Guest Columnist
Time to practice what we preach
By George Winner

In his inaugural State of the State message to the Legislature last January, Governor Eliot Spitzer said, "We must reverse the decline of our upstate economy." He pledged to "zero in" on upstate economic challenges.

We soon discovered that Governor Spitzer's initiatives failed to match his rhetoric on the upstate economy. In early May, when it became clear that the governor's commitment to action was falling behind as much as the economy itself, the Senate Majority moved to identify action on the upstate economy as priority No. 1 in New York government. We proposed and approved a comprehensive, 10-point job creation and economic growth plan called "Upstate Now." It called for reducing taxes, energy and health care costs for employers; providing upstate with a 21st century economic infrastructure; strengthening small businesses, manufacturing, agriculture, tourism and other key industries; making upstate an international leader in new and emerging technologies; strengthening the work force; and enacting sweeping reforms to make the upstate region more business-friendly and economically competitive.

Visit my web site, www.senatorwinner.com, for more details on Upstate Now. In my view, it's still priority No. 1.

Governor Spitzer will deliver his second State of the State message on Wednesday, January 9, it's clear that he's looking for a do-over on carrying out his commitment to upstate. In fact he's going as far as to deliver two State of the State messages -- the traditional one in Albany, and then another speech several days later in Buffalo. The second one's being billed as an "Upstate State of the State."

The words are fine, but what's more critical in 2008 is the governor's follow-up, particularly in his proposed 2008-09 state budget which will be unveiled on January 23. That's where we'll find out if the governor finally and truly means what he says.

In fact, that's a useful measuring stick for 2008: will we practice what we preach?

The need for action on the upstate economy remains paramount. What else is on tap in 2008? When the governor stands before us in Albany and Buffalo, what do we want to hear?

Governor Spitzer has already made a "no new taxes" pledge to New Yorkers. So let's hold him to it.

Of course any discussion of taxes soon turns to the issue of high property taxes. It's an issue that continues to rankle many citizens, and rightly so. While short-term responses like STAR and direct property tax rebates are necessary, it's imperative that we begin to also approach the issue from a longterm perspective. It's the reason the Senate has proposed and will continue to pursue the establishment of a Blue Ribbon Commission on Property Tax Reform to recommend strategies that will provide a fundamental, long-term restructuring of a tax burden that's become too hard to handle for too many homeowners. We must explore additional Medicaid reform, local government efficiency, mandate relief, public school financing and economic development -- all of which affect the property tax burden.

Local government efficiency is going to be a hot-button issue in 2008. The state's "Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness" is already studying how New York's 4,200 local governments can provide public services more efficiently and more cooperatively as part of the effort to bring down local property taxes. They'll issue a report on their findings early in this new year.

Getting the job done must be the overriding goal of the 2008 legislative session. It's going to be a particularly tough challenge, arriving as it does in the midst of a partisan-charged atmosphere at the Capitol and heading into a rough-and-tumble election year.

But the point is this: We can keep sounding alarms. We can keep producing study after study, issuing report after report, and giving speech

on top of speech -- but sooner or later it's only legislative action that matters.

We need to practice what we preach.

The writer represntns the 53rd District in the New York state Senate.