Democratic caucus: upstate will have voice

ALBANY — With Democrats poised to have control of the state Senate, Assembly and governor's office for the first time since the 1930s, the north country's 48th Senate district will once again be in the majority.

But unlike previous Republican majorities, which had substantive upstate membership, the incoming Democratic conference is overwhelmingly dominated by senators from highly urban or suburban downstate districts.

With 27 of the 32 Democratic senators hailing from metropolitan New York City or Long Island, will agrarian issues and other matters of vital importance upstate get scant attention in the Legislature's upper house?

The five members of the Senate Democratic Upstate Caucus adamantly insist that they can deliver the goods to an economically moribund and increasingly depopulated upstate region. They tout "One New York," as their theme.

"Everybody says we'll ignore upstate," said Sen. Neil D. Breslin, who represents the 46th district, which consists entirely of Albany County. "But the Republicans took upstate for granted. I think the entire 32 believe that the future of our democratic majority is in upstate."

The upstate caucus has three main priorities for the coming legislative session, all of which are interrelated and tied to improving the upstate economy:

■ Revitalizing upstate cities into regional economic engines.

■ Creating an emphasis on "green" industries to fill the region's many empty manufacturing facilities.

■ Promoting upstate agriculture and tourism.

Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine, Cape Vincent, a former dairy farmer, represents the rural 48th district, which includes all of Jefferson and Oswego counties and the western half of St. Lawrence County. He wants to promote a "farm-to-fork" economy. By this he means expanding an in-state food processing industry to serve New York's farmers, along with boosting their access to metropolitan New York City, the nation's largest consumer market. This will keep the economic cycle of food production within the state, which creates jobs and thus tax revenue for the state.

"This creates a ready market for farms and helps consumers here," Mr. Aubertine said. "The growth of processing encourages the growth of all types of agriculture — dairy, wine, vegetables and organic foods."

The former Miller brewery in Fulton is now an ethanol plant, offering a perfect example of how empty manufacturing facilities can be retooled to accommodate green industries and further boost employment, Mr. Aubertine said. He also spoke of further leveraging upstate's universities to develop green technologies that could lead to more new manufacturing and jobs.

Sen. William T. Stachowski, whose 58th district includes parts of Buffalo and western Erie County, compared New York to the human body which, in order to be healthy, has to have all its parts working. The heart, he said, is Wall Street which, until recently, has been doing well. But the legs, the upstate economy, have been crippled by years of Republican inattention, he said.

"We'll work together with the conference from downstate," Mr. Stachowski said. "They realize that the upstate economy doing well helps downstate. The idea is to get the economy moving here — we have too many good things here just to let it stagnate. When Wall Street comes back, so much the better."

Sen. David J. Valesky, whose hodge-podge 49th district includes all of Madison County, plus parts of Cayuga, Onondaga and Oneida counties and most of Syracuse, stressed the "One New York" mantra.

"The leadership of our party has said revitalization of the upstate economy is a statewide priority. It's not a regional kind of thing," Mr. Valesky said. "You will see that kind of focus in the new majority. We can't move forward as a state if half the state is left behind. There will be sufficient focus on revitalizing upstate."