But from Unshackle Upstate’s perspective, that doesn’t really matter. Because in the votes that were cast, we see a validation of our Judgment Day message that has us fired up for the 2010-11 legislative session. 

Judgment Day was about getting the right people into office – people who understood and respected the needs of taxpayers and job creators. Our message clearly had an impact as virtually every candidate campaigned on a platform of fixing Albany’s dysfunction and lowering taxes and spending.  That message resonated with voters, as the majority of our endorsed legislative candidates won their races. 

We’re calling it a victory for Unshackle Upstate. But potential for a much bigger, and more important victory lies ahead.

The 2010 Elections were just one leg of a distance race, and we won’t be truly victorious until we convince our legislators to change their tax-and-spend ways, to be more fiscally responsible by reducing taxes and aggressively supporting (or at least quit hindering) private sector job creation.

That’s where you – the taxpaying public, their constituents – come in. When we launched the Judgment Day campaign back in February, our main goal was to educate and empower voters across the state so that they could make the best possible decision in the voting booth. To help spread our message and our information, we drafted the Unshackle Army, now nearly 25,000 strong and growing. 

Now with the elections over, we’re asking you to stay tuned. We need that Army to stay engaged, to help us keep the pressure and ensure that our representatives follow through on their campaign pledges.

2010 was a galvanizing year for Unshackle Upstate, as we became a grassroots organization focused on putting in office state legislators who would truly be responsive to the largest special interest group – the taxpayers. We knew we faced an uphill battle. And although the election is behind us, we will not give up our charge. Unshackle Upstate will continue to be highly visible in Albany, pushing for the reduced state spending and lower taxes essential for future economic growth.

We trust you’ll be there with us. We’re looking forward to it.

This year, we maintain the status quo…

We have a budget that is nearly a month late – with no end in sight, a Senate Majority that insists on borrowing $2 billion to send out STAR rebate checks right before Election Day – the same rebate checks they ABOLISHED last budget, an Assembly Speaker whose own conference members call an obstructionist and a lame-duck Governor who says the whole situation is hopeless and his successor is doomed.

So what can we do to ensure Governor Paterson is not in fact the next Nostradamus? Sadly, many New Yorkers have already “voted with their feet” and left for greener pastures. We’re taking a different approach – standing up to the life-long politicians, the special interests, the downstate leaders who have provided little more than lip-service to Upstate. That’s why we’ve partnered with Unshackle Upstate and other business organizations in Upstate and Long Island to “Remember in November,” encouraging voters to use their votes on Judgment Day (Election Day, November 2) to initiate that change.

The first step on Election Day is to bring back an Upstate-friendly majority to the State Senate. This goal serves two purposes – balancing the power between the downstate-controlled Assembly and protecting our interests during the re-districting process scheduled for 2012. With 110 Assembly seats located below the Tappan Zee Bridge, it is inevitable that the Assembly will always be controlled by New York City. An Upstate-controlled Senate can help combat that control, protecting our Upstate interests in Albany. 

The second purpose serves a much more ominous concern- New York is projected to lose at least one and probably two Congressional Districts after the 2010 Census (because people ARE voting with their feet).  If there is not an Upstate-friendly majority in the Senate during the re-districting process, Upstate stands to have its voice in Washington, DC weakened, on top of its current lack of representation in Albany!  Don’t think for a second that downstate interests won’t hesitate to “protect their own” and chop up two Upstate Congressional Seats instead of a more appropriate 1-for-1 agreement.  To protect Upstate’s voice in Albany AND Washington, to be able to stand up to the Assembly Speaker’s obstructionist ways, to stop wasteful spending and harmful borrowing, and to make sure Governor Paterson’s prediction that our next Governor is “doomed to fail” is incorrect, it is imperative Upstate take back the Senate majority.

Given the inefficiency we’re seeing from Albany, perhaps a different approach would be more productive!

And then you get an e-mail like this, and your faith and energy are instantly renewed.

“Why don’t I give up on Upstate NY? I will tell you why.
When my parents are old, I want to be close enough to check on them and when they can no longer care for themselves I will care for them.
When my children are grown I don’t want them to have to run off to a faraway place just to find a job.
When I have grandchildren I want to see them every day. I want them to ride their bike to my house and I want to teach them things that I have learned from my lifetime of experience.
I would rather make cuts to our school system so that we can cut taxes for businesses so that my children can find a job or create a business of their own without moving away.”

Beautiful sentiment, but it’s the closing line that really got to me.

“If something does not change,’” the writer concludes, “We will be moving away so my children can have a hopeful future.”

That says it all: New York must change if our state, our families and our businesses are to have a hopeful future.

And it is time for our elected officials to finally realize that they need to be on our side, and step away from those who don’t worry about how their greed is ruining our state. It must be about what is good for all of us, the people of the state of New York, and not just the few who are entrenched and unwilling to change.

So how do we bring about that change? By banding together and speaking out on the issues that matter, the issues that will change New York’s future.

In fact, that’s what we did recently. And we were successful in stopping two legislative bills that would have severely hurt Upstate New York – the Farmworker Fair Labor Practice Act and the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). Click here to read Unshackle’s statement .

This is a great achievement, as these were two bills that we adamantly opposed. If enacted, farms that have been in families for generations would have ceased to exist and vital economic development projects would never have been started.

Both bills were passionately argued by both sides of the issue. Fortunately, rational heads prevailed and the bills were defeated.

So what have we learned? We learned that the voice of the Unshackle Upstate Army is being heard and having an impact on legislative activity in Albany.

We can and should celebrate. But we cannot rest. There will be more issues to tackle and bills to oppose. We must remain vigilant.

Together, we will push our elected officials to do what is right for the taxpayers and job creators of this state. Together, we will reform New York, make it the best place to live, work and raise a family, make it a place with a hopeful future, a place we are proud to call home.

Please do your part. Encourage everyone you know to join our effort and strengthen our voice. Our future is at stake.

The good news is that there’s opportunity to rewrite that tune and give new lyrics to the song “NY State of Repair.”   We do this by getting involved.    It will take interested and active citizens to drive the discussion and changes necessary to repair our great state.   What do we mean by “repair”?  It’s ensuring our representatives are accountable to the citizens of NYS to drive economic improvement to the State:  lower unemployment, a business climate that supports entrepreneurial activities, lower taxes for all NYS residents to improve their quality of life, a vibrant educational environment, and a State government with integrity and ethics that is responsive to it’s citizens.

What can you do to help rewrite the “lyrics” and move NY state from “disarray” to “repair”?

-       Get involved!  Join http://www.unshackleupstate.com/

-       Follow your State Legislators votes http://www.votesmart.org

-       Write/Call your State Legislators – demand accountability

-       Support Candidates who will change NY – this can be time and/or financial support.

-       Leverage Social media to follow your Interests: Facebook and Twitter are two social media vehicles that allow you to engage and follow your interests.

-       Finally, make your voice heard!  Contribute content to social media sites that express your interests and your ideas for change.   Did you know that user participation on the web follows a 90-9-1 rule?  90% of users are “lurkers” (i.e. read or observe), 9% of users contribute from time to time, and  1% of users participate a lot and account for most contributions.

I don’t believe that it was ever intended that there be free soup and a boxed lunch at every corner.

So if we are the government, then isn’t what we spend on wasteful programs gone too far? Is it not coming out of the fruits of our labor, hides, and money?

We need to come up with a Bill of Responsibilities. Responsibilities that include feeding your family. Being able to keep a roof over your head. Not expecting a hand out and going to work to earn a days pay. Serving your country in the best way you know how. Having a job you are fulfilled by and enjoy. Keeping your yard clean. Being a good neighbor. Regularly speaking to your elected representatives. Being a Good Samaritan … and If you’re a young lad or lass, being a Boy or Girl Scout or at the very least behaving like one.

To me, that is being a good citizen.

All that said, what could we do with the resources we have in our Upstate communities that enrich our lives, our families’ lives and us personally?

I’ll give you a quick example. I produce and direct feature films and commercials and my talent is being able to communicate a complex idea through the multi-medium of motion pictures and movies. Simple enough.

The Upstate community and Western New York have been very fortunate to have Kodak call Rochester home. Kodak wasn’t even a word before it finally took its resting place for the longest time as Rochester’s number one employer and as a result, insulated our region from any difficult economy.

Still, Kodak’s legacy currently represents one of the finest and most complete crew bases for setting up a major motion picture production. Motion Picture Production companies rely on investors which generally bring money from Los Angeles for the really big pictures to investors from the rest of the country and world for the small and medium projects. This is a positive cash flow for “we the people” and our state.

When I worked on the John Mellencamp movie “After Image” in 2000, the film had a budget of $1.4 million dollars. These dollars were spent on wages for people who live in our communities, on hotels, restaurants, grocery and department stores, small specialty shops that supply assets to the production company, ie. special effects, post and animation houses and the like.

Doesn’t it make sense to encourage industries that have a positive social and economic impact on our communities and state?

Respecting each other, remembering you and me equals the government, and encouraging New York residents to stay in the Upstate communities, is the way to foster greater independence in the end. By our communities’ encouragement I stay here in Western New York. By business as usual people, like the Tom Golisano’s and the Mr. and Mrs. Imsickandtiredofthis’, move out to a state that is encouraging them and respecting them.

Let’s “we the people” and “we the government” financially take a little responsibility with ourselves and encourage others to do the same. What can we do, so that the government doesn’t have to mark it up and charge us a little more for it, which we ourselves can do cheaper?

What are our responsibilities? Here’s a hint. If you ask an old WWII Vet they will probably know the answer.

In my next blog I take a look at, “It’s a hand up, not a hand out” and that’s what we should be focusing on.

Angelo Mancuso is a film producer and director of the documentary “American Harvest” and upcoming doc “Operation Enduring Freedom” embedded with an Army unit in Afghanistan. He is the owner of White Hot Films in Rochester, NY. http://www.whitehotfilms.com/

But, given the events of yesterday and the question we posed to our Facebook fans, I wanted to wait.  I wanted to see the ideas you have to fix our state government.  The good news for us, we all tend to agree with each other.

For instance, you write about getting rid of the rich benefits for state employees.  We are not opposed to them getting benefits, they should.  But right now those benefits are more than 68% higher than in the private sector.   That is why we have proposed changing two state laws: Taylor and the Triborough Amendment, to eliminate the advantage public employees have over our municipal government.  We need to free up our town and city leaders, and our school boards, and allow them to negotiate affordable wages and benefits.

You also think that elected officials should be treated just like you and me.  Just because you hold office doesn’t mean that you are entitled to a better retirement option.  We agree.  That is why we are going to help Assemblyman Fitzpatrick from Long Island advance his bill to get all elected officials and non-civil service jobs out of the current defined benefit plan (guaranteed by our taxes) and into a 401K plan… just like the one you and I get from our employers.  If they are truly committed to being like us, then they should easily sign onto this bill and take the same risks we do in the market.  Not only will it save the state millions, it will help eliminate career politicians that move from one job to another just to get their 20 years in and better pension.

But what I read that I really liked more than any of the postings on our Facebook page came from Frank Maston.  Frank pointed out that unless we vote, things won’t change.  I couldn’t agree with Frank more…unless each and every one of us gets out there and votes for the right people, it won’t matter how much we talk about the problems and offer solutions.  So it is up to each and every one of us to not only vote ourselves, but encourage everyone we know to do the same thing.  The money we will raise is needed and helps us swing a pretty big stick.

But on November 2… Judgment Day for them and for us… it is the vote carries the power.  Do we have the courage to do what is right and take back our state?  I believe we do!

Given the calls for “change”,  let us also remember NY State has very significant challenges:  minimal turnover in representation leading to long careers for our representatives, negative views of the legislature,  low popularity and support for Governor Paterson, private sector exit from the State, and a 2010 $8.2 billion State budget deficit.

When we hear about “change”, is it  change in how government allocates resources? Is it the size of government that should change?  or, is it, more fundamental in terms of how government should view itself with regard to the citizens it represents?  Is there a general consensus on what change would look like?

My own sense is that there needs to be fundamental change in NYS spending. How it allocates resources and the level of spending citizens are willing to commit to.   Given there has been approximately a 20% reduction in wealth for the average household in the US over the last several years given the financial crisis,  why not suggest a 20% reduction in overall spending from the NY state budget?

Moreover, with commitments to shrinking State spending, we create an environment more supportive for business and more tax friendly for NYS residents.   Also, how about change in how we view and interact with our representation in this state?   Our representatives have little worry with regard to change due to low turnover in the State Legislature (less than 15%), no term limits and district lines drawn to favor long tenures in the State Capital.   More active grass roots campaigns (such as the Unshackle Army) and highlighting representation through social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) can give citizens more exposure to their representation to engage more dialog and debate on the issues.  Certainly, change that could be felt by our State representatives.

Regardless of your own assumptions on “Change” in NYS, a more active and passionate electorate that holds our representatives accountable and ensures the wishes of the citizens of the state will certainly be a catalyst for change that we can, hopefully, believe in for NYS.  The time is right and here’s your chance in 2010 to get involved to get the right level of change you believe is necessary for NYS!

Larry is an Unshackle Army member and active Facebook fan, who will be guest blogging for Unshackle Upstate. If you are interested in becoming a guest blogger, visit http://unshackleupstate.com/army and fill out the form.