Gubernatorial Elections

The 2002 New York State Gubernatorial race has focused largely on the issues of the upstate economy, education, and budgetary reform. Based on these and other issues, The Spectrum endorses New York State Comptroller H. Carl McCall to succeed and replace George E. Pataki for governor of New York State.

In the past eight years, while the nation saw unprecedented economic growth, state support declined 16 percent for the state and city universities of New York. McCall plans to restore cuts to SUNY and CUNY made during the Pataki administration. Currently, New York ranks behind all states except Hawaii, Montana and Alaska in this area in terms of relative investment. A McCall administration would mean that New York's relative investment in terms of "real purchasing power" would rise beyond the embarrassing standing of 47th in the nation.

In Buffalo, jobs have been lost in the eight years Gov. Pataki has held office, all while he promised increased employment. Not only are jobs leaving, but people are also relocating from Western and Central New York in search of greener financial pastures. McCall says he wants to focus his economic plan on "information technology, financial service, biotechnology and business services." This focus will create higher-skilled jobs that are also better paying. An increase in high-paying jobs will first serve to stem the tide of people leaving the area and will eventually attract skilled labor from other regions.

A major initiative McCall would set into place is a tax incentive to in-state corporations that hire state college and university graduates and to corporations that employ at salaries 25 percent higher than the average regional wage, helping to ensure that hiring priority would be given to SUNY and CUNY graduates. Hiring priority, coupled with high-paying careers, means more educated citizens staying in New York, stemming the exodus of the college-educated. An additional bonus to the tax incentives, and likely their primary advantage, is to entice corporate America to stay in, or even relocate to, New York.

As governor, McCall has pledged to approach the budget with more patience and willingness to negotiate, rather than relying on the courts to decide budget conflicts. Part of this patience includes widening the negotiating and approval period from three to six months and beginning the fiscal year in July instead of April. This lack of negotiating time more than likely accounts for New York's consistently and discouragingly late budgetary approvals.

As comptroller, the state's financial watchdog, McCall understands that a balanced budget is necessary if the state is going to be economically strong in the long run. He would, therefore, empower the next comptroller with the authority to certify that a budget is indeed balanced. In addition to this authority, McCall would grant the comptroller, with the help of "outside experts," the power to issue a "binding budgetary forecast in the event legislative consensus is not reached."

In all, McCall has a good grasp and promising outlook on solving New York's financial problems. Former President Bill Clinton, while still governor of Arkansas, reminded aides in the 1992 election that the contest was "about the economy." This election is also about the economy; specifically, the economy of western and upstate.

McCall understands that the economy is linked to education, and he understands that statewide economic reform begins with Albany. McCall has been a leader for his entire political career, from a vice president of Citicorp to president of the New York City Board of Education, and is the appropriate leader to take New York away from its population loss, financial struggles, educational depletion and budgetary paralysis.