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Voters give Transportation Bond Act thumbs up
By SHERRY HALBROOK
New York voters on November 8 approved the Transportation Bond Act which authorizes the state to borrow $2.9 billion over five years to fund improvements to highways, bridges and mass transit.
Without this investment, New York would lose $4 billion in federal transportation funding, the state budget would be $100 million short this year and that gap would grow several times as big next year.
“Passage of the bond act helps protect our members’ jobs at the state Department of Transportation,” said PEF President Roger Benson, “but more importantly, it helps protect the safety of all of us who depend on New York’s roads, bridges and public transportation systems.”
Voters turned down a proposed amendment to the state constitution which would have established an automatic state contingency budget when no new budget was enacted on time.
While Fernando Ferrer, PEF’s choice for New York City mayor, was defeated, the union had much better luck with its pick for state Assembly in the 43rd District.
Karim Camara was the winner in a special election to represent the Brooklyn district through December 31, 2006. The seat was vacated by Clarence Norman Jr.
PEF Vice President Pat Baker, Region 11 Coordinator Jemma Hanson, the Region 11 Political Action Committee, and PEF political organizer/lobbyist Helen Brooks helped get out the vote for
Camara.
PEF will soon begin pre-endorsement interviews for several mid-term elections. Five special elections will be held in early 2006 to fill new vacancies in the state Legislature.
Five members of the Assembly and one state senator were elected to local offices on November 8 or are leaving to pursue other careers.
For more information about how PEF’s endorsed candidates fared in your region, call your regional coordinator or political action committee chair. Or go online to the PEF Web site at
www.pef.org and click on political action. | |
The
Communicator Dec 05-Jan06//
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