Watch for Unshackle Upstate to make news on Monday.

That’s when we’ll announce the results of our 2010 Legislative Scorecards. We’re calling these scorecards a voter’s guide to Judgment Day, Nov. 2, 2010.

That’s because from these scorecards, which we’re issuing for all 212 New York state legislators, you – the taxpaying voter – will be able to determine which of our lawmakers acted with your best interests in mind. For instance, who voted for reducing taxes, cutting spending, reducing state borrowing and mandates. And who just paid lip service to those important issues.

Let me give you a little preview, share our methodology. We’ve been keeping an eye on all the legislators – what bills they sponsored, what they supported and what they opposed. And we’ve assigned a value to their actions.

For instance, legislators could earn up to 60 points depending on how they voted in committee and on the floor on items supported or opposed by Unshackle. For instance, those who opposed a bill that would have required overtime pay for farm workers (a bill that was fortunately defeated), earned points.

Also in the calculation, up to another 25 points depending on how they voted on the 2011 state budget. In other words, those who voted against it got 25 points, those who voted for it got 0.

Legislators had a chance to improve their scores by up to 15 points by sponsoring bills that Unshackle Upstate supported. But they could also hurt their scores, losing up to 15 points by sponsoring bills that Unshackle opposes.

But these scorecards, revealing as they may be, are just one step in Unshackle’s endorsement process. They’ll be factored in with other measures, such as whether the candidate has a history of supporting or opposing Unshackle, as well as the candidate’s responses to our questionnaire and input from the chamber of commerce in each candidate’s area. All will be used to compile a list of endorsements we will be releasing in the coming weeks.

Why do we do all this? Because we at Unshackle Upstate feel it’s essential that you enter the voting booth on Nov. 2 armed with the facts and prepared to make a judgment. Did the candidates on the ballot before you stand up for you as a taxpayer, take the actions necessary to lower your taxes and create jobs? Or was the candidate more interested in securing re-election by advocating for the demands of a select few?

Read the scorecards. Study our endorsements. Then on Nov. 2, you be the judge.

Go to the voting booth and help us take back our state government. Send Albany a message that our elected officials work for us – the state’s largest special interest group – the taxpayers.

Guest Blog by: C. Ulanowski

New York residents must realize that actions speaks louder than words. We often complain about how dysfunctional the NYS government is, and how we as taxpayers face economic distress, because of inaction by Albany on real problem solving.  However, we as residents and taxpayers, have a long tradition of accepting the status quo and returning incumbents to office by not individually engaging our elected leaders.  We are divergent in our beliefs and opinions.  There is a solid agreement that the current system no longer works.  Special interests have won the day by surpassing the role of the electorate. Leaders and their minions are easily led astray by the power of money.  We must act individually and also look for common ground with our friends, relatives and neighbors to demand reforms that remove the influence of money on our government system.

As I left the house this morning, my son was watching an episode of Scooby Doo and of course Scooby uttered his famous line.  I laughed. Yet it reminded me of dealing with our state government. Every time you turn around, there is another bill or budget item that makes you say “ruh roh.”

We were in Albany yesterday partnering with several other business groups advocating that a list of bills we dubbed “Dirty Dozen” be killed off due to their impact on our economy. Our message was well received and we got commitments from several members that they would not support the passage of the bills. That was positive.  And it got a bit better after we met with Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson (no relation) who reiterated his commitment to no new taxes and fees in this year’s budget.  And later on, when we met with Senate Minority Leader Skelos, he also said they wouldn’t support any more taxes or fees. We even had a chance to thank him and his members for recently voting down a budget extender that included a new $2 million dollar tax on manufacturing firms in New York. Yep, you got it, an actual vote against a new tax.  Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, always a champion of Unshackle Upstate and our efforts, was again rock solid with his commitment not to raise state spending or create more taxes and fees. It was great.

But, alas, it wasn’t all good news. We got wind that the budget discussions were moving along and we could be looking at a budget within the next two weeks. And while a budget would mean that we finally have some form of a functioning government, the numbers we heard we startling and appalling.

The rumor was that spending levels would increase by about 4% over the current budget. That would place it somewhere in the $136-137 billion dollar range. Frankly, that’s way too much.  And to make matters worse, instead of actually cutting spending, they are talking about bonding $2 billion dollars of the deficit.  Imagine that.  Instead of cutting spending (not controlling growth– don’t get the two confused– we need actual spending reductions) they want to borrow the money and pay it upcoming years. But even with that, there will still be more tax and fee increases in the budget…perhaps as much as $2 billion dollars. That would be on top of the $8 billion in new taxes and fees they hit us with last year.

Friends, we simply cannot allow that to happen. We need each and every New York resident that has had enough of the tax and spend culture to send a message to their elected official right now.  We don’t have an option. If we don’t raise a stink about this then the numbers I shared earlier will become a reality. We’ve made it easy for you. Just follow this link. And please don’t hesitate.  We really are running out of time to send our elected officials a clear message…we will not tolerate more spending and taxes!!

And while you’re at it, we still need that property tax cap. We have to find a way to start to control the unsustainable growth of school and property taxes. Wow, wouldn’t it be something if in the course of preparing the budget, they actually put a REAL tax cap in place to start providing us some relief? Again, it is easy to tell your elected official you want the tax cap. Just follow this link.

Now is not the time to be bashful my friends. Let’s not put ourselves in a position where a couple of weeks from now, when we are analyzing the budget, and saying “ruh roh.” Now is the time to say we’ve had ENOUGH.

And if they aren’t going to listen, then Judgment Day is coming on November 2, 2010.

Another week begins, and still no state budget.

Granted, we’re not exactly complaining, since we at Unshackle Upstate clearly prefer a late budget to a bad one. Problem is, we remain deeply concerned that we’ll end up with both.

Why? Because that’s the unfortunate history of New York state government, where a tax-and-spend style of conducting business has left us with an unsustainable balance sheet.

But the lateness of the budget – it was legally due April 1 – does present an opportunity to continue to push the Unshackle Upstate message with our elected representatives in Albany.

And that message is: You, state legislator, should not approve a budget with increased or new taxes, new fees or additional borrowing. Because if you do, we at Unshackle Upstate stand ready to vote you out of office on Judgment Day, Nov. 2, 2010.

Now we need you, our partners and supporters, to help us spread the message. Toward that, we’ve created posters and fliers that you can print out to display and share with others – neighbors, friends, organization members, co-workers, employees.

Click here to download these materials.

Then forward this message to others in your network so that our Unshackle Army and our taxpayers’ voice of reason will be heard and noticed.

As always, thank you for your support. Together, we can make a difference in New York state.

Yesterday, we posted a note on Facebook alerting people to the fact that it appeared our government was for sale. Members of the Majority party in the Senate were “selling” access to the leadership to various labor, business, and environmental groups.

While this has been done before it had never been more blatant. And as a group that represents taxpayers in New York, we were offended by the letter and the implications.

Yet we also knew it would happen and we’d have to work that much harder to make sure our message of spending cuts and reducing the tax burden – yes, a fiscally conservative view – was heard.

So we asked for your help. We asked you to help us raise $50,000 in 50 days.

Some of you stepped right up and sent in your support. For instance, Frank wrote, “…nothing is going to be done without money. That is just a fact of life. Pony up. Put your money where your mouth is. MEDIA alone costs money. If these guys reduce your tax burden by $200 next year and you chipped in $100 you have $100 profit. A bunch of windbags are not going to make any difference here. Proof? Albany is full of windbags… where did that get you? Yada Yada Yada alone ain’t gonna do it.”

Others were honest and said they didn’t have the money, but would be able to help in other ways. Mark said, “Hey guys, I know how bad things are here too. I’m retired and just barely make it myself. I became a fan of Unshackle Upstate, and posted it to get the word out about them. From some of the comments, I feel like I’M the one asking you to go without food. We don’t have to short ourselves to help. We can pass the word, or check with them about volunteering if we have some free time when we’re not trying to make more money. The thing we ALL agree on is that we need to do some serious changing of our representatives.”

Finally, at least one person wanted to know how we were going to use the money. The answer: We will use it in many ways. Your contributions will go toward our on-going multimedia work to educate taxpayers about their government and why it needs to be changed. It will be spent on growing our Unshackle Army on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and others. And it will help us create documents such as our Scorecard on each elected official, a legislative profile on our upstate representatives, and posters on the website that people can download and put up in their break rooms, on community boards and other public locations.

Here is the reality. If you have the means to contribute financially, please do by clicking here.  We need each and every dollar we can raise to beat back the message of those who want more for themselves and say to hell with the rest of us.

We will continue to find ways to do more with less. Yet the reality is that we need to fight this battle in the court of public opinion and that means mainstream media, which we all know isn’t free. And if we don’t or can’t invest in a good, strong battle, you can bet we are going to get more of the same fromr our state government – unsustainable spending and a tax burden that strangles us.

If you have the means to contribute financially, please do so by clicking here. Some can give more, but every $5, $10 or $20 contribution means a great deal.

But if you can’t give now, that’s OK. You can help us by spreading the message of Unshackle Upstate: We need our elected officials to start representing us, the taxpayers and private sector job creators.

Tell your friends and family to get off the couch and get in the game. Give them the links to our website (www.unshackleupstate.com), tell them to look for us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/unshackleupstate). It is going to take all of us to get this state turned around. But collectively, we can’t be denied.

I’ll close with one of my favorite quotes. It is the essence of Unshackle Upstate:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”
– Margaret Mead

Regrettably, the lyrics have changed to the once popular “NY State of Mind” song.  It’s now “NY State of Disarray” which includes new phrases such as “A state that can’t seem to stop spending increases”  and “Having representatives that no longer serve the interests of the State.”  Moreover, recent verses have just been added that include “Politicians that violate the citizen trust” and “Voter apathy in NYS that seems ever increasing.”

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.

The mood in the state Capitol seems refreshingly a bit different, yet disturbingly all too the same.

I noticed the difference during a trip last week to talk with Legislative leadership and representatives of the governor’s office about our local economic development agenda.

On the positive side, I noticed how everyone we talked with seemed to be actually listening, not just being polite. Their attention seemed to be driven by a new respect for Unshackle Upstate, perhaps even a bit of what might be described as “fear” about the impact of our Judgment Day campaign and Scorecard on voter sentiment in the November elections.

That’s all good, because it’s important to remind our elected officials that they work for us, the taxpayers, and that they need to listen to all of us, not just select groups. As voters, we get to choose who we sent to Albany to represent us. The point of Judgment Day is that those legislators who don’t understand the problems caused by New York’s high taxes and stifling business regulations, and aren’t willing to support and work for change, simply don’t deserve – and shouldn’t receive – our votes.

Also good, I heard realistic dialog about the state’s financial problems. In the past, folks at the Capitol paid lip service to the ever-growing budget gap, typically downplaying it and the consequences of state government’s tax-and-spend philosophy. This time, the message seems to have hit home. From Legislative leadership to the executive branch and all points in between, everyone said closing the 2010 budget gap will be difficult and painful.

Unfortunately, the talk stopped there. And that’s what I find disturbing. Sure, they’re kicking around cuts and the usual new taxes and one-shot revenue enhancers to get through this budget cycle.

But no one we spoke with seemed to have the interest or the willingness or feel the obligation to fight for systemic changes that would result in long-term savings for the state, such as reexamining public employee contracts, furloughing state workers (something the private sector has been doing for two years to trim costs), overhauling the Medicaid system, or holding overall state spending absolutely flat.

That simply has to change – immediately. Because the taxpayers of New York simply can’t take it anymore. They, we, deserve better.

And that is what Judgment Day is all about.

The normal plan for me is to post a blog every Monday and Friday.  And I was really excited to share with you our new initiatives this week: The Scorecard: A Judgment Day Primer for Voters and our 2010 campaign called “11.2.2010…Judgment Day for State Legislator\s.” These two important programs will allow us to tell you exactly what takes place at the Capitol and who the good and bad actors are within each party.  And Judgment Day is really what we are talking about…poor decisions by elected officials means they don’t get to go back and represent us.

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!

As the famous Willie Nelson song indicates, we are “on the road again.”  This week has us in Albany and Westchester County tomorrow, back in Rochester Wednesday, then in Syracuse on Thursday.  What is the point of the travel?  Spreading the message of our coalition and adding more names and more fundraising.  The funny thing is that regardless of where we go, the response is the same. “Thank you for doing this work and providing us with the information we need.”  But we are always quick to respond that we’ll get you what you need, but you need to get to the booth and make the right choices.  You see, regardless of what we do, if people don’t actually get out and vote, there won’t be much that can be done to change NY.  So work with us and beat back the voter apathy.

Ok, so this may sound strange, but over the weekend I was looking at the proposed budget and something struck me as “off” (other than the whole budget, right)?  I was looking at the proposed mergers and something wasn’t sitting right.  It finally dawned on me late last night.

If you recall, just last year the Governor and Legislature passed Tier 5, the new employee retirement system.  It will save us billions, but not nearly as much as it could have because concessions were made.  One of those was that there would be no lay-offs.  In exchange for that provision, CSEA and PEF, the state’s largest public employee unions, would not fight the bill.  That’s what got me going on the consolidations.  How can you merge agencies, thus creating a savings, without actually eliminating positions?  Isn’t that why you do mergers…to save money by reducing redundancy?

So we checked.  Guess what?  The only reductions appear to be from retirements and not filling current vacancies.  Don’t get me wrong, we support mergers and consolidations.  The more the merrier in many instances.  We need to create efficiency through technological improvements and the use of private sector practices like Lean and Six Sigma.

But the truth is we’ll never get the true cost savings we need if our leaders continue to make concessions with the labor community.  In fact, we’ll leave you with this: when was the last time you read a newspaper headline declaring that the Governor or Legislature had reached an agreement with the taxpayers or business community?  The answer?  Never!

Clearly we have our work cut out for us.  And we won’t back down.  We can’t.  So this is an important week for Unshackle Upstate and for you.  We’ll be announcing two big projects later this week.  These projects will allow us to get you more information and turn up the heat on elected officials that aren’t taking us seriously.  We look forward to being able to share those plans with you on Friday.