Renzi, senator clash in debate

OGDENSBURG — Messages of experience and reform clashed at Tuesday's debate between the candidates for the 48th state Senate District seat.

Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine frequently reminded the approximately 100 gathered in City Hall of his more than five years' experience in state government and said the knowledge gained will help him better serve the district that includes Jefferson, St. Lawrence and Oswego counties. Republican David A. Renzi, Watertown, cast himself as the Albany outsider, repeating phrases such as reform and political courage, saying he is not beholden to special interests and attacking the senator's voting record.

The nearly hour-and-a-half debate was town hall-style, with the candidates fielding questions from the public and Ogdensburg Free Academy students. Questions focused on topics from lowering the legal drinking age and increasing minimum wage to gun control and consolidating schools.

Mr. Renzi stayed on the offensive most of the evening by criticizing Mr. Aubertine for voting for state budgets that increased spending and taxes. Most problems facing north country businesses, families and localities are caused by state politics and bad government, he said.

"I'm dissatisfied," Mr. Renzi said. "I don't believe we have a voice in Albany fighting for our rights."

Mr. Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, responded to almost all jabs and took Mr. Renzi to task only a few times, such as criticizing his home-heating assistance plan.

"He's talking out of both sides of his mouth in some ways," Mr. Aubertine said. "He's talking about increasing HEAP but he's not talking about how he's going to pay for it."

The senator has proposed expanding eligibility requirements to reach more middle-class families, increasing benefits and investing in efforts to make homes more energy efficient. The state would borrow for the latter portion and recipients would repay it through utility bills.

Mr. Renzi supports a tax rebate and wants location to be figured into the formula that determines benefits to funnel money to Northern New York residents in colder climates.

"We don't need more borrowing," Mr. Renzi said. "We're spending more than we have."

They differ on increasing minimum wage. Mr. Aubertine said simply that he supports it, while Mr. Renzi said it is a good idea but the wrong time given the state's grim fiscal outlook.

"I don't think the time is right now for an increase in minimum wage," Mr. Renzi said. "The way to do that is to cut through the tax-and-spend policies of Albany."

Lowering the drinking age came up three times.

Mr. Aubertine said he opposed lowering the age while Mr. Renzi cited safety statistics that support keeping it at 21. He did, however, suggest that an exception should be made for members of the military. When pressed later, Mr. Renzi said he would support such a federal change.

Mr. Aubertine used partisan bickering in Albany to explain some of the shortcomings Mr. Renzi cast his way. The senator spoke about a bill to lower the hunting age that he sponsored while in the Assembly. He was a co-sponsor of the Senate bill but yanked his name, knowing that it would fail.

"The Republican Party majority would not pass it with a Democratic sponsor," he said.

The challenger seized the moment to point out that Mr. Aubertine has introduced 39 bills since joining the Senate. None has made it out of committee.

"Seventy-eight Democratic bills got passed," Mr. Renzi said. "Now you're saying these meany Republicans are picking on me. Politics is a contact sport."

Mr. Aubertine cited examples when he's worked with Republican Assemblywoman Dierdre K. Scozzafava, Gouverneur, as how he's fighting through the political barriers.

"I've tried to work across party lines. These aren't excuses. These are a reality," he said.

The seat is important because Republicans are clinging to a diminishing majority in the Senate. Control of the upper house was one of the few times Mr. Aubertine chanted a call for change.

"I believe one of the ways to do it is to change the state Senate," he said.

His incumbency partially worked against Mr. Aubertine. A few questioners slammed him on non-issue events during his brief tenure in the Senate. A city man asked why he hired his sister to work in his office in defiance of ethics laws, while a Great Bend father criticized him for missing a meeting to talk about special education jobs in the Carthage Central School District.

Both Jefferson County men tried several times to align themselves with St. Lawrence County voters, reminding them of favorite hunting spots in Colton and saying downstate residents don't understand "our way of life."

The next debate is Oct. 2 in Oswego.