News from Assembly Minority Leader Brian M. Kolb
Assembly Office:
933 Legislative Office Building • Albany, NY 12248 • (518) 455-3751
District Office:
607 West Washington Street • Suite 2 • Geneva, NY 14456 • (315) 781-2030
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For Release: IMMEDIATELY, March 23, 2012
Doug Finch (315) 781-2030
Be My Guest April 11 For A Special Town Hall Meeting In Canandaigua On Building A More Effective NY!
Legislative column from Assembly Minority Leader Brian M. Kolb (R,I,C-Canandaigua)

Secret negotiations. Important laws enacted with ZERO public input. Government business conducted in the dead of night.

What you just read isn't the plot to Hollywood's latest thriller or a Tom Clancy spy novel. It's what is happening, right now, in your State Capitol, in your State government. For all the progress NY has made, when it comes to doing the people's business, it's still "business as usual" at the State Capitol: secrecy, closed doors and NO transparency.

TAXPAYERS DESERVE BETTER THAN ALBANY'S "BUSINESS AS USUAL"

I don't know about you, but I think Albany's business as usual stinks. In an era of 24-hour news and 24-7 social media via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, is it really asking too much for Albany to communicate openly with taxpayers and stop passing major pieces of legislation at 5 a.m.? Why in the year 2012 does Albany still operate like a smoke-filled backroom in Tammany Hall from the 1800s? Back then, a handful of political bosses and special interest power brokers met in secrecy and decided what was "best" for millions of people.

It was wrong then. It's wrong now.

Taxpayers deserve better. They deserve a state government that's 100 percent open, honest, accountable and transparent. In short, they deserve a more effective NY.

WANT A MORE EFFECTIVE NY? JOIN ME ON APRIL 11 AT CANANDAIGUA INN ON THE LAKE FOR A SPECIAL TOWN HALL MEETING

If you want a more effective NY, attend the Town Hall meeting I'm co-hosting on Wednesday, April 11, at 7 p.m. at Canandaigua Inn on the Lake (770 South Main Street, Canandaigua) for an important conversation about fixing Albany. Our Town Hall meeting will discuss "EffectiveNY," a new, non-partisan reform coalition I'm helping lead whose goals are a better government, a stronger economy, a modernized State Constitution and a more responsive civic process. My good friend, EffectiveNY co-founder and Town Hall meeting co-host Bill Samuels will be joining us on April 11.

If the Samuels name sounds familiar, it should. Bill Samuels is a proud Canandaigua native with deep family roots and strong personal connections to our local community.

In addition to being a successful high-tech entrepreneur, Bill is an articulate, fearless voice for government reform. He serves as Chairman of the "New Roosevelt Foundation," one of NY's premier good government groups. Bill has worked tirelessly to get special interest money - and its corrosive, corrupting influence - out of our civic process and shares my commitment to transforming state government.

ALBANY WILL NOT FIX ITSELF - WE HAVE TO DO IT!

There's an old saying that, "those who fail to learn the lessons of history will be doomed to repeat them." If the history lesson of our state government has taught us anything, it's this: Albany won't fix itself! We, the people, must make positive change happen!

Join me on Wednesday, April 11, at 7 p.m. and let's get the conversation started about how we create a more effective NY. For more details, or to RSVP, visit effectiveny.org. I hope to see you the evening of April 11 for our Town Hall meeting at Canandaigua Inn on the Lake!

As always, constituents wishing to discuss this topic, or any other state-related matter should contact my district office at (315) 781-2030, or e-mail me at kolbb@assembly.state.ny.us.


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