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July 2011 CFBNY and more than a
dozen others testified at State
Gov't hearings on having our votes count. Do you care?. See details on
CFBNY's Home page.
May 2011 Public Forum on
State Redistricting was Held at MCC in Rochester on May
12, 2011
As time grows short to change the way New York State
draws its State Legislative and US Congressional
Districts, it is critical that the public be informed of
what is at stake. The MCC Department of
Anthropology/History/Political Science/Sociology and three
local affiliates of ReShape NY sponsored a public forum on this issue held at 7:00
pm, Thursday, May 12, in Room 5-300 at MCC’s Brighton
Campus.
The issue is now being hotly debated as many of the
State Legislators who signed a pledge to create an
independent redistricting commission while running for
election in 2010 are now backing away from this promise.
Legislation to do this has been submitted by Governor
Cuomo, yet it is still languishing in committee in each
house. The purpose of the forum is to explain what this
issue is all about and its importance in the democratic
process.
 Following
a presentation by the Citizens for a Better New York
describing the topic, Dr. Peter J. Galie,
chair of the Political Science Department at Canisius
College will talk on the importance of such reform for
democracy.
Many claims and counterclaims have been made as to why
no progress has been made on moving this through the
Legislature, and former New York City Mayor, Ed Koch, a
co-chair of ReShape New York and
author of the 2010 pledge has been traveling the state
admonishing those who have not acted as “Enemies of
Reform” while praising those who have as “Heroes of
Reform”.
The local affiliates of ReShape NY which are
co-sponsoring the forum with MCC are Citizens for a Better
New York, the League of Women Voters, and the Interfaith
Alliance of Rochester.
The forum was free and open to
the public. Read details of the forum findings
here, courtesy of the
Democrat and Chronicle newspaper.
April 2011 CFBNY deplores the
unethical behavior of those who signed the pledge on
redistricting reform, then failed to live up to their
pledge. They did this to win reelection. See the
pledge
here: (a new window will open).
The majority of those signing the pledge, and failing to
take action are from one party. Hold them accountable: we
do not need 'enemies of reform' governing our State.
Call now, as described on our Home
Page. Save New York State!
November 2010 CFBNY Testifys
at Monroe County Legislature about Redistricting CFBNY points out how
voter's voices do not count because legislators are
gerrymandering (picking voters that like them), in
violation of our constitution. Read more on our
News page.
Fall 2010 Redistricting
Reform Workshops now being held. CFBNY has
conducted about a dozen workshops in the Rochester and
western New York area informing citizens of how their
votes are being changed due to faulty redistricting.
Contact us about a presentation
to your group.
The follow-up workshop of Citizens for Better Government in New York
was held on a Thursday, March 25, 2010: at 7pm.
Location: the downstairs meeting room of the Pittsford Public Library in the village of Pittsford - at 24 State Street: the biggest building in town.
June 22, 2009
Annual Elections Held -- Plus Forum on NYS
Constitution revealed challenges.
Congratulations to 2009 - 2010 Officers of CFBNY.
Open and public voting on new officers were held,
and officers were elected.
Plus, our featured speaker was Professor Peter Galie, Chairman of the
Political Science Department of Canisius
College and author of definitive works
on the NYS Constitution. The title of his talk
was
"Reforming the State Constitution, Successes and
Failures of Conventions and Commissions."
Professor Galie provided illustrations of limited
successes, and how clever legislators can slip
around the wording of our constitution by creating
laws not anticipated by the original writers.
Plus, the "fear" tactics of special-interests can
make sure that their special-interest goals are not
threatened by constitutional changes.
May 28, 2009
Western New York Citizens testified at
Rochester hearing held on May 28, 2009.
Details
on hearing here in PDF form.
New York State has some of the most lax rules on
special interest contributions in the nation.
What are "special interests"?
Organizations that collect "dues" from members, and use that
cash to donate to your legislators. Your
legislator then becomes very tempted to provide thanks in
some way. Thus, your legislator is representing the
special interest, not you. Is that
democracy in action? Of course not.
Is there a connection? Are the
lawyers happy that NYS has the Wickes Law? Is
the teachers union happy that NYS citizens spend 60% or more
above the national average on education (when only 50% or so
of high school students ever graduate)? Are the
Electric Utilities happy that our rates per kilowatt are
more than 50% above the national average?
Yes, they are happy... and special
interests "pay" for the privilege of controlling voting on
key bills. Sometimes with direct cash to legislators'
re-election fund;
and at other times by hiring clever lobbyists.
"Clean money and clean elections" can substantially reduce
this abuse. We joined with 40 others providing
testimony to the state about your wishes at this public
hearing.
Learn more about CMCE here.
April 28, 2009
CFBNY President Stu Berger calls for citizens to
write, call or email their state Senator.
The "Temporary Committee on Rules
and Administration Reform" has released findings, and
recommended changes in Senate rules that are a step in
the right direction. We urge voters to contact his/her
Senator now, and urge that the recommendations be adopted.
This is not a party line issue, even though certain media
are emphasizing this. New York's citizens must be
consistent in moving forward with taking power from "Three
Men in a Room", and returning it to their elected
representatives. Read more here.
February 27, 2009
Citizens for a Better New York delivers testimony at the
Senate hearings on Long Island. President Stu Berger's
testimony emphasized our 4R's of 'real reform':
Our members believe that New York’s governance can
be fixed and the well-being of New York’s citizens can be
enhanced with the “4R’s”. The “4R’s” are:
·
Rules
Changes in the Legislature: so that the legislative
process is transparent, fair, democratic, deliberative,
effective, equitable and accountable to citizens. A better
legislative process enables better legislative results.
· Redistricting:
to require an
independent, non-partisan commission to establish
competitive legislative districts that make sense and ensure
accountability to the citizens.
· Reclaim Fair Elections: to
implement Clean Money/Clean Election laws that provide
public money for state election campaigns if a candidate
agrees to strict spending limits and to reduce the campaign
contribution limits from all sources.
· Referendum and Initiative:
to
establish a check-and-balance process that gives citizens
greater voice for influencing public policy.
For the complete testimony,
in PDF format, click
here.
February 6, 2009
Citizens For a Better NY presents testimony at New
York State Senate's "Temporary Committee on Rules and
Administration Reform" in Syracuse.
Executive Board member Reg Neale explains,
"I am a member of Citizens
for a Better New York, a volunteer not-for-profit
organization based in Rochester, with members throughout the
state. Our mission is to advocate for the well-being of New
Yorkers. Our organization's vision is to make our state’s
public structures more effective and efficient. We seek
these improvements in our public structures because we want
a state where all citizens can happily live, work, learn,
play, and prosper."
For the complete testimony,
in PDF format, click
here.
December 2008
Citizens For a Better NY is urging State Senators
to take advantage of a fading opportunity and change their
operating rules now.
"New Yorkers face
significant challenges in the coming years regarding keeping
their jobs, making do with declining tax revenues, helping
all our kids be successful in school, and maintaining
affordable health care. The success of our state depends on
citizens and our elected officials working together for the
common good." said Stuart Berger, of Brighton, President of
Citizens for a Better NY.
More...
November 2008
Citizens for Better Government in New York want all
of our state to improve: jobs, the environment, ethics,
educational achievements, and well-being for all residents.
Our focus on our State government in Albany...
exclusively. Our
all-volunteer, non-profit organization accepts no funds from
big corporations (or even small corporations), PACs,
political candidates or elected officials, unions, or the
like.
Nor do we endorse political candidates, parties, or
officials. We believe that the process
in our state government is broken, and urgently requires
repairs to restore our state to greatness.
With our focus on the entire state, we believe our name
should reflect this focus. Thus, we will also be known
as Citizens for a Better New York
- CFBNY.
So if you hear this name, or receive an email from this
domain, remember is the same organization that is now in
it's sixth year of working hard to improve our government,
for the benefit of all citizens.
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