Less Than Zero: Oppenheimer Bottoms Out on Independent, Non-partisan Jobs Scorecard

Written By: Talk of the Sound News

Senator Oppenheimer Nets Minus 10 on 100-point Unshackle Upstate Rating

RYE – Against the backdrop of several abandoned storefronts in the City of Rye, State Senate candidate Bob Cohen (R,I,C – 37th District), joined by Mayor Doug French, today called for a change in New York’s policies toward small businesses and taxpayers, and expressed disappointment in Senator Oppenheimer’s abysmal record on jobs and the economy.

“Even in the midst of a recession, with many of our inner-cities in a death spiral, career politicians in Albany like Senator Oppenheimer persist with their hostile attitude toward small businesses and taxpayers,” said Cohen. “Employers know that policies from Albany can affect their bottom-line as much as any competitor, maybe even more so, and they’re moving on to places with a friendlier business climate. Some, as you can see from our surroundings, have given up altogether.”

“As the cost of government continues to rise, small business owners and taxpayers are being taxed out of the state, and it’s not happening just in Buffalo, Syracuse and Schenectady; it’s happening right here in Rye,” said Douglas French, mayor of the City of Rye. “Albany needs new ideas from new people who understand how difficult it is to create jobs in such a harsh business climate.”

Unshackle Upstate, a bipartisan coalition of over 80 business and trade organizations representing upwards of 70,000 companies and employing more than 1.5 million people, recently issued scorecards of all incumbent state legislators, indicating their level of support for policies that create and retain jobs. Of a possible 100 points on the scorecard, Senator Oppenheimer received negative 10, indicating her staunch support for anti-business, anti-taxpayer legislation, and opposition to pro-growth policies (http://www.unshackleupstate.com/scorecard-new/senate-scorecard.cfm?card=38).

The scorecard noted that Oppenheimer voted 12-for-12 on fiscally unsound budget bills and did not sponsor or work to advance any legislative agenda items that were in the interest of taxpayers.

Additionally, during the 2009-10 legislative session, Senator Oppenheimer opposed the position of The Business Council of New York State on 13 of 16 key pieces of legislation, supporting the Council’s position only once (http://www.bcnys.org/voter-guide/Senate2009-10.cfm).

“Here again you see another very clear difference between the candidates in this race,” said Cohen. “Senator Oppenheimer is a career politician whose policies, according to independent, non-partisan sources, are squarely against Westchester taxpayers and employers. On the other hand, I am not a politician, but an entrepreneur who has managed a successful small business in spite of the policies of Senator Oppenheimer and her friends in the spending lobby.”

Among the pro-growth, pro-taxpayer items on the Cohen agenda are:

• A statewide cap on local property taxes
• Reinstatement of the STAR property tax rebate
• A repeal of the MTA Payroll Tax
• Simplification of the tax code to make compliance cheaper and easier
• An immediate freeze in the growth of all state expenditures
• A binding 2% cap in the annual rate of budget growth
• A pledge to support a balanced budget completed on time and without increased taxes, fees, assessment or borrowing
• A pledge to vote against any unfunded mandates