

Mike will protect our rights, ensure taxpayer dollars are spent in pursuit of improving the lives of all New Yorkers, not just a select few, and demand integrity and transparency. 

As Assemblyman, Mike will continue his public service. He will make sure that New York is working for its people, and that all voices are heard.

I endorse Mike Duffy for 92nd Assembly and I urge you to vote for him.

George E. Pataki”