Historically speaking, the problem always has been convincing downstate politicians of the need for both ends of New York to work together. Animosity fueled by a "city slickers" vs. "country bumpkins" mentality hasn't helped -- remember New York City Mayor Ed Koch blowing his 1982 gubernatorial run when he said upstate folks were "wasting time in a pickup truck when you have to drive 20 miles to buy a gingham dress or a Sears Roebuck suit"?
On Wednesday, though, came a solid admission about the shared destiny of upstate and downstate. In the first-ever "state of upstate" speech -- a follow-up to his State of the State speech last week -- now-Gov. Spitzer said: "We are one New York, and we rise and fall together. When part of our state is struggling, it affects all of us."
Spitzer outlined a series of proposals for upstate, including better support and marketing for upstate farms, funds for the construction of development-ready sites, and plans to build or rehabilitate 10,000 homes and apartments. He also wants to create business "incubators" at colleges such as Binghamton University, and also send 200 state troopers to help upstate cities fight violent crime.
On Tuesday, state officials announced $3.7 million for local renewal projects -- tearing down the abandoned Endicott Forging plant and the Ozalid Corp. building in Johnson City, as well as the O'Neil Building and other sites in Binghamton.
In other words, it's the usual laundry list of things meant to provide helping hands as needed. How exactly all of these initiatives will be funded given the state's potential $4.3 billion deficit will remain a mystery until next Tuesday, when Spitzer unveils his budget plan.
But what's most encouraging is that the governor's fellow downstaters, such as Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, seem to agree that an upstate boost would provide mutual benefit to everyone.
Gov. Spitzer on Wednesday laid out an ambitious agenda for upstate revival, nearly all of it dependent on an agreeable state Legislature and a state not crippled by deficit.
The fact that a governor came upstate - to Buffalo - for the first time to deliver a speech to address the concerns of this economically troubled region and to propose remedies, ought not be underestimated. Spitzer said in an interview with upstate editorial boards last month that his legacy rides on his ability to turn upstate around. If that's not so, it ought to be. He was elected in part on his promise to reverse upstate stagnation.
If the state does not move this year to infuse upstate with more capital and policy reform, the looming recession could deepen the problems. Now is the time.
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Spitzer touched all the bases Wednesday. His review of upstate's needs was comprehensive. All that's missing now is action.
More than the significance of any of its considerable parts, what matters most about Gov. Spitzer's State of Upstate address Wednesday is that he gave it all.
Finally we have a governor willing to wade into Buffalo, the South Bronx of our times, and promise major state resources, guided by local hands, to turn it and western New York around.
Now, rhetoric remains just that, whether uttered in Rockwell Hall at Buffalo State College or, as in the past, in Albany. But the fact that Eliot Spitzer brought the weight of his office to Buffalo, that the event was attended by key members of the Legislature and that it was treated with an appropriate level of importance, seems to herald a breakthrough in terms of exercising political will to save upstate. None too soon.
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I found the closing few minutes of Spitzer's impressive, conciliatory speech a notch above the rest, when he stated "there is one New York, one state and one future." That was a clear shot at any legislators or downstate types who might complain about sending $1 billion out to the western part of the state.
Come on, fair is fair. New York City had its rescue during the Carey years. Albany got a huge boost during the Pataki years. It's Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Binghamton's turn.
Spitzer's failures as a political reformer and politician during his first year in office have been well-documented and written to death. What his administration hasn't gotten proper credit for, though, is a year of doing its homework in preparation for the upstate revitalization initiative.
Apparently -- and we're hearing no contradictory words from upstate politicians of either stripe -- Spitzer's people went on their own extensive, Hillary-style "listening tour" to assess upstate troubles and upstate needs. Consequently, the laundry list the governor enumerated Wednesday carries the weight of local input, and the promise of shared commitment. Not the usual, Albany top-down economic packaging and policy making.
Last week I chided Will Barclay for his ad demonizing Downstate.
Now it is Downstaters who who deserve some righteous indignation. Some pre-emptive reactions to Spitzer's State of Upstate speech are very sad:
"We have been helping upstate forever," said Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, who represents Mount Vernon and part of Yonkers in Westchester County. "Nobody is saying we should stop sending money upstate, but some needs have to be taken care of downstate. Downstate is not the land of milk and honey."
How much more should the downstate area pay to support everyplace else? I don't think we can afford any more," said Richard Bivone, president of the Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce, who added that rising property taxes on Long Island make it difficult to ask residents there to disproportionately consider the plight of the upstate economy.
The best reasons to help Upstate are moral ones- we all share this state and Downstate has an obligation to help Upstate, even notwithstanding Upstate helping out Downstate in the 1970's.
But since these people don't seem to care about the moral obligation, there is another reason for Downstate to help Upstate: self-interest
There are differing figures, but the general number I hear most often is that New York City taxpayers give $3 billion more to Albany than we receive back from the state government each year. Presumably, most of that money goes Upstate.
Additionally, New York is likely to lose 1 or 2 congressional seats after the next census' reapportionment. The lion's share of the population loss/slower-than-US-average-growth is in Upstate New York.
Put simply, it is in Downstate's own interest to reverse the economic decline of Upstate, for no other reasons than to stop the need to ship Downstate's tax dollars Upstate and to preserve the strength of New York's congressional delegation.
If there's one thing all politicians understand, it is self-interest. Since moral reasons to help Upstate are apparently beyond the comprehension of some, anti-Upstate politicians should at least support Spitzer's plan because it will help downstate also.
First off, let me say that being in attendance at the State of Upstate was a great experience. Buffalo State President Muriel Howard delivered the opening remarks and introduced Governor Eliot Spitzer, who got a great ovation in a room with what I gathered to be a mix of Democrats and Republicans.
I saw the local state representatives in attendance, as well as other local dignitaries. Former Erie County Executive Joel Giambra was also there. So the room was a variety of people.
As for the speech, some of the things I mentioned in my preview of the speech earlier this week were mentioned, such as universal broadband, taxes and alternative energy. Overall, I like what Spitzer outlined.
Here is the full text of the speech as it was prepared.
To the people of Buffalo and Upstate New York, and to all my fellow New Yorkers: thank you for joining us on this historic day.
To my partners in State government-Lieutenant Governor Paterson, Speaker Shelly Silver and Leader Malcolm Smith-thank you for joining us. Let me also thank our partners who could not join us today: Leader Joe Bruno, Leader Jim Tedisco, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.
To the members of the Western New York delegation who are here-Francine DelMonte, Michael Cole, Dennis Gabryszak, Joe Giglio, James Hayes, Sam Hoyt, George Maziarz, Bill Parment, Crystal Peoples, Jack Quinn, Mary Lou Rath, Robin Schimminger, Mark Schroeder, Bill Stachowski, Antoine Thompson and Dale Volker-thank you for hosting us.
To all of our partners in local government-including our host, Mayor Byron Brown-thank you for joining us.
And to the many business leaders, labor leaders and civic leaders from across Upstate who have gathered here, thank you for all you do for your communities and for being here with us today in Buffalo.
Let us begin by recognizing our fellow New Yorkers who serve and protect us here at home and around the world.
Joining us today are four soldiers from the New York Army National Guard: Captain Matthew Ryan, Staff Sergeant Robert Waters, Sergeant Jason Wiechec and Sergeant Aaron Spallina. These soldiers serve with the 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry, which is based here in Buffalo. They have been deployed once before, to Iraq. Now, they are preparing to deploy to Afghanistan.
To Captain Ryan, Staff Sergeant Waters, Sergeant Wiechec and Sergeant Spallina-and to the thousands of men and women in our nation's military who are part of our New York family-you represent the very best New York has to offer. Today-and every day-we thank you for your bravery, your courage, your sacrifice and your service.
I am deeply honored to stand before you this morning to deliver the first State of Upstate Address in New York's history.
The vision I will outline today is one we all share: to make Upstate New York the best place in the world to live, work, raise a family and run a business.
Eliot Spitzer just released his first ever video webcast. It's a preview of the State of Upstate address he'll be delivering shortly. He also uses this new medium to make this announcement regarding Universal Broadband, a subject near and dear to many of us here at TAP especially those on dialup upstate:
To strengthen New York's position, we must connect it to the world. Nearly 1 in 4 New Yorkers is unable to quickly download and watch the video you are watching right now. This is simply not acceptable. That is why later today I will announce that our fund will triple the amount of state investment in high speed, affordable broadband access. Our goal is to achieve universal broadband access and close the digital divide in New York by 2015. The fund will not be the end of our efforts, but the beginning.
