Home > NEWS > Email from the President > Primary Day 08

Primary Day – If you have a vote to make, make it
September 8, 2008

Tomorrow is Primary Election Day, and while not everyone actually will have a vote to make, if you do, I urge you to make sure voting is a priority.

This fall, the Buffalo Niagara region has the unique opportunity to be a political battleground at both the state and federal levels, as open seats in the NY’s 26th congressional district and 59th senatorial district are garnering specific attention from the parties. The first step toward determining the future of those seats’ representation will take place tomorrow, as three candidates face off in each of those Democratic primaries.

From the Partnership’s perspective, while we do not typically engage in primary election advocacy, we continue to seek out and support candidates that share the priorities of the employer community – namely, policymaking that works to create a strong business environment in Buffalo Niagara and Upstate New York.

At the federal level, we seek candidates who:

• Make the free flow of goods and people across and through our bi-national border a top priority;
• Support job creation through the strategic development of alternative energy resources;
• Oppose burdensome labor-backed legislation such as the Employee Free Choice Act, which would revoke an employee’s right to secret ballot in unionization votes; and
• Support the revitalization of the Great Lakes region through investment in transportation infrastructure and innovation, forward-thinking immigration policy and smart border management.

At the state level, the Partnership’s ideal candidates:

• Oppose labor-driven anti-business mandates such as prevailing wages and apprenticeship that detract from our region’s ability to attract new private sector investment;
• Support policy that optimizes the use of locally-generated hydropower for economic development use right here in the Buffalo Niagara region;
• Support a cap on school property taxes, and make cutting the size and cost of state government a priority; and
• Support the strengthening of economic development programs such as IDAs and the brownfields cleanup program to ensure that incentives are being awarded in scenarios that provide the greatest return-on-investment (i.e. target industry sectors)

Forwarding these priorities – through lobbying, earned and paid media, and strategic partnerships – is the Partnership’s daily work. At election time, however, is when the leaders who ultimately make the decisions on these and other business-related issues are chosen. It is imperative that the employer community be well represented at the polls – to ensure that our priorities become our elected representatives’ priorities.

In addition, over the next two months, many of us with faithful voting records will be inundated with phone calls, door-to-door visits, fundraiser invites and rallying e-mails. I encourage you to take these opportunities for two-way communication with candidates and their volunteers to discuss the business community’s priorities – and ask how they match up with their platforms. Too often we see these campaign outreaches as interruptions (who wants to leave the dinner table to talk to a campaign volunteer?), but they are an important vehicle to let your voice be heard.

Vote tomorrow, and then keep the message of the business community in the ear of incumbents and candidates throughout the next eight weeks. We will be.

Andrew J. Rudnick
President & CEO