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In visit to Ithaca, little-known challenger to Gov. Cuomo promises ‘upset of the century’
Ithaca, N.Y. — Zephyr Teachout, who is competing against Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary, visited Ithaca on Saturday.
The Fordham law professor gave a speech to a crowd of about 30 before taking a tour of the Farmers Market. Preceding the speech was an announcement that Teachout had received the endorsement of former Binghamton mayor Matthew Ryan, which she described as her biggest endorsement to date.
Touching on a host of issues, Teachout looked to highlight the flaws of the Cuomo administration while presenting her alternatives. She said her greatest challenge in the race was name recognition.
Cuomo’s program Start Up New York , which seeks to attract business to New York primarily by creating tax-free zones within the state, was a main target for Teachout.
She described the program as, “top-down, trickle-down Reaganism.”
“It seeks to bring in business from outside of New York while ignoring the business that is already here,” she said. “We need to invest in the people of New York rather than trying to attract people from out of the state.”
Teachout said she is a staunch opponent of Cuomo’s property tax cap , of which both officials within the Ithaca City School District and administrative members of Tompkins County have been critical.
The policy, Teachout said, “takes power away from local counties and puts it in the hands of Albany.”
Teachout condemned Cuomo’s alleged tampering with the anti-corruption Moreland Commission, while brushing aside her own legal questions. Teachout’s status as a New York State resident has been under attack by the Cuomo campaign, which challenged her to prove in court that she had lived in New York the required five years. Teachout said she’s unconcerned about the challenge.
She said she believed that the paradigm of power in New York State between counties and the state was backwards. She explained that greater funding should come from the state, while greater power should go to the counties.
This position led her to support full state funding for Medicaid, rather than county contributions, and a shift to state funding for rural public transportation.
Her stance on environmental issues was made clear. She said that as governor she would ban hydraulic fracturing in New York State, and put her full support behind wind, solar, and hydro energy.
“I would ensure that there would not be another parking lot built in the state that is not solar power dependent,” she added.
Teachout remains relatively unknown in New York. A poll conducted in July suggested that only two in ten New Yorkers had heard of her.
However, Teachout remains optimistic.
“We’re going to pull off the upset of the century.”
The Democratic primary is slated for September 9.
Environmentalists: SGEIS Outdated; Urge Cuomo to Withdraw Study
Anti-fracking activists make a new call to Governor Cuomo to withdraw the state's environmental impact statement, or SGEIS, because they say it is outdated.
The activists, including former Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan, say the 2009 document is inadequate since it doesn't include research conducted since then. They are sending Governor Cuomo a letter calling for him to withdraw the SGEIS.
Walter Hang, president of Toxics Targeting said, "so it is simply not current. It is not reflecting the most recent understanding of what's going on with regard to shale fracking, threats to public health and the environment."
“If you're really going to have the safest protocol in the whole country you have to look at what's happening recently and update your documents accordingly,” said Ryan.
Fracking critics hope to see a comprehensive state health study completed on the issue before the state allows the drilling process.
Critics won a major victory last week after New York’s highest court’s ruled that local governments had the right to ban fracking.
Coalition to request Cuomo withdraw environmental impact statement on fracking
Dr. Benjamin Perkus of New York Residents Against Drilling, Erin Heaton Meyer of Chenango Community Action for Renewable Energy, former Mayor Matthew T. Ryan and Walter Hang of Toxics Targeting spoke outside of Binghamton City Hall Monday afternoon. / Steven Howe/Staff Photo
BINGHAMTON — A coalition of organizations opposing fracking in New York met outside City Hall at 38 Hawley St. Monday afternoon to request Gov. Andrew Cuomo withdraw an environmental impact statement which they say is outdated.
The state’s final decision on fracking is meant to be based on the impact statement, a draft of which was first released in September 2009 and revised two years later.
Since that time, new state health reports and scientific research have been published which the statement doesn’t consider, said Walter Hang, who owns Ithaca-based environmental database firm Toxics Targeting, during Monday’s news conference.
“When you look at the document it’s so ancient, it’s so outdated by scientific standards that we believe it simply needs to be withdrawn,” said Hang, of Ithaca.
Former Binghamton Mayor Matthew T. Ryan and representatives from New York Residents Against Drilling and Chenango Community Action for Renewable Energy attended the news conference. The coalition plans to send a letter to Cuomo requesting an updated draft environmental statement with a comprehensive health impact study.
So far, 803 people have signed the letter, according to Toxics Targeting’s website.
In 2012, Cuomo called for a health review on the impact statement before final approval. Former state health commissioner Dr. Nirav Shah resigned in April before the analysis was completed.
The state placed a moratorium on fracking since 2008 and the health department has been reviewing the process since September 2012.
Ryan said state governments have made independent health and environmental impact findings on fracking but no in-depth studies have been made to inform the regulations on the controversial natural gas extraction technique.
“Nobody has ever put together the kind of comprehensive health impact study or environmental impact study that’s needed for this industry,” he said. “New York could get something real right by doing this.”
In a reactionary joint release from pro-fracking group Unshackle Upstate and the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce, both groups championed the economic development benefits of natural gas drilling.
“The Southern Tier’s residents and businesses are tired of having their economic futures put at risk by a politically-motivated process,” said Unshackle Upstate Executive Director Brian Sampson.