In Support of Rene Atayan
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It is time to get rid of Amy Paulin and to replace her in the State Assembly with Rene Atayan. Paulin is a five-term incumbent who has voted 99.1% of the time with Speaker Sheldon Silver on decisions that have thrown our state into virtual insolvency. A vote for Paulin, an entrenched incumbent, will only ensure that the problem will get worse; a vote on November 2 for Atayan, a true reformer, will allow the State of New York to begin to restore fiscal solvency.
Paulin's fiscal incompetency should come as no surprise. Her previous work for a non-profit organization may qualify her to take warm and fuzzy social legislation to the floor. However, the (admittedly moving) anecdotal stories about her obscure the critical issue: Paulin is doing a horrible job representing most of her constituency. And let’s not fool ourselves into thinking that her record on social causes is unblemished. Paulin voted for budget item A00156B, which allows criminals to have their records sealed, creating a serious potential threat to children, the elderly, and the institutions that care for them.
Paulin has no experience working in private industry, which her work in the legislature has made painfully evident. For example, she has turned a blind eye to the New York State pension crisis, as the vote for article 19 swelled from a liability of $245 million to $1.7 billion. The populations of New York State and of Westchester Country have shrunk while Paulin has been in office, yet spending has increased 70%. Thanks to measures taken by Paulin, Westchester County is overburdened with state mandates for pension plans, Medicaid, and other entitlement programs. We are now the highest-taxed county in the country, with rates 80% above the norm. Not only is Paulin totally unqualified to help solve our fiscal crisis, she is a clear and present danger to our future!
Rene Atayan is a far better choice for State Assembly. Atayan has spent 30 years in the private sector. Her experience includes work as an engineer in Detroit, in sales and marketing development with prominent media firms, and as an independent business owner. Rene has served the people of New York as an auxiliary police officer and a board member of the volunteer ambulance corps. She has fought, as a citizen and a volunteer, to cut wasteful spending, reduce taxes, and improve our schools, gladly taking on such issues as housing, zoning, and traffic. Her husband sits on the Bronxville Board of Education, and was influential last year in helping the Board to lower taxes without adversely affecting academics. Boy, do we need that kind of action at the state level!
Rene Atayan has the experience and values that will enable her to be the reformer that New York State needs.
Andrea O'Halloran
Bronxville, NY
Don't Throw the Baby Out With the Bathwater
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To the Editor: I am as frustrated by the dysfunction and corruption in Albany as anyone, so I largely agree with those whose response to an incumbent running for re-election to the State legislative bodies is to say “no way.” However, that should definitely not be the response when considering incumbent Assembly member, Amy Paulin. Rejecting Amy's candidacy would be a big mistake. It is in just these tough times that we need what Amy Paulin has consistently provided: an able legislator who is in office to make positive contributions to helping people in their community, not just to stay to feather her own nest or to help special interests. Amy Paulin is that special legislator who has stood up for people and reform and against entrenched interests.
Examples:
- Amy is one of only two Assembly members to refuse to accept what the leadership calls “member-items” but which is just money handed out to reward following the party line; she is sponsoring legislation to completely overhaul the unfair process for awarding this money to legislators.
- Amy introduced legislation to stop officeholders convicted of a felony from receiving their taxpayer-funded pensions.
- Amy pushed for an independent ethics and oversight board for the legislative and executive branches.
- Amy has long been an advocate for an independent, nonpartisan redistricting commission.
- Amy successfully fought for rule-changes in the Assembly to end “absentee voting” and broadcast proceedings on cable television.
- Endorsed by both Ed Koch and NY Uprising as a “Hero of Reform,” Amy has proven that she can bring about needed reform in Albany.
So before you throw the baby out with the bathwater, stop and recognize who and what Amy Paulin is and I think you will agree with me that she should be reelected on November 2 so that she can finish the job.
Very truly yours,
David M. Brodsky
October 21, 2010
From Jane Manning, President of NOW
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To the Editor: I am writing to thank Assemblywoman Amy Paulin for her outstanding work to advance public safety, protect children’s health, and prevent violence against women. The National Organization for Women’s NYC chapter has found Amy Paulin to be one of New York State’s most effective champions for policies that better women’s and children’s lives.
Assemblywoman Paulin won passage of a bill eliminating the statute of limitations in rape cases (under the old law, a rapist who avoided arrest for five years could not be prosecuted under any circumstances, even if proven guilty by DNA evidence). Thanks to Amy Paulin there are rapists in jail—and that means new rapes that will not happen—because of this bill. She sponsored and passed legislation to lengthen orders of protection for domestic violence victims, to expand Family Court access to victims of dating violence, to create criminal penalties for abusers who prevent their victims from calling 911, and to stop human traffickers.
A vigorous advocate for preventive health care, she authored new laws to improve availability of flu and H1N1 vaccines, require insurance companies to cover treatment of mental illness, and expand dental care access for impoverished children.
One of the most productive members of the legislature, she gets results because she is exceptionally hard-working and is respected by Democratic and Republican legislators alike. When I call a Republican legislator or staffer about a bill and mention that it is authored by Assemblywoman Paulin, the bill is taken instantly more seriously because of the trust and respect Assemblywoman Paulin has earned from her colleagues in both parties. Our chapter of the National Organization for Women is deeply grateful to Amy Paulin for her outstanding service to the people of Westchester and New York State.
Sincerely,
Jane Manning
President, National Organization for Women, NYC Chapter
Slow Down
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To the angry bald headed man driving the dark Audi on Monday, October 18, 2010 at 8:40 a.m. Do you live on Kingston Road? This is the second time I have seen you driving at a fast speed and turning left onto Brewster blowing through the stop sign without stopping. You continue to speed south down Brewster and turn left into Huntington despite the parents and small children walking to Greenacres School.
There you are thwarted. Others are patiently waiting their turn to pull up to the curb to let their children out in front of the school.
But your life it too important to wait for others. You drive up onto the curb to go around the others. The safety of the children and parents be damned. You pull up by the opposite curb and get out of the car to curse, then drive on in anger toward the Post Road. I did not see which way you turned.
The hatred that you displayed and the utter disregard for the safety of the children is unacceptable. You are not welcome to live in our community displaying this behavior.
Next time, I will have a pen to write down your license plate, and I will call the police.
JWG
Greenacres Mother
A Tale of Courage
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This letter was sent to the site by Julie Sullivan of Bronxville: Dear Scarsdale10583: I broke my neck in a car accident 16 years ago and became permanently quadriplegic. I had to start a new life in a wheelchair. There were many things that I would never be able to do. Other activities, such as driving, took a bit of courage but were possible. Driving is a treasured privilege. It gives me freedom, independence, and a sense of normalcy.
When I moved to New York, driving became an expensive hassle. Like many disabled drivers, I can’t put money in a meter. Although I had a disabled permit, I was constantly ticketed because the state had no law governing disability parking meters. Rain and snow compounded my aggravation because I can't reach my windshield. Wipers don't work with a ticket stuck to them and it is impossible to respond to a ticket that has been eviscerated by windshield wipers.
My pleas to State administrators for a meter exemption received this absurd response: We won’t help people who can't put money in a meter because it would be unfair to people who can. I felt like Alice in Wonderland. Defeated, I collected parking tickets. Every ticket was a reminder of my limitations.
Fortunately, while serving on the Disabilities Committee for Eastchester, I met Assemblywoman Amy Paulin. During one of those meetings, we discussed the absurd parking situation. Amy and her team quickly created and drafted the solution: a law that provides a statewide parking meter exemption for disabled drivers who can prove that they are physically incapable of feeding a meter. Although it is a common-sense measure, Amy had to fight tooth and nail and overcome opposition from New York City to win passage for the bill.
Passage of that law did not affect your taxes or curb government waste. It wasn’t headline news. It did, however, make an enormous difference every single day in the lives of ordinary people who face extraordinary challenges.
Assemblywoman Paulin's opponent refers to Amy's legislative accomplishments as "nice little bills" implying that they are unimportant. What she doesn't understand is that good government means that sometimes we have to pass nice little bills for nice little people like me who need them. During her tenure, Amy has tirelessly worked on big issues and small for the state, for the communities she represents, and for her constituents. Please consider her impressive record when you vote. Amy Paulin is an incumbent we need to keep in Albany.
Julie Sullivan
Bronxville
