93rd State Assembly District Race: Castelli vs. Buchwald

When Assemblyman Robert Castelli last ran two years ago, he and now current White Plains Mayor Thomas Roach engaged in one of the more gentlemanly political races in recent memory.

Castelli held on by about 100 votes, in a result that took several weeks to make official.

Next week, the Republican faces another White Plains Democrat, Councilman David Buchwald in what is now the 93rd Assembly District. Perhaps it’s because of the competitiveness of the 2010 contest or there is more at stake, but the atmosphere has been much different during this campaign. Both candidates have gone toe to toe at times, challenging some of each other’s campaign statements and each filing complaints with the Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee.

The race gets settled at the polls next Tuesday, Nov. 6.

David Buchwald

Buchwald, 34, completing his third year on the White Plains Common Council, has enjoyed making a connection with constituents, particularly when they come to him with a problem to solve. Making a connection with people who turn to elected officials for help is why Buchwald, a tax attorney, turned to public service If elected he gets to serve a larger cross-section of residents, from White Plains to Pound Ridge.

Serving a municipality, Buchwald has experienced firsthand the consequences state lawmakers’ decisions have on local government.

“The state isn’t being a partner with our local governments and school districts to solve the issues that we have and I want to take the experience that I’ve gained as a lifelong Westchester resident and area local government official to fight for our communities in Albany,” said Buchwald, a 10-year White Plains resident.

State officials’ inability to relieve unfunded mandates is one of the top priorities to address in the next session, Buchwald said. However, more can be done to have different levels of government to share services, saving taxpayers money. In White Plains, the city and school district have worked together to help each other on local issues of common concern.

“It doesn’t  always make sense to have the same answers to the questions that we face around the state,” Buchwald said.

He criticized Castelli as a follower of the far right, voting against common sense measures, such as health care exchanges and tighter gun control that would have enacted microstamping, where ammunition manufacturers would be forced to put an identifying on each casing. He also pointed to the assemblyman’s opposition to the marriage equality act in June 2011, which puts him in step with the most conservative of Republicans.

“I’m a moderate Democrat and I believe that a role of government is to help people improve their lives, to fight discrimination of all kinds, and the Tea Party approach that he was on in 2010 is simply not in line with our values here in Westchester,” Buchwald said.

Buchwald said if elected he would be a champion for small businesses. Repealing the MTA payroll tax is one solution but lawmakers must also think imaginatively having a one-stop online portal to help entrepreneurs, he said. He supported the tax cap but acknowledged that much more needs to be done with mandate relief.

Buchwald would like to see the state invest more in its infrastructure, such as bridges, roads and mass transit. He’s pleased Gov. Cuomo has been able to move the project even without the mass transit component.

He supports a total ban on hydraulic fracturing, a subtle but important distinction with his opponent, Buchwald said. With Castelli, there is the danger that with the support of recurring one-year moratoriums drilling for natural gas could one day become a reality, he said.

Robert Castelli

Since Castelli was first elected in February 2010 in a special election to replace Adam Bradley, the former Lewisboro councilman has made reaching across the aisle a regular occurrence. He said there’s no reason to “make friends with your friends, I need to make friends with my potential adversaries.”

“If you want to get something done, you find out people who are your natural allies across the aisle and you partner with them to get things done,” Castelli said.

He pointed to being a co-sponsor on Democrat Amy Paulin’s bill to take the county’s portion of Medicaid and give it to the state and would like to see an increase in the minimum wage to at least $8 an hour provided there are business tax breaks.

Since Castelli, 62, a former state trooper, arrived in Albany, fiscal issues have preoccupied the legislature. Castelli was a strong supporter of the tax cap and Tier VI pension reform that will save the state $80 billion long term. The cap, while not as effective without mandate relief, has been part of the reason for the significant slowing of property tax rates throughout the state.

Castelli said he also supports the state having to pay for any new mandates they vote to enact.

“In these last two years, we’ve had a $13.5 billion budget deficit, which we closed with no new taxes, no backdoor borrowing, which Albany is famous for,  and not a single layoff,” Castelli said. “We’ve not had a layoff since I’ve gone up there.”

“You can do it if you understand how to manage,” he added. “You spend smarter, not harder.”

Castelli defended his stance on four gun control votes that Buchwald has heavily criticized him for. He said better law enforcement, not more laws, is the better solution. Mandatory sentences for those convicted of a crime involving a gun is crucial, he said.

The accuracy of microstamping is open to debate, Castelli said, and is prohibitively expensive for gun manufacturers, risking them leaving the state. That’s the key reason why he opposed that measure, Castelli said.

The assemblyman said he has received support of dozens of police organizations. The NRA has given him a high approval rating because he vigorously defends the Second Amendment, he said.

“By the way, if they thought I was doing something against law enforcement, I wouldn’t get endorsed by one of them,” Castelli said of his long list of police endorsements.

Castelli said Hudson Valley representatives must do a better job at working together to find a fairer education funding formula.

One record that Castelli is proud of is his high standing with the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters. Castelli has been a strong opponent of hydraulic fracturing by supporting recurring moratoriums. He said with bipartisan legislation calling for an independent health study, hydrofracking is a long way off in New York.

Since winning his first election, Castelli has been calling for a forensic audit of the MTA. A full repeal of the MTA payroll tax is the next step. He said this year’s $770 million in the MTA’s capital plan came from the state’s coffers, not new taxes.

“You and I should not pay for the mismanagement of the MTA,” Castelli said.

Castelli is pleased to see the Tappan Zee Bridge project move forward but would want to have residents receive discounts on tolls.