On Nov. 6, voters in the 40th State Senate District will cast a vote for republican State Sen. Terrence Murphy or democrat Peter Harckham. Based on Murphy’s experience, Harckham’s inept campaign, and the future of the State Senate in New York, we endorse Murphy.
Fifty-five unions have endorsed Murphy’s re-election. It is a rarity for so many unions to back a republican state senator. Recently, Murphy cast an important vote to extend the property tax cap for another five years. That gives taxpayers the cost certainty of knowing that their property taxes will remain around the 2 to 3 percent level for years to come.
Murphy has also distinguished himself representing the district in Albany, by advocating for relief for opioid abuse, voting to extend the property tax cap, and challenge New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio when he sees fit.
State Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan recently penned an op-ed explaining the main rationale for keeping republicans in charge of the Senate:
“When Republicans win the State Senate in November, our majority will be the most important firewall in history between every taxpayers’ wallet and government coffers.
“And voters know it. It seems some scared Democrats do, too.
“That’s because the Senate’s Democrat Conference will be composed of members soon to sail to victory in New York City, complete with a new far more leftist, socialist agenda – and one that’s been embraced by its leadership – as the be all, end all for every corner of this state.
“That agenda includes Democrat socialist policies like single-payer health care, taxpayer-funded heroin injection sites, taxpayer-funded campaigns, a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants who commit aggravated felonies, abolishing ICE, and raising taxes to pay for it all.
“Homeowners, business owners, and every hardworking taxpayer upstate and downstate share in our concern that this is not only the wrong direction for New York State, but one that would create a financial nightmare for us all. Nobody wants to pay a single cent more in taxes, and only a Republican majority will not allow it.
“New Yorkers want opportunity, affordability and security – issues that not a single Democrat talks about as they wave goodbye to 200,000 New Yorkers a year seeking opportunity elsewhere.
“This year alone, we put the brakes on $1 billion in taxes and fees proposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and $20 billion in taxes and fees proposed by the Assembly.
“The Republican Senate fought to make the 2 percent property tax cap permanent, while one-third of the Democrat Conference voted against it; and we put forward legislation to cap state spending, while two-thirds of our colleagues across the aisle voted no. The Senate Republicans wrote the law to create the largest middle-income tax cut in 70 years, putting money back in the pockets of the people who need it most.
“Democrats who will be joining the Senate in January want to ‘Abolish ICE.’ They have forgotten that ICE is a federal law enforcement agency created post-9/11 to facilitate interagency communication.
“Democrats have made clear that they intend to repeat history by slashing school funding to upstate and Long Island schools. When Democrats briefly controlled the Senate, they created the Gap Elimination Adjustment, shortchanging upstate schools. Republicans in the State Senate made sure that we restored funding to those schools to end the GEA. Senate Democrats also cut school aid to Long Island by up to 18 percent, instead sending money to New York City where the concentration of their conference represents. It will be no different with current Democrats. As Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul said during her debate, Long Island schools get too much money because of Republicans.
“The most ambitious of all, of course, is Gov. Cuomo, who hasn’t fooled anybody about how much he covets a run for the White House. He wants nothing more than total one-party control of every branch of state government, leaving him completely unchecked and with a leftist narrative to run for president.
“The corruption in the Cuomo administration seems never ending and we must clean it up. Good government groups hailed the Republican Majority for its passage of a sweeping common-sense ethics and transparency reform package, including measures like a database of deals to tackle these issues head on. Self-serving Cuomo blocked these sensible reforms from moving in the Assembly, controlled by Democrats.” (End of Flanagan piece.)
Murphy’s opponent Nov. 6 is Peter Harckham, who brought an impressive resume of service from his time on the Westchester County Board of Legislators. But since that time, Harckham’s public service has morphed into low-show jobs and using his relations with those closest to the governor for his own benefit.
Joe Percoco is the Westchester resident, and close political insider of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was sentenced to six years for corruption in state government this summer. On the witness list and jury questionnaire was Peter Harckham.
While the Harckham campaign has denied any close relationship with Percoco, why was his name on the witness list and why did Harckham testify at Percoco’s trial that he tried to get his wife a teaching job at four Westchester school districts? If you believe Harckham’s explanation, that he would give the same courtesy to anyone in his community who asked him, then I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.
To all of the young teachers and graduates who are finding it difficult to find a teaching position, Harckham tried to cut the line and get a job for Lisa Percoco. Harckham’s efforts, in our view, led to his two state jobs in which he was paid $300,000 for work that has yet to be described to the public.
The taxpayers of Westchester do not want to pay for “patronage” jobs in state government for Harckham – or anyone. And we certainly do not want to give Harckham a promotion for knowing how to play the game of insider politics.
Why Cuomo encouraged – or “pushed,” as some democratic insiders described it – Harckham’s entry into this race makes no sense. Our newspapers were interested in the campaign of Robert Kesten, a progressive, indivisible democrat who had built up support from the democratic community for almost a year before Harckham’s entry into the democratic primary.
Harckham won the primary, but lost the hearts of many democrats who supported Kesten and his honest views on many issues. While we did not agree with Kesten on many issues concerning state government, health care and taxes, we would have enjoyed the public discussion on these issues with him in the race.
The straw that broke our backs was when we witnessed a Harckham volunteer installing a videotape recorder outside of one of Murphy’s offices in Yorktown. While we watched the reports of this individual, we did not see an apology or explanation of any kind from the Harckham campaign.
We endorse Terrence Murphy for State Senate in the 40th District on Nov. 6.
