Daunting tasks for the LI Nine
The nine Long Island senators l-r Kemp Hannon, Jack Martins, Dean Skelos, Owen Johnson, Ken LaValle, Carl Marcellino, Lee Zeldin, John Flanagan and Chuck Fuschillo Credit: NEWSDAY/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
The Long Island Nine.
No, they're not a baseball team, but at this juncture in the state's history they are far more important to the future of Long Island than the Bronx Bombers or the Amazins.
The performance of Long Island's nine state senators in Albany this year will be a critical component to Nassau and Suffolk counties' economic recovery as we climb out of the national recession.
The all-Republican lineup includes the experienced veterans Owen Johnson of West Babylon and Kenneth LaValle of Port Jefferson. In the middle of the batting order we have East Northport's John Flanagan, Merrick's Charles "Chuck" Fuschillo, Kemp Hannon of Garden City and Carl Marcellino of Syosset. Competing for rookie of the year honors are freshmen Jack Martins of Mineola and Shirley's Lee Zeldin. And, of course, rounding out the squad is player-manager Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos of Rockville Centre.
This is going to be a highly contentious year in Albany, and they need to bring their A game. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has said, "Our current level of spending is unsustainable" and "the goal is to return fiscal responsibility to the state so that we may strengthen the economy and create jobs." Some have pointed out that the governor sounds far more like a Republican than a Democrat. Actually, he sounds like a realist -- but the Senate delegation has to recognize the danger of being outflanked on their right.
The governor has become a budget hawk in the mold of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. With a nearly $10-billion deficit to plug, Cuomo has rightly pointed out that the state's out-of-control spending has to end. Put in terms that every household can appreciate, New York is spending far more than it is taking in.
It's a message that the Republican-controlled Senate has to agree with. Indeed, as it is more a traditional Republican message, the GOP should be a natural budgetary ally with the governor. Cuomo should expect far more opposition from the New York City/Democratic-controlled Assembly -- and more than likely, he's going to get it.
The biggest challenge facing the Long Island Nine in the battle of the budget is one of basic fairness. There's going to be a lot of pain and suffering in this budget, and their main focus should be to ensure that Nassau and Suffolk don't have to endure a greater than average share of that misery.
This is a very real danger. The inequality in the amount of tax dollars Long Island sends to Albany compared with the amount we get back is long-established Capitol fiscal policy. As Suffolk County Comptroller Joe Sawicki has put it, "Albany thinks of Long Island as their personal ATM."
The senators have been raising the alarm about disproportionate cuts, especially with issues that have traditionally been sacred cows on Long Island, such as education. They've rightly criticized Cuomo's budget plan for handing Nassau and Suffolk bigger cuts to education than the average. As Flanagan, chairman of the Senate's Committee on Education, has said, "I look at that and I scratch my head and ask: Where is the fairness and equity?" (Full disclosure: My company did some polling for Flanagan in last year's election.)
And LaValle, chairman of the Higher Education Committee, has stated, "I will be looking at and comparing the cuts to the city university to what the governor did to the state university. There has to be symmetry."
While watching out for Long Island's interests, the Nine have pledged to stay committed to budget reform. Skelos promises an on-time budget. That alone would be a huge step forward in the right direction. Albany has a little over two weeks to deliver.
We need a big year from the hometown team. The fans -- make that the voters -- can't afford to wait until next year.
