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General News: Bill Larkin: Our Senator in Albany
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| State Senator Bill Larkin in his district office in New Windsor. |
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| Larkin speaks at the groundsbreaking ceremony for the new cancer care center in May. |
June 30, 2008
By Nancy Peckenham
6/30/2008
What does a State Senator do up in Albany? Curious to find out, I paid a visit to Republican Senator Bill Larkin, who represents the 39th District, which includes northern Orange County and parts of Ulster County. He is a resident of Cornwall-on-Hudson.
On arriving, Senator Larkin hands me a pile of photocopies detailing some of the bills approved this session in Albany. He has sponsored more than 200 pieces of legislation that are in various stages of approval by the Senate and Assembly.
With a hard-working staff of six, Larkin says he stays on top of all of the bills he has sponsored, attending committee meetings or private sessions with other legislators to garner support for his initiatives. “I am a demanding person,” Larkin says with a smile, “I want things done.”
At age 80, Senator Larkin has the energy of a person half his age and pops up at events all over the district when he is not in Albany. On Monday, June 30, he appeared at a press conference with Newburgh mayor Nick Valentine to announce a grant of $1.25 million he had gotten for the city to install a new sewer system that is needed to further develop the waterfront.
His calendar is filled with a dozen meetings or events daily, even during the summer months. Larkin shakes his head when asked if he has any plans to retire as his Republican colleague, Senate Majority leader Joe Bruno, announced earlier this month.
Looking back at the legislative session that ended a week ago, Larkin admits that it was unusual for the amount of upheaval, including the resignation of Governor Eliot Spitzer after he was caught hiring a prostitute, an act that Larkin calls “a disgrace.”
He says he doesn’t agree 100% with Spitzer’s replacement, Democratic governor David Patterson, but he finds him relatively easy to work with. Larkin recalls that he knew Patterson’s father, Basil, who served as state attorney general under Governor Mario Cuomo. Larkin got to know Patterson during the civil rights era in Alabama when Larkin was the Army colonel assigned to protect activists marching from Selma to Birmingham in 1965.
Larkin joined the Army during World War Two and rose to the rank of Lt. Colonel before his retirement in 1967. His military service has made him a vocal advocate for veterans and he was the key proponent of the new National Purple Heart Hall of Honor that opened in New Windsor in 2006.
Larkin’s name appears most often in association with his role on the Racing, Gaming and Waging Committee, which he chairs. In February, his committee worked out a high-stakes agreement for the continued operation of the New York Racing Authority, with tracks at Saratoga, Aqueduct and Belmont, which had fallen into bankruptcy. He also played a role in working out an agreement with a developer who plans to develop a new racino in Monticello along with a hotel and convention center. The project will benefit from a tax break while creating 2,000 jobs. Larkin hopes it is also able to restore the Catskills former glory as a tourist destination.
When asked about his most important accomplishments, however, Larkin talks about a series of agricultural measures he has introduced during his 29 years in the state legislature, 19 of them as Senator. He talks about winning senate support for the Hudson Valley Laboratory in Highland where scientists test crops under different growing conditions. He also has sponsored a variety of bills that promote Hudson Valley vineyards and fruit growers, including the 2007 expansion of the Shawangunk Wine Trail. He recalls his successful effort to legalize the cultivation of black currants, which had been banned for 80 years and is now used to make a fine liqueur
Larkin is now putting together a package of economic subsidies to support the establishment of a packing plant in Goshen for regional growers.
In addition to introducing legislation to support the regional economy or change social policies, Larkin has a fund that this year totaled $2.1 million that he can hand out to meet the needs of local municipalities. All members of the New York State legislature have access to these member grants – Larkin has one of the largest funds.
This year, the Storm King Fire Engine Company #2 received a $38,000 grant to buy a new vehicle. Another $60,000 grant to the village for a pier head at the riverfront was awarded in 2006. Larkin says that his offer to the town of Cornwall of $75,000 for a portion of the cost of a new ambulance was turned down because the town was unable to fund the rest. Mayor Joe Gross sent him a request for $1.9 million of projects he was hoping to get funded in the village. Larkin said unfortunately the request came in too late for him to take action.
“I can give the money where it is most needed,” Larkin says, rejecting the notion that politics play a role in who gets a grant. “I give to Democrats or Republicans. I don’t play that game.”
He helped secure $500,000 in a state grant for the St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital cancer care center under construction in Cornwall and another $250,000 for its pediatric wing in Newburgh. Larkin talks about his effort to bring funding to Newburgh for education, pointing to the millions in state funds for the new Orange County Community College campus and for sponsorship of the BOCES program at the Newburgh Free Academy.
These funding successes are a reflection of Larkin’s seniority and clout as a member of the majority Republican Senate, a majority that is threatened in the elections this November. With Senate Majority leader Joe Bruno stepping down, the party’s majority is down to one member.
Larkin and the remaining incumbent Republicans are all planning to run for re-election, but in a national election year, more than local political could sway voters minds. But Larkin doesn’t let on that he is the least bit concerned about the possibility of the Democrats taking control of the Senate in Albany.
With a laugh and a wink, he shrugs off any talk of doom or gloom in politics or in the economy. He’s an optimist and even on a warm Friday afternoon in June, he’s off and running, with a long list of people to see before his day ends.
Comments:
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Gush,gush, puff.
posted by Deborah Jacoby-Twigg on 06/30/08 at 10:13 PM
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