Senator Winner's Announcement
Elmira, NY
June 26, 2008
Thank all of you for being here with me today.
It’s good to be back in the Southern Tier.
I returned home earlier this week following the conclusion of the regular legislative session in Albany, and so I can’t think of a better way to begin today than by talking about that idea of returning home.
It’s an idea, after all, that gets right to the point of why we’re here this afternoon.
Because the heart of this election season is not going to be about what’s wrong with Albany. There’s plenty wrong, we know that. I believe upstate New York has been marginalized and shortchanged in New York government for far too long, and I’ve been fighting for our fair share and for our fair treatment for just as long.
So we’ll have opportunities to talk about what’s wrong with Albany during this election season, because there has never been more at stake for upstate New York.
But the heart of our local campaign season is going to be about what’s right for Elmira and the entire Southern Tier-Finger Lakes region.
At its core, this election has to be about what’s good for us, what’s fair for us, what’s effective for us, what works for us.
That has always been – and will always be – my guiding force in government service.
Everything you do must revolve around one question and one question only: What’s best for home?
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So I’m thrilled to be back home from the Capitol and to officially announce, today, my intention to seek re-election to a third consecutive term representing the state’s 53rd Senatorial District.
I’m grateful to be able to ask your support to carry on and finish what we’ve started.
I’d like to ask your support to continue the long, hard work of fighting for lower taxes, better jobs, and safer communities.
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The voters of the 53rd District first sent me to the state Senate four short years ago.
Since taking office in January 2005, I’ve reached
out to legislative colleagues in both political parties to secure the enactment
of numerous new, sometimes landmark laws in the areas of economic development,
criminal justice, and rural affairs.
I’m proud of these achievements.
I have reached out at the Capitol – to Republicans and to Democrats alike – to put in place the state’s first comprehensive strategy to combat the illegal production and use of methamphetamine, a scourge of illegal drug activity that posed such a serious threat to so many of our communities.
I have reached out – to Republicans and to Democrats – to authorize the direct shipment of wine into and out of New York State, a major boost to our world-class wine industry, a mainstay of our region’s culture and tourist economy.
I have reached out across the political aisle to put in place long-overdue ethics and lobbying law reforms, and regulatory reform for the state’s agricultural industry.
We have worked together to encourage the use of alternative energy sources, promote local shared services and other local efficiency initiatives to help reduce local property taxes, strengthen our vital tourism industry, and on rural economic development.
We have worked together to begin expanding access to high-speed Internet services to more and more of our citizens and communities, because we recognize that access to broadband is critical to educational and economic success in the 21st Century.
And earlier this week, just a few days ago, we worked together to approve the nation’s first legislatively established Center for Rural Schools. This Center will be located at Cornell University, a nationally recognized leader on rural affairs, and will work to develop our rural schools as a cornerstone of the upstate renewal that I continue to envision.
It’s a solid record of bipartisan achievement and accomplishment, one that I’m proud to stand on. It has helped produce a stronger and safer region, and a better New York.
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But it isn’t only in Albany that I’ve been able to reach out and work together, not just to talk about a better New York, but to help put in place the building blocks of one.
When I took office in January 2005, I said that I valued the opportunity as your state Senator to get a few things done. I didn’t seek the office to simply hold the title. I ran to make sure that the office of state Senate in the 53rd District would keep working for us.
That determination remains my driving force.
So I’m proud of the partnerships I’ve developed
with mayors, town supervisors, county executives, business leaders, and
concerned citizens throughout the region to advance worthwhile community
initiatives. I’ve been fortunate to be able to reach out across our cities,
towns, and villages to do some good and to get some things done.
These state-local partnerships have created jobs and provided badly needed worker training programs.
These state-local partnerships have strengthened area schools, enhanced the environment, and made our communities safer.
These state-local partnerships have improved local roads and bridges.
We’ve worked hard to identify our region’s common goals, to build on our strengths, and to develop strategies to shore up our weaknesses.
We’ve established valuable, productive partnerships to keep this region moving forward.
I’m proud of that.
But make no mistake, there’s much more to do.
So I’m asking for your support, today, to carry on, to keep making these partnerships even more productive, to keep this office of the state Senate working for us and our communities.
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Abraham Lincoln once said, "I do the very best I know how -- the very best I can."
I have to thank all of you – the people of the 53rd District – for keeping me moving, always, in the best direction I can.
My proudest achievements over the past four
years that I’ve served in the state Senate have come through the dialogue
that I’ve worked hard to foster with the region’s residents -- with all
of you here today -- through annual public forums on the state budget, hundreds
of community meetings, and thousands of e-mails, letters, and phone calls.
It’s here, I think, that we find the way to a positive future.
It’s through this dialogue that we recognize our steadiest and surest foundation, which is this: We never give up.
Our people never give up.
I’ve been proudest of all to work alongside so many of you to weather tough times, to begin to build stronger and safer communities, and to fight for more effective government.
I’m proudest of all that we’ve worked and fought together to improve the Southern Tier-Finger Lakes region in the face of difficult challenges and fierce competition.
But let’s not forget that the work ahead of us promises to be harder than ever before.
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So I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished, together. I believe it reflects achievement, a willingness to settle differences and build productive partnerships, but most importantly a determination to fight for our region.
And I’ll finish today with just a few thoughts on that fight.
Change in New York government can’t be achieved simply through the words of a campaign speech or on a political banner or web site.
Change in New York government is all about long, hard work.
It’s about not giving up.
It requires you to keep coming back.
It means you keep returning year after year,
legislative session after legislative session, committee meeting after committee
meeting, floor debate after floor debate to stand on your principles, to
shout out your fundamental beliefs, and to fight for your constituents.
New York State government doesn’t just welcome you with open arms, no matter how nice you might ask. It’s no tea party. It’s a hard-fought competition over ideas and for resources.
You have to roll up your sleeves and pull achievements and changes out of the trenches.
That’s what I’ve done over these past four years as your state Senator.
Bringing about change in New York government
is about a proven ability, a proven commitment, and a proven determination
to never give up. That’s what the people of this region have shown me over
the four short years that I’ve been privileged to serve them in the New
York State Senate.
I’ll keep doing my best to represent this fighting spirit because we’re going to need it -- more than ever before -- in the years ahead.
We’re facing rising costs for everything under the sun, a fierce global competition for our jobs, and a rapidly changing culture and economy.
We’re going to need a constant, steady, proven
determination to stay the course of what we value, how we work, and what
we hope for our families.
I promise that determination. It has brought us to where we are. It has helped us to hold our own. It holds out the best and the brightest hope for a stronger and more secure future.
I pledge to stay true to that fight.
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I was born and raised in the city of Elmira.
I’ve spent my life right here in the Southern Tier.
My wife, Lynn, and I raised our three daughters here.
I have worked alongside so many colleagues, friends, neighbors, community leaders and concerned citizens to move this community and this region forward.
I’m glad for this opportunity to keep working together to preserve what we have, and make it even better.
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