| New York State Republican Committee | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Edward F. Cox |
| Senate leader | Dean Skelos |
| Assembly leader | Brian Kolb |
| Headquarters | 315 State Street Albany, NY 12210 |
| Ideology | American Conservatism Fiscal Conservatism Center-right |
| National affiliation | Republican Party |
| Official colors | Red |
| Seats in the Upper House |
32 / 62
|
| Seats in the Lower House |
51 / 150
|
| Website | |
| www.nygop.org | |
| Politics of the United States Political parties Elections |
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The New York Republican State Committee is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party (GOP) in New York, headquartered in Albany.[1] The purpose of the committee is to nominate the Republican candidates for both the federal and state positions available at the time of elections.[2] At its beginning, New York Republicans had difficulty gaining the popular vote against the Know Nothing Party after it was established in 1855, but had its first victory in 1856.[3] The party works to limit government and decrease taxes.[4]The last Republican US Senator from New York was Alfonse D'Amato, who served three terms before being defeated in 1998 by current US Senator Chuck Schumer. Famous Republicans from New York include Theodore Roosevelt, Fiorello LaGuardia, Nelson Rockefeller, Thomas E. Dewey, George Pataki and Rudy Giuliani.
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The New York Republican State Committee began in 1855 which was one year after the founding of the Republican Party of the United States. The two men that have been cited for the creation of the party are William H. Seward and Thurlow Weed.[5] When the committee first began the meetings were very infrequent. The committee would only meet every three years to make plans for the National Convention. They would meet however occasionally during the campaigning time period. The committee is now required to meet after every election.
The establishment of the Republican Party in New York was not an easy feat. For many years the Republican Party was struggling with power for the election with the Know Nothing Party.[6] To try to attract the nativists to their side, the Republican Party tried to appeal to the American Party to strengthen their power. However, nativists became more of a liability to the Republican Party because it created even more conflict and tension between the Know Nothings. It wasn't until 1856 that the Republican Party won against the Know Nothings.[7] Unlike the Know Nothing Party, Republicans in New York had a well recognized name, a defined set of principles, stable and powerful well known leaders, a well established structure as well as a strong appeal to the public voters.[8]
Around the time of 1894 when immigration was at its peak, the New York State Constitution created an clause to where upstate New York would have reappointed districts so that there would be more votes per district.[9] This allowed there to be more votes done of initial New Yorkers rather than the immigrants tip the balance of voters. It was not until 1974 when the US Supreme Court deemed that this clause was unconstitutional.[10] This created a turmoil in the politics of New York because the Republican party lost its hold on the legislation in the state level.
The New York Republican State Committee until 1911 nominated its candidates through a primary or caucus system. Because of this type of nomination system the average voter had very little input as to who would be a choice for the state and federal offices. This system was taken out of practice after 1911 once the Direct Primary Law was passed which allowed for more input from the people that were present at the primary.[11]
Like the national Republican Party, the New York Republican State Committee supports small business growth. One way in which New York makes income is through agriculture and the small businesses that it creates. Republican Senator Patty Ritchie chairperson of the Agriculture committee wants to help out the Central and Northern New York farmers grow their businesses which will in turn help create jobs and increase the strength of the industry [12] There are a number of solutions for improving the agriculture in the state. One of the more obvious solutions that they have come up with is to provide incentives for more food processors to take advantage of New York’s resources.[13] New York has many major markets already that encourage the use of agricultural resources such as open land and fertile soil [14] There are two markets that are predominate in New York that Republicans wish to keep fruitful, the wine and dairy industry. By cutting the red tape and fees on wineries and dairy farms that are looking to open more locations would increase their profits [15]
Most recently Senator Andrew Lanza who is the chairman of the Ethics Committee, sponsored the Public Integrity Reform Act of 2011 [16] Because of New York’s past history of corruption and lack of ethics, this law was signed into law the week of August 14, 2011. There are several specifics to this reform act. One of the more prominent reforms that comes from this act is more financial disclosure access. This requires that all of the statements by a business will now be accessible on the internet.[17] This disclosure however is not just limited to business and their clients but it will now also apply to registered lobbyists. Lobbyists now have to report any business relationships that have a worth of $1,000 or more with any public office or official.[18] The reform act goes deeper into the definition of lobbying. It now will expand the definition to include the introduction of legislation or other resolutions by a lobbyist.[19] What this now does is it makes sure that the more important lobbying activities can be monitored more efficiently lobbyist.[20] The Act also denotes that if a public official commits a crime that has any relation to their job, their pensions will be reduced or even forfeited[21]
New York citizens pay one of the highest energy costs in the nation. The residential electricity rates were 61% above the national average and that is even with the state having 18% of its energy coming from renewable resources.[22] New York Republicans seek to improve the affordability of energy while still improving our environment and creating jobs for economic growth. A major way in which the party intends to improve the energy system of New York is to create a “win-win-win” option.[23] This means creating a program that are beneficial to the State, consumers and businesses as well as the environment.[24] A way that the party intends to promote the win-win-win option is to have PACE Financing or in other words Property Assessed Clean Energy.[25] This program eliminates up front costs for property owners on energy improvements. It allows them to pay for their improvements over a 15-20 year period which small tax payments.[26] New York Republican Senator George Maziarz, committee chairman of the Energy and Telecommunications of the Senate, stated that he commends and supports Cuomo for his advancement and signing of the Power NY bill on August 4, 2011 [27] One way the party intends to improve the electricity rates is to build a smart grid. This grid is one that enables the cost of energy to decrease while increase the efficiency. This allows those who invest in the smart grid to have easy and immediate access to other choices not granted by other electric companies. This means that customers would be able to tell their company that they want to run their air conditioning or heating only when the temperature is at a certain point.[28]
The national Republican Party believes in the increase of production of American made energy and a reduction of dependence on foreign oil. One way the New York Republican State Committee is working towards this goal is to embrace the natural element of marcellus shale which can be drilled for to extract natural gas in the southern portion of the state of New York.[29] This would require a mass amount of drilling very deep into the ground which would be very costly and time consuming. In 2008 Governor David Paterson approved a bill that extended the rules as to where the boundaries were where it was legal to drill for gas.[30] This bill protected the interests of the property owners that were being affected by the long term drilling. It was a worry that this would be misinterpreted that a new type of drilling was allowed and that it was easier to access a permit to drill. When push comes to shove, the bill only discusses the issue of spacing out the boundaries. It does not want to harm the environment.
New York has been known as a state that does not support the growth of small businesses because of the property taxes that have been damaging the economy. Senator James Alesi chairman of the Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business committee intends to change this. On January 19, 2011 the 2011 Job Creation and Retention Package passed thanks to his support [31] The bill plans to provide small businesses with a tax credit for three years in as much as $5,000 for every new job that it creates as well as eliminate taxes for businesses that have 50 or less employees.[32] The ultimate goal of this bill is to create jobs and to help small businesses thrive in an economy that has not been so great.[33] New York State has recently had many issues with property taxes. The property taxes are 70% above the national average.[34] It is in upper state New York where these taxes are the worst. To solve this issue of the property tax amount, there is a proposed idea to create a school property tax cap.[35] This would limit the annual tax increase to only 4% or the inflation rate, whichever is lower. The voters even have the choice to over ride the tax cap if they so choose. This tax cap would not include districts where new construction was occurring because it would deliberately increase the property value.
The party opposes the idea of having the government run the health care system. It believes that it does not promote competition and it does not allow the people to have a choice in their health care. It does not want to raise the taxes of everyone but suggest to lower the health care costs overall. One way in which the party intends to reform the health care system is through Medicare. It wants to compensate doctors more who are considerate and truly care for their patients. This reform also poses to allow every patient to have more of a choice in who their health care provider is. This means that there is more of a private practice of medication as well as treatment [36] Another way in which the New York Republican State Committee wants to improve upon the health care system is through Medicaid. The general idea is to allow there to be more options for the people to chose from. This means that people would purchase their own individual regular health insurance and the people would not have to deal the the federal government. The committee also is in support of what has been called health courts that was proposed by Philip K. Howard [37] These are medical malpractice courts that aim to stop unnecessary injustices between patients and doctors. Judges would resolve any issues which would set a precedent for doctors and patients.
| Office | Office-holder |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Edward F. Cox |
| First Vice Chairman | Vincent D. Reda |
| Secretary | Rebecca Marino |
| Treasurer | John Riedman |
| Chief of Staff | Tony Casale |
| National Committeewoman | Jennifer Saul |
| National Committeeman | Lawrence Kadish |
Republicans in each of New York's 62 counties elect a Republican County Committee every two years. The chair of each county committee is the face of the Republican Party in that County. In addition, Republicans in each of New York's 150 Assembly Districts elect one female and one male district leader. The district leaders within each county make up the executive committee of the individual county committees. The chair along with the executive committee in each county are responsible for growing the party on the local level, as well as running the finances of the local party. They are responsible for finding candidates to run for public office, and when there are multiple candidates they choose which will get the party's nomination, unless both candidates have petitioned enough signatures to trigger a primary.
Every Assembly District in each county elects one male and one female representative who together make up the New York State Republican State Committee. The State Committee runs the party on the state level, and they choose candidates to run for statewide offices. Before every statewide election the party holds a convention where the committee chooses candidate to run for all statewide offices. 60% of the vote is needed to win the party's nomination. If no candidate wins 60%, than any candidate that has received more than 25% of the vote goes on to compete in a primary held in September to win the nomination. Candidates who fail to win 25% of the committee's vote need to petition 15,000 signatures from voters around the state in order to get on the primary ballot.
The State Committee also elects one National Committeewoman and one National Committeeman to represent the party in Republican National Committee in Washington, D.C. The current National Committee members are Jennifer Saul, a Republican fundraiser and former chairwoman of the New York County Republican Committee, and Lawrence Kadish, a real estate developer from downstate New York.
The New York Republican Party holds a majority in the New York State Senate and 8 of the state's 29 U.S. House seats.
| Chair | Tenure | Hometown while serving |
|---|---|---|
| Edwin D. Morgan | 1856–1858 1874–1875 |
Manhattan |
| James Kelly | 1858–1860 | Manhattan |
| Simeon Draper | 1860–1862 | Manhattan |
| Henry R. Low | 1862–1863 | Middletown |
| Charles Jones | 1863–1865 | Brooklyn |
| William R. Stewart | 1865–1866 | Manhattan |
| Hamilton Harris | 1866–1870 | Albany |
| Alonzo B. Cornell | 1870–1874 1875–1877 1878–1879 |
Manhattan |
| John F. Smyth | 1877–1878 1882–1883 |
Albany |
| Chester A. Arthur | 1879–1881 | Manhattan |
| B. Platt Carpenter | 1881–1882 | Stanford |
| James D. Warren | 1883–1885 | Buffalo |
| Chester S. Cole | 1885–1887 | Corning |
| Cornelius N. Bliss | 1887–1889 | Manhattan |
| John N. Knapp | 1889–1891 | Auburn |
| William H. Brookfield | September 1891 – September 1894 | |
| Charles W. Hackett | September 1894 – April 1898 | Utica |
| Benjamin B. Odell, Jr. | May 1898 – November 1900 April 1904 – September 1906 |
Newburg |
| George W. Dunn | November 1900 – April 1904 | Binghamton |
| Timothy L. Woodruff | September 1906 – October 1910 | Brooklyn |
| Ezra P. Prentice | October 1910 – January 1911 | Manhattan |
| William Barnes, Jr. | January 1911 – September 1914 | Albany |
| Frederick C. Tanner | October 1914 – January 1917 | Manhattan |
| George A. Glynn | January 1917 – September 1922 | Watertown |
| George K. Morris | September 1922 – August 1928 | Amsterdam |
| H. Edmund Machold | August 1928 – June 1929 | Watertown |
| William J. Maier | June 1929 – November 1930 | Seneca Falls |
| W. Kingsland Macy | December 1930 – September 1934 | Islip |
| Melvin C. Eaton | September 1934 – November 1936 | Norwich |
| William S. Murray | January 1937 – April 1940 | Utica |
| Edward F. Jaeckle | April 1940 – November 1944 | Buffalo |
| Glen R. Bedenkapp | January 1945 – February 1949 | Lewiston |
| William L. Pfeiffer | 1949 – September 1953 | Buffalo |
| Dean P. Taylor | September 1953 – September 1954 | Troy |
| L. Judson Morhouse | September 1954 – January 1963 | Ticonderoga |
| Fred A. Young | April 1963 – January 1965 | Lowville |
| Carl Spad | February 1965 – May 1967 | White Plains |
| Charles A. Schoeneck, Jr. | May 1967 – April 1969 | Syracuse |
| Charles T. Lanigan | 1969 – November 1972 | Utica |
| Richard M. Rosenbaum | November 1972 – June 1977 | Rochester |
| Bernard M. Kilbourn | June 1977 – 1981 | Utica |
| George L. Clark, Jr. | March 1981 – July 1985 | Brooklyn |
| Anthony J. Colavita | September 19, 1985 – June 22, 1989 | Westchester County |
| J. Patrick Barrett | June 22, 1989 – January 14, 1991 | Syracuse |
| William D. Powers | January 14, 1991 – March 8, 2001 | Rensselaer County |
| Alexander F. Treadwell | March 8, 2001 – November 15, 2004 | Westport |
| Stephen J. Minarik | November 15, 2004 – November 15, 2006 | Webster |
| Joseph N. Mondello | November 15, 2006 – September 29, 2009 | Hempstead |
| Edward F. Cox | September 29, 2009 – present | Manhattan |
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