Crossroads in New York City and State Politics

By David Bressler

I am a candidate for State Assembly in District 26, Northeastern Queens, because of my concerns with the state of affairs within our political landscape. We have a Governor who signed an executive order to allow felons to vote, a NYS Assembly that voted to make NYS a Sanctuary state, and a Mayor of NYC who wants to close down Rikers and put prisons in our neighborhoods. Our Mayor also eliminated armed guards in our schools that protected our children. This is not the city or state I so proudly was raised in. These are extreme progressive politicians who are making our city and state less safe and are not following the rule of law. That is why we are at a crossroads in local politics.

There are many issues that need to be addressed, but I have four major concerns that I will be addressing immediately when I go to Albany as District 26’s Assemblyman: Wasteful Government Spending, Safety, Ethics Reform, and Infrastructure.

NYS budgeted $250 million, and NYC budgeted $200 million for NYCHA. Is that the right amount to be funded?  There are questions whether NYCHA ever received these funds. This is a perfect example of a lack of accountability in spending in our local government. NYS budgets $26 billion in education. Will all that money reach the classrooms so students can be equipped with more advanced technology to improve their learning skills? Property taxes in NYC are exorbitant, and Mayor de Blasio keeps them at the same rate. He has not done anything with the inequality of property assessments. Homes for less value are paying more in property taxes. That does not make sense. Where does Ed Braunstein stand on the accountability of spending the people’s hard-earned tax dollars and the inequities of property assessments? Silence is all we hear. You will be hearing from me loud and clear on these issues when I’m in Albany.

There is a dire need for special training programs for ex-police and military personnel.  All schools need fully trained guards, and there is no better way to spend money than to protect our children. We also need money in the budget for training anti-terrorist units in every neighborhood. We need safeguards against tragic terrorist attacks which can take place in any part of the city or state. Is Mr. Braunstein concerned about children’s safety and the safety of all citizens? Safety of all the people will be the number one concern when I’m elected.

We need term limits for every elected official. If an elected official cannot accomplish his agenda in six years, then he or she should have not been elected in the first place. Career politicians gain too much power which can lead to corruption which unfortunately has spread rampantly in Albany. Mr. Braunstein wanted to increase his and all state legislator’s salaries by 47% two years ago. It appears he does not believe in term limits.

We need to improve our bridges, highways, and streets in order to make a better and easier lifestyle for our citizens. One example is the one-way exit going south on the Cross Island Parkway to the LIE. It causes major traffic jams and is a severe safety hazard. That issue has not been addressed since I was a child fifty years ago. We need to rectify issues with sensible solutions instead of talking about them.

My opponent, the incumbent Ed Braunstein, voted for NYS to be a sanctuary state, and remains silent on all these other issues. He is the invisible man, since no one sees him, and he does not conduct town hall meetings to hear the voices of the people. He stays invisible because he does not want to answer for all the poor decisions that wasted taxpayer dollars.  I will be an Assemblyman that will speak with the people and answer all of their concerns. I will be the common sense elected official that will be the caretaker of their money and put safety above all else. I will win back District 26 for all the people –to fill the people’s pockets, not the politician’s pockets.