Abinanti Pursues Increased Fairness in Bid to Hold 92nd District Assembly Seat
Calling himself an issue-oriented progressive Democrat with the endorsement of the Working Families Party, Tom Abinanti wants to see fairness return to politics and governance in New York State. In seeking re-election to the 92nd Assembly District, which includes Greenburgh and Mount Pleasant, he does not agree with everything the state’s current administration is doing.
Since he was elected to the district in November 2011, Abinanti says he began working for change. This is the work he wants to continue.
“I am not shy about being critical of Governor Cuomo,” Abinanti says. “Many people are disenchanted with the direction we are taking. I would like to see the administration change its philosophy about austerity. It’s not good. People need government. What we are seeing is a decline of fairness.”
As a former Westchester County Legislator for 19 years, Abinanti, 67, and a resident of Pleasantville, says he judges everything on the basis of how it opens up the community for more participation. He considers his work in Albany important because it establishes major policies. Local governments can do more but for fewer people.
The first thing Abinanti wants to do is to get the state to pay its fair share. “Concentration on reducing taxes for the people at the top is just the wrong emphasis, the state should be focusing on services,” he contends. “By limiting revenues, it is impossible for the state to perform basic services. The rich are paying too little and everyone else is paying too much. We have to get rid of this reliance on property taxes.”
Abinanti calls Cuomo’s mandate relief committee illusory. “What most people are complaining about are the big ticket items, but they form the basis for the very way we run the system,” he said. Taking pensions as an example, Abinanti explained that these are built into the New York system. “There have been abuses, but they are not typical of the system. The mandates most people are talking about don’t add up to much savings.”
With regard to big-ticket items like Medicaid, Abinanti feels that is the state’s responsibility, with some local participation.
Abinanti sees New York State divided into three primary areas: New York City, up state and the suburbs. He has developed relationships with the legislators on both sides of the aisle from Putnam, Rockland, Orange and Westchester counties in the Hudson Valley and Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island.
“The suburbs have to watch every bit of policy because it affects us,” Abinanti explained. This is especially important when the representatives for New York City are looking to pick up votes he continued, adding: “Most of us from the suburbs are on the same page or essentially on the same page.”
This is very apparent when considering education policy such as Common Core Curriculum. “In the suburbs we have very good school districts for the most part. New York City might not look at the policy details the same way as the suburbs,” Abinanti said.
Abinanti wants to freeze everything in the Common Core Curriculum. “It was an outrage and unprofessional roll out,” he said. “I asked for the resignation of the Commissioner of Education. He did not meet with the school superintendents before rolling the program out. How do you make a major policy decision before meeting with the people who will be carrying it out? This is a step down for us in the suburbs.”
Saying he is in constant communication with the municipalities in his district, Abinanti is aware that “just about everyone was furious about the 2 percent tax cap.”
“Everyone is trying to comply, but you can’t push things off. The roads are deteriorating, for example,” he said.
Regarding the new Tappan Zee Bridge, Abinanti believes that the toll should not have to increase more than $2 or $3. In fact, he claims that if the bridge paid simply for itself and not a greater portion of the NYS thruway system, this would be possible.
On the SAFE Act, Abinanti feels there are good and bad points, which could have been worked out if the bill had not been raced through the legislature.
On campaign reform, Abinanti supports public matching funds. He explained that by changing a few laws here and there we are not getting to the essence of the problem, which is the reliance on big money. “Small contributions from everyday people maximizes their contribution,” he said.
Abinanti would like to see the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant closed and he does not believe fracking is safe for New York at this point. “I will continue voting for a moratorium on fracking until we can prove it does not hurt people,” he said.
A supporter of the Women’s Equality Act, Abinanti regards the later term abortion issue as one that should be governed by health principles. “It is currently in penal law and should be moved out to civil law,” he said.
