FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
As mayor of Elmira, I've led a bipartisan Council that has worked with staff to turn a $3.1 million deficit we inherited into a nearly $500,000 surplus in just 18 months by reorganizing City departments, encouraging efficiency, and breaking the 10-year cycle of deficit spending. In 2007, the City of Elmira spent less than it did in 2006. I believe that kind of practical, no-nonsense approach to budgeting is exactly what we need in Albany.

Elmira City Hall, corner of Church and Lake streets.

TRANSPARENCY
I've worked hard to make Elmira City government more transparent and accountable by emphasizing communication because I believe a public official's first job is to communicate. It's what I do for a living, and I recognize how important it is to keep citizens abreast of all their government does. Since taking office as mayor, I've listened, fostered bipartisan solutions, and worked hard to be open and honest with all the people I represent. It's not politics as usual -- and that's why it's worked to improve Elmira. It will work in Albany, too.

POLICY, NOT PARTISANSHIP
In the two and a half years I've been mayor, the Elmira City Council has never cast a single party-line vote. I'm one of three Democrats who work with four Republicans, and we've worked together to solve the City's problems. I share information widely, I value talent and skill over political affiliation, and I work hard to find common ground. That's what I will bring to the state legislature.

ECONOMIC GROWTH
We worked to offset residential property taxes by working with regional partners to attract new businesses to Elmira. New retailers, including Walgreen's and Family Video, opened in 2007, while American Customer Care brought more than 100 new jobs to the former Iszards Building and Howell Packaging expanded on the south side. Other development is pending on East Church Street, and in Downtown. I believe government's role in all this should be to create the environment for business to prosper -- a fair approach that gives support to good ideas and savvy entrepreneurs of all stripes, not just those who share my party affiliation or merely my friendship.

SUPPORTING CITIES and VILLAGES
I'm honored to serve as mayor of Elmira, and I've learned that cities like ours throughout the Southern Tier and Upstate New York will continue to suffer without fair representation in Albany. Cities and villages need the state's help to reduce costly mandates, sustain and grow our economies, rebuild our aging infrastructures, and reduce the burdens on taxpayers. As senator, I will work to ensure local governments -- regardless of the political affiliation of their leaders -- have the resources they need to flourish. One-house bills and election-time rebate checks are gimmicks, not sound policy. I believe New Yorkers, and their local communities, deserve better.