Bob Cohen Seeks a Non Partisan Approach
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In one of the races that will determine whether or not the GOP retakes control of the New York State Senate this November, Scarsdale resident Bob Cohen, 55, has been chosen by the GOP to challenge 25 year Democratic veteran State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer to represent the 37th district. On Monday May 3rd, the Westchester County Republican Committee nominated Cohen to take on 25-year veteran Suzi Oppenheimer. A primary for the GOP nomination appears unlikely.
When asked about his rationale for running, newcomer to the political game, Cohen told me: “It’s time for new direction in Albany. For too long there’s been no focus on what's important throughout the state – the most important issue being taxes. The tax burden on individuals and business throughout the county and state is excessive. This burden is playing out with companies such as Starwood Hotel leaving White Plains and taking 500 jobs out of Westchester and New York. Precision Valve in Yonkers is moving and taking jobs out of the state. And now Pepsico, headquartered in Purchase, is suggesting that they may leave the state due to the soda tax threat. What we have in Albany is an insatiable institutional appetite for revenue that’s driving out so many of our individuals, families and businesses from New York State.”
Cohen acknowledges that one of the primary drivers of the local tax burden is the myriad of unfunded mandates that get pushed down to the county, local, and school jurisdictions. “Unfunded mandates have a huge adverse impact on local communities. If Albany mandates something, they should send a check to cover the cost along with the mandate.”
When asked if he supports funding for public schools, Cohen referred to his own experience in Scarsdale. “I have three children who went through the public schools. We have excellent schools, and they are critical to the success of our communities. To that end we need to fund our schools adequately. But we can do things more wisely -- for example the Wicks law needs to be abolished. As I understand it, the Wick’s law requirement of mandating multiple prime contractors on public construction projects – including schools -- increases the cost of construction by upwards of 30%. In addition districts need to provide an additional level of bureaucracy to oversee multiple prime contractors. Construction projects in the private sector are not hamstrung by this burden -- so private sector projects are completed quicker and more cost effectively. The Wick’s Law is just not necessary and it hurts every project affected by it. So when people talk about waste, fraud and corruption -- here's something that we can do to change something and literally overnight. Get rid of the Wicks Law and we can save money for our state and communities immediately.”
Regarding education funding, I asked Cohen what his position was on the State Senate Republican leadership proposal to cap school taxes at the lesser of the CPI rate or 2.5% over the prior year’s budget (modeled on Massachusetts Prop 2 ½ passed in 1982). Cohen responds, “I'm supporting it. If you look to Massachusetts, 20 years ago -- Massachusetts was called ‘Taxachusetts’ and New York and Massachusetts were trading as either #1 or # 2 as having the highest tax burden in the country. Massachusetts passed that tax cap, and their schools have not declined. Their students still do as well as ours. But New York State is still #1 in the tax burden ranking and Massachusetts is somewhere in the middle ranking for hierarchy as to who's paying the highest taxes. The way it was done there and the way this would be done in New York -- is that a community could override the 2.5% tax cap if they chose to -- they would have a vote to override.”
Cohen criticized Senator Oppenheimer’s proposal to have school district contingency budget CPI cap formulations be based on a 5-year rolling average. Cohen believes this would contravene a community’s school budget vote rejection and garner a larger tax increase than approved by the school district. “Issues need to be addressed and dealt with -- the problem we've had in Albany is they're not sitting down and trying to address these issues – one side is saying this and the other side is saying absolutely not – they’re not having the give and take that you and I would have to be able to address them. How do we make this work for the average citizen? We want great schools and education for our children but we also want our taxes to be reasonable and sustainable. How do we accomplish this in this world? You have to knock heads a little bit to come to terms – and that’s where Albany and the power structure that’s been there for the last decade -- for the last 25-30 years is unable to cross the line and meet each other. We all know the result we want –we just don’t have the means to get there in the –through discussion, negotiation and compromise.”
When queried about how he would be able to work in what is universally characterized as one of the most dysfunctional legislatures in the country, Cohen responds: “Democrats and Republicans need to be able to meet and work towards the middle ground to solve problems. I’m a member of our nonpartisan system in Scarsdale. There are state government issues that we don't have to be partisan about. Finding ways to save money for our schools has got to be a nonpartisan issue. Getting the right funding for our schools has to be nonpartisan. We can’t continue to let everything denigrate into partisan politics. We need to reach across the aisle. I’m pragmatic and realistic. If the Democrats come up with a better way to deal with an issue, I will not stand in the way simply because of party affiliation. Through discussion, negotiation, and compromise we can reach sensible solutions to difficult problems. We all want a better society, good schools, clean air, and sometimes it’s how we achieve those goals that's difficult. If you're willing to meet half way, I'm willing to go over to the other side and work to solve our problems. We need to move away from partisanship. There's a culture of pettiness in Albany. If a member puts forth a good idea, leadership won't accept it without some sort of a quid pro quo -- getting something in return. It’s the Albany shuffle. The machine is ingrained in Albany and it’s not about what's the best policy but what can I get in return. The special interests poison the well for the moderates - the ones who are willing to meet in the middle, cross party lines and get things done. That’s what I envision bringing to the table.”
Since the race between Oppenheimer and Cohen will be closely watched for its potential impact on party control of the State Senate, I questioned Cohen about the comparative integrity of the Democratic and Republican leadership in the State Senate – and what he thoughtof both parties’ behavior in dealing with the notorious, ethically challenged “Gang of Four,” who hijacked the State Senate last year and enabled convicted former Senator Hiram Monserrate and accused majority leader Pedro Espada to wield ultimate power in the State Senate. Cohen suggested that the strength of the political machine prevents state senators from coming out against someone like Espada, and suggested that I ask Senator Oppenheimer about her reluctance to demand the ouster of Espada from the majority leader post. Yet I pointed out that Republican Senate leader Dean Skelos was more than willing to get into bed with Monserrate and Espada before they jumped back to the Democrats. Cohen admitted to being disgusted and embarrassed by the Republican Party’s leadership role in that chain of events. “The whole state has been embarrassed. When these gentlemen decided they wanted to be Republicans – they really didn’t want to be Republicans – they just wanted power for the sake of power. I thought it was wrong when the Republican leadership took them in and were willing to accept them. I thought it was outrageous. And then when they switched back to the Democratic Party – and Pedro Espada was named majority leader – he got the vote of every single Democratic senator – I was likewise appalled by that. It showed everyone the raw power politics that was going on in Albany – no state business occurred for over 6 weeks while that fiasco took place. Senator Oppenheimer has been in the State Senate for 26 years, and it is surprising that she’s not been able to deliver more and have more influence on what’s going on in Albany.”
Two years ago, former Larchmont mayor Liz Feld ran a spirited campaign against Senator Oppenheimer, but was easily defeated, in part due to Barack Obama’s coat tails and a 2:1 voter registration advantage for Democrats over Republicans. A few months ago it appeared possible that Feld would take another run at the seat given the name recognition she garnered and the anti-incumbency sentiment prevailing in the political landscape this year. Feld briefly considered a run against US Senator Gillibrand but abandoned the notion and chose not to re-run against Oppenheimer. Earlier this week, the New York Times wrote a piece about the dimming hopes of the GOP statewide this year, and Liz Feld was reported to have declined the race in part because she lost faith in the Republican Party leadership and its flirtation with Monserrate and Espada – she was quoted as saying, “I think that every one of those incumbents should be thrown out of office — Republicans and Democrats.” http://nyti.ms/9tSYfw
I asked Cohen about how he plans to overcome the GOP registration disadvantage in the 37th Senate district. He said that he was working to obtain additional party lines for the election, and moreover, “there’s no Democratic or Republican way to pick up the garbage. Senator Oppenheimer is a very nice person, but she’s been our state senator for 26 years. My plan is to talk to the voters and let them know that I’m the type of individual who will meet and work with Democrats and Republicans. I’ll cross over to make good policy for the entire state – that will trump political registration. We have the same goals -- I will achieve those goals – I will do what’s necessary to reach out and make one side for all of us – the New York Side.”
Professionally, Bob Cohen is an attorney and runs a real estate construction company. Cohen grew up in Elmont, Long Island, attained his undergraduate degree at Syracuse University and a law degree from Emory University. He has lived in Scarsdale for the past 20 years with his wife, Barbara and three children all of whom attended Scarsdale schools. Cohen has been a member of the volunteer fire department of Scarsdale for 17 years and is a member of the nonpartisan Town and Village Civic Club Education Forum. This is his first race for public office. His campaign web site is here: http://www.bobcohen2010.com/.
The 37th Senatorial district is comprised of Harrison, Mamaroneck, Rye, the Town of Rye, Larchmont, New Rochelle, Scarsdale, White Plains, North Castle, New Castle, and Ossining.
David A. Singer is a former political consultant/campaign professional and political junkie currently toiling as a lawyer in Westchester and managing real estate and media investments.
Bob Harrison Candidate for Scarsdale School Board
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Bob Harrisson is an independent candidate for the Scarsdale School Board. Here are Bob's credentials: Bob Harrison is a candidate for the Scarsdale School Board for the seat of outgoing board member, Jeff Blatt . In Scarsdale you must run for a specific named seat. Mr. Blatt's open seat is for a 3-year term. By law each candidate must submit a petition signed by at least 25 qualified voters to appear on the ballot. Bob Harrison's candidate petition was signed by 67 qualified Scarsdale voters. His opponent filed her petition with 32 signatures. Bob encourages Scarsdale residents to vote for his candidacy on May 18th.
Bob Harrison's campaign is to maintain and improve the quality of our Scarsdale School system at an affordable tax rate. Bob has given 30 years of service to the Scarsdale community and our students including raising $25,000 to restore the Middle School Tennis Courts in 1983 which has allowed the programming of the Scarsdale Spring and Summer Youth Tennis Leagues that have served over 18,000 youths, allowed for tennis in the physical education program of every Middle School student, given Scarsdale Village the courts to have a major revenue producing lesson program for adults and youth and allowed families to enjoy the sport of tennis. Bob has personally coached over 60 youth sports teams since 1983.
Bob was a founding board member of the Scarsdale Teen Center and helped raise $250,000 to invest in the Teen Center. Bob served on the Adult Teen Center Board for seven years as first vice-president and financial advisor. Bob continues to support fund raising for the Teen Center and strongly believes that the School Board should maintain its commitment to funding the Teen Center jointly with the Village Board and restore the $ 12,500 to the Teen Center Budget from the $ 134,743,938 proposed 2010-2011 total School Budget. Bob also feels that the BOE should restore the $13,000 that was cut from the school budget to the Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling Service, that is also funded by the Village Board.
Bob has a long-term record of being pro-education, pro-students and pro-Scarsdale. He has helped 19 students fulfill their dream of attending Penn State University as a volunteer alumni recruiter since 1991.
Bob has supported smaller class sizes in the elementary schools with public comments and a letter to the editor. Bob helped the school board review the insurance industry it its move to a self-insured health plan in the 1980's and served on the school board's technology study committee in the 1990's and was the SNAP representative to the board in its superintendent search in the 1980's.
Bob has been a supporter and contributor to Field For Kids at the High School, the SOS4 Education Campaign after Hurricane Katrina, the Scarsdale Family Counseling Service, and the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps new building among many other Scarsdale community efforts. Bob has been an active supporter of the Wall Street Division of the UJA Federation of Greater New York since 1968.
Professionally Bob has a 43-year career in business and finance, which includes an MBA in finance and marketing from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business where he is actively involved with the Business School. He has a B.S. from Penn State where he is involved with the Smeal College of Business and has given a number of speeches to business school students. His professional experience includes being a Vice-President of Goldman, Sachs for over 28 years from 1966 to 1995, working in the same team of professionals plus assistants for 20+ years serving the financial needs of institutional and private wealth clients of Goldman, Sachs in the New York City Area , upstate New York and eastern Canada.
For the past 15 years he has had his own firm , Harrison Capital Management, with an office in Greenwich and more recently in Scarsdale providing professional money management advice to his past clients from Goldman, Sachs as well as new clients.
Bob's 43 years of professional business and financial experience including the analysis of school budgets, corporate financial reports, earnings reports, interest rate trends and municipal finance would help the school board make sound educational and financial decisions for the future.
Bob has a vested interest in Scarsdale schools with two sons who went through grades 1 to 12 and K to 12 of Scarsdale Schools and two grandchildren living in Scarsdale who Bob wants to benefit from an excellent Scarsdale education. Bob wants young families of different means to be able to afford our property taxes and to maintain a diverse community and to keep our long-term residents here with their wisdom and memory for Scarsdale.
Bob has been a member of the Town and Village Civic Educational Forum since 1986 and served on its Educational Study committee and as a past Co-Chairman. Bob has served on many TVCC committees including the current TVCC Education (Fiscal) Committee report on the proposed BOE 2010-2011 budget that was worked on for many months by a number of people and signed by 12 people including two highly respected past Mayors and approved by six members of the TVCC executive committee. The report has significant reservations about use of reserves, order and timing of facilities projects, multi-year contract extension with teachers and multi-year no layoff clause, multi-year contract with bus drivers with no outsourcing clause, changes to teacher work loads, and changes in teacher headcount funded by federal stimulus money that may extend beyond the expiration of that funding.
Bob encourages every Scarsdale resident to read the TVCC budget report at www.scarsdaleforum.com or to contact him for information about his candidacy or the report at 914 725-0962 or by e-mail at proscars@aol.com
Candidates Forum and Luncheon from the LWV
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On Thursday May 6 at 7:30 pm, the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale will sponsor a BOE Candidates Forum in the Scott Room at the Scarsdale Public Library. The candidates for the Scarsdale Board of Education will be invited to participate. After the candidates speak briefly, there will be a question and answer period. The public is invited and encouraged to attend. For more information, contact Jane Veron at 472-2933.
Dr. Jennifer Ashton, Medical Correspondent for the CBS News Network, will share her unique perspective on the devastation in Haiti and the challenges that face the Haitian people at a luncheon at Scarsdale Golf Club on May 14. In January, Dr. Ashton traveled with a medical team to Haiti, where she treated victims of the earthquake for eight days. She is a daily contributor to the Early Show and appears regularly on the CBS Evening News.
The luncheon is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale. All League members are invited to the League’s annual meeting, which will be held before the luncheon at 11 am and will include electing a new board and adopting a budget and program. The luncheon will begin at 11:45 am. To RSVP, call Anne Lyons at 725-9810. The cost is $40 per person ($45 after May 7) and is payable at the door or in advance (make your check payable to League of Women Voters of Scarsdale and mail to Anne Lyons, 82 Greenacres Avenue, Scarsdale 10583).
Dealing With Local Disasters at the Scarsdale Forum
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Two Scarsdale residents, Dr. Richard Garwin and Jonathan Lewis, will discuss Dealing with Local Disasters: What Can Nuclear and Pandemic Disaster Planning Teach Us? The talk is the third this year in the Sunday Speaker Series from the Scarsdale Forum and will be held on May 16th at 3pm at the Scarsdale Woman's Club.
With the recent storm that left almost 80% of Scarsdale residents without electrical power for multiple days, and the severe flooding that occurred in April 2007, many people are asking if there is something that we can do better to help mitigate the impact of future disasters. Dr. Richard Garwin and Jonathan Lewis, will present a discussion on what has worked in the past and how we can apply it to Scarsdale. Eric Rothschild, Sunday Speaker Series Chair, will welcome questions from the audience at the conclusion of the presentation.
Dr Garwin is a long time club member of the Scarsdale Forum and Jonathan Lewis is the past President. Both have relevant expertise in this area.
Dr. Richard Garwin was born in 1928 and earned a B.S. in physics from Case Institute of Technology in 1947, and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago in 1949. He began his work with nuclear weapons technology in 1950 at Los Alamos Laboratory. He joined IBM in 1952 and became an IBM Fellow at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center in 1967, where he worked until 1993. He has authored and co-authored numerous books, published more than 500 papers, and has 43 patents in his name. Dr. Garwin has extensive experience in nuclear arms policy having served on the Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States and JASON, an independent group of scientists which advises the US Government on matters of science and technology. He continues to be an influential voice in national security issues today.
Jonathan Lewis is the author of “Spy Capitalism: ITEK and the CIA” and the co-author of “Reflections of a Cold Warrior: From Yalta to the Bay of Pigs” and the past Scarsdale Forum President. In his work on both the history of the CIA and on partnerships between the private sector and the national security establishment, he has explored a variety of themes related to crisis management. He has spoken on intelligence related issues at the JFK School of Government at Harvard and at Yale University. He is a member of Business Executives for National Security (BENS) and for many years co-chaired the organization’s intelligence reform effort. He was a part of the BENS panel that reviewed the CIA’s venture capital initiative, In-Q-Tel, as part of a congressionally mandated study, and was also part of a BENS study for the CIA on pay for performance. The BENS panel was awarded the Agency Bronze Seal Medallion for their work in this area. He is a director of the Westchester chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and a Trustee of the American Jewish Historical Society. He is a co-founder of Samson Capital Advisors where he is a member of the executive committee and chairs the investment committee.
The reception will begin at 3 pm on May 16 at the Scarsdale Woman's Club, 37 Drake Road in Scarsdale, and the program will start at 3:15 pm. Admission is free, plenty of free parking is available.
The Scarsdale Forum Sunday Speaker series is made possible in part by the Irving Sloan grant from the Liz Claiborne / Arthur Ortenberg Foundation.
Suzanne Seiden Candidate for Scarsdale School Board
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Suzanne Seiden is running for Scarsdale School Board in the first contested elections in at least 20 years. She was nominated by the Scarsdale School Board Nominating Committee and encourages you to vote on May 18th. Here are Suzanne's credentials:
Suzanne has been a tireless volunteer at all levels of the Scarsdale school system and in our community. In all her activities, including as president of the Middle School and Quaker Ridge PTAs, Ms. Seiden has continuously demonstrated a passion for the critical issues facing the our school district as well as a capacity to work with others to deliver meaningful results.
Over the past nine years, Ms. Seiden has had numerous leadership roles, starting with her efforts for two years as Co-Chair of the PT Council Young Writers’ Conference and as Co-Chair of the Scarsdale Schools Bond Committee in which she helped organize and lead the community’s efforts to pass a bond to support necessary construction on the Quaker Ridge School. She subsequently served the Quaker Ridge PTA president-elect and president where, among other efforts, she worked with the other PTAs to change the funding of elementary school playgrounds.
Following her experience at the elementary school level, Ms. Seiden served as the President-elect and then President of the Middle School PTA where she focused on creating a school of empathy and implemented a new fundraising program for the school. She has also had leadership roles on the Scarsdale Task Force on Drugs and Alcohol where she worked with other parents, school administrators, and Village representatives to create and deliver programs and educational material for youth and adults about drugs and alcohol. She also currently serves as the Publicity Chair for the Scarsdale High School Scholarship Fund.
In addition to her activities with our schools, she has volunteered on a number of community organizations including with the UJA Federation, Scarsdale League of Women Voters, and Temple Israel Center.
Her volunteer activities in Scarsdale build upon professional experience as a labor and employment lawyer at Clifton, Budd and DeMaria and service in the federal government. During the Clinton Administration Ms. Seiden worked as the General Counsel of the Office of Personnel Management, the chief legal officer for the federal government’s human resources agency, and in the Wage and Hour Division of the US Department of Labor where she helped coordinate the Administration’s anti-sweatshop initiative.
Ms. Seiden graduated from Tufts University and Boston University Law School; she is married to Kevin Thurm, and has three children in the Scarsdale Schools: Eric, 12th grade; Jason, 9th grade; and Samantha, 3rd grade.
Learn more about Suzanne Seiden at: http://www.vote4suzanne.webs.com
