Commissioner Aubertine visits the North Country

Assemblywoman Addie Russell & Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush welcomed former Senator and current Commissioner for the New York State Department of Ag and Markets today to Jefferson Community College.

Commissioner Aubertine was in town to discuss the need to get everyday people involved in the discussion on how to move New York back in the right direction. During the speech the Commissioner outlined the Governors vision on a number of important topics that effect everyday people from across the region.

The one thing that is clear from the reaction of the crowd to Darrels entrance into the room was the North Country has a great respect for Darrel Aubertine. As he entered the room you could hear "Darrel!!" and "Commissioner!!" being shouted from across the room. The standing ovation lasted quite a while and everyone in the room, Democrat and Republican, expressed their appreciation for our former Senator.

The Governor couldn't have picked a better person to champion the push for change. Through out the speech it was clear that our elected state representatives understand the plight of their constituents and are ready to champion the cause for a better NY.

Promises...Promises...Promises!!!

Jude Seymour (WWNY) has an interesting article (click here) on how Senator Ritchie has now reneged on yet another campaign promise.

Many readers recall that during her campaign run, Patty made a big issue (click here) about how State budget plans to rein in STAR rebate check spending was unacceptable. Flash forward to her current position (click here) and you can see that her passionate defense of the homeowners was more like rhetoric reserved for the campaign trail. She stated that STAR had to be left intact, but she is pulling back on that campaign promise. Apparently it's much easier to make campaign promises than to pass legislation.

The North Country Democrat recently linked to an article that points out how Senator Ritchie had reneged on a pivotal campaign promise (click here) to implement an independent redistricting commission. The Independent Commission would gather representatives from various political parties to redraw State Legislative districts lines based on 2010 census information. Polls have consistently shown that residents of the State are heavily in favor of changing the current process of gerrymandering State and Local District lines in favor of Majority parties.

Senator Ritchie's inability to get critical legislation passed has left many across the district wondering how effective she is in advocating for Northern and Central NY. They are also wondering how effective our Freshman legislator is in following through on key pieces of her campaign platform? Were these promises or just simply words that the campaign thought North Country residents wanted to hear?

We deserve better and the North Country is watching.