“Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it”-Ronald Reagan
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bill O’Reilly, 212-396-9117
bill@novemberteam.com
February 20, 2024
Statement on Governor Hochul’s Collapsing Poll Ratings by New York State Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar
Brooklyn-NY…“New Yorkers have had it with the precipitous decline in quality of life under Governor Kathy Hochul and one-party Democrat rule, according to the latest Siena College Poll. By a margin of 56-14%, New Yorkers believe that their quality of life has declined under Governor Hochul, and 43% say she is out of touch with their lives. The sky-high cost of living in New York, crime, and the ongoing migrant fiasco are unsurprisingly eroding confidence in Mrs. Hochul’s leadership.
“Poor poll ratings are not limited to Governor Hochul. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s approval ratings have also plummeted, showing that New Yorkers are fed up not just with their state leaders, but with their representation in the Senate as well.
“This is what happens when unbridled and untested liberal policies are allowed to fester in a state capable of doing far better. New York needs stark political change, and the voters know it.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bill O’Reilly, 212-396-9117
bill@novemberteam.com
February 9, 2024
PRESIDENT BIDEN’S DIMINISHED MENTAL CAPACITY WARRANTS 25TH AMENDMENT REVIEW
Brooklyn-NY…”For some time it’s been obvious that President Joe Biden is suffering from increasingly diminished mental capacity, and the Democratic Party is doing the nation no favors by refuting what’s plain for the whole world to see. We respectfully believe the time has come for a 25th Amendment review of his competency to remain in office. We do not make this statement lightly. The stakes of a sitting president with clear markers of dementia are too great for the country to ignore.” — Gerard Kassar, Chairman, New York State Conservative Party
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bill O’Reilly, 212-396-9117
Bill@NovemberTeam.com
***MEDIA ADVISORY***
56th Annual CPPAC on Sunday and Monday in Albany
THE TWO-DAY, 56TH ANNUAL CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF NEW YORK POLITICAL ACTION CONFERENCE — CPPAC — WILL KICK OFF ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4TH AT 12 NOON AT THE ALBANY HILTON AT 40 LODGE STREET IN ALBANY.
STATE CONSERVATIVE PARTY CHAIRMAN GERARD KASSAR WILL BE JOINED AT THE CONFERENCE BY DOZENS OF PROMINENT CONSERVATIVE SPEAKERS AND LUMINARIES.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 25, 2024
Contact: Bill O'Reilly, 212-396-9117
Bill@NovemberTeam.com
NEW YORK STATE CONSERVATIVE PARTY RELEASES 2024 LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM
Brooklyn, NY…The New York State Conservative Party today released its 2024 Legislative Program and priorities which call for, among other things, lowering spending and taxes, abolishing cashless bail, ending sanctuary cities, supporting parental rights, and preserving existing, court-ordered legislative boundaries.
The Conservative Party publicly submits its agenda each year to make clear its positions and priorities for the annual legislative session in Albany. A link to the complete 2024 Legislative Program is available here.
“The Conservative Party has never been ambiguous about its beliefs,” said State Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar. “This party stands for personal freedoms, constitutional rights, free and fair markets, public safety, and, above all, limited government. In every one of those categories, Governor Hochul’s New York has failed. Under this governor, and single-party Democrat rule, New York is more expensive, less safe, uncompetitive, and far less free. Is it any wonder that more than 1.3 million people — more than six percent of the population — have left this state under the last two Democrat governors alone?”
Priorities for the 2024 legislative session include:
Preserving legally drawn congressional and state senate lines from 2022;
Ending sanctuary cities and prohibiting non-citizen voting;
Requiring all law enforcement agencies to hold any person in our state illegally for federal law enforcement officials;
Repealing so-called criminal justice reforms that have brought crime and chaos into our communities;
Safeguarding the rights of citizens to use natural gas in their homes and in new construction;
Repealing same-day voting to preserve the integrity of elections;
Restoring the right of parents to decide what’s best for their children in schools;
Repealing the regressive Congestion Pricing Tax;
Establishing term limits for state elected office holders;
Passing a Constitutional Amendment establishing Initiative and Referendum and Recall;
Prohibiting the use of tax dollars to prevent or end a pregnancy;
Fully funding and supporting law enforcement and restoring effective crime-fighting techniques;
Protecting home-rule status for local zoning laws;
Defeating the so-called Equal Rights ballot amendment that will strip away parental rights;
Supporting the Supreme Court’s “concealed carry” guarantee;
Opposing any personal income tax increases and efforts to reinstate a stock transfer tax;
Adopting a Constitutional Amendment that would require that the NYS Budget be strictly limited to budget items and not programs;
Opposing assisted-suicide and supporting palliative care for terminally ill patients;
Ending so-called “safe injection sites” and opposing the recreational use of all drugs, including psychedelic/hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Abolishing the divisive Reparations Commission;
Prohibiting unelected bureaucrats and commissions from making state laws;
Classifying all Emergency Medical Services an essential service;
Allowing school districts to have armed personnel and to provide proper firearm training for them;
Ending “free” college tuition and opposing efforts to forgive student loans, and
Making all higher education available on-line to reduce exorbitant college costs.
“Under this governor and Democrat-led legislature, New Yorkers are reeling from taxes, crime, illegal immigration, government corruption, and a dearth of good-paying jobs,” Mr. Kassar continued. “But things don’t have to remain this way. With proper, common-sense leadership, rather than unchecked progressivism, New York could thrive again. It will be up to the voters in November to begin taking their state back.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bill O’Reilly, 212-396-9117
bill@novemberteam.com
January 16, 2024
New York State Conservative Party: Hochul Fantasy Accounting Won’t Save Sinking Ship
Brooklyn-NY…“Governor Kathy Hochul follows up her ‘Save Our Ship’ State of the State message with a budget proposal based on fantasy accounting and fiscal trickery. Where discipline is required, Mrs. Hochul kicks the can down the road, just like her Democratic predecessors. This monstrous $233 billion budget plan does nothing to reduce medicaid costs or debt, which continue to grow at alarming rates.
“Mrs. Hochul is doing nothing to make life easier for 20 million overtaxed New Yorkers who will continue to pay the second highest taxes in America. She boasts that she’s not raising the personal income tax, but never seems to consider that taxes can be reduced. Governor George Pataki, in contrast, passed a 25% decrease in the personal tax rate in his first year in office.
“What may be most egregious is the $2.4 billion in taxpayer funds that Mrs. Hochul plans to spend on migrant services, while New Yorkers struggle with every imaginable hike in food, housing, gas, and other cost of living increases. Meanwhile, the Governor is setting aside $100 million in tax dollars to pay for political campaigns. It is any wonder why 100,000 New Yorkers left the state last year — in addition to the more than 1.2 million who have fled New York under the past two Democrat governors alone.
“At every turn, Mrs. Hochul takes the ‘easy’ way out, meaning New York will continue on its trajectory toward insolvency. The people of this state deserve better.” — Gerard Kassar, Chairman, New York State Conservative Party
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bill O’Reilly, 212-396-9117
bill@novemberteam.com
January 9, 2024
New York State Conservative Party: State of the State an SOS Call from a Sinking Ship
Brooklyn-NY…“The State of the State acronym — SOS — is a perfect fitting for Governor Kathy Hochul’s annual address this afternoon. Under her administration New York is rudderless, overladen, and drifting into dangerous shoals. Sound the alarm bells, indeed.
“New York has lost more than 1.2 million residents to other states in recent years, and there’s no doubt why: Under one-party Democrat rule the state has become unaffordable, dangerous, and chaotic. Families are already struggling to put food on the table and Mrs. Hochul keeps raising spending, taxes, fees, and tolls. Naive criminal justice ‘reforms’ that let criminals off the hook have led to rampant unlawfulness, and pie-in-the-sky progressive policies like sanctuary cities have delivered budget-busting migrant chaos in cities and towns across the state. But Mrs. Hochul’s State of the State address today will likely show that there is still more damage the Democrats can inflict on us.
“The pace of New Yorkers fleeing this state is accelerating, yet the Democrats never seem to ask ‘why?’ Instead they create bad new policies to help bandaid over old failed policies, and New Yorkers are stuck paying the bill. Do Mrs. Hochul and her Democrat colleagues in the Senate and Assembly really not notice the U-Haul trucks heading south? Do they ask why so many state retirement checks are being sent to Florida? And will they ever notice that cities in states without onerous regulations have better and more available housing stock than New York? These questions are sadly rhetorical in a state captured by ‘progressivism’.
“Governor Hochul’s message today will not right this ship. Her suggested policies will only bail water from one that is sinking, when a complete overhaul is required.” — Gerard Kassar, Chairman, New York State Conservative Party
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bill O’Reilly, 212-396-9117
bill@novemberteam.com
December 12, 2023
New York Court of Appeals Redistricting Decision Blatantly Political: New York State Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar
Brooklyn-NY…“The New York State Conservative Party profoundly disagrees with today’s Court of Appeals decision, which was wrongly decided based on process rather than merit. Under New York State’s Constitution, redistricting is only permitted once per decade, and Governor Hochul’s liberal-dominated court should know that.
“The Court has reopened a partisan can of worms in New York. It should know that any new attempt at Democratic-party gerrymandering will be met with additional legal challenges.
“Even New York good government groups, which typically skew liberal, understand that what we just witnessed in New York is Tammany Hall politics at its worst. This decision is a stain on New York’s political integrity. It is a disgrace to all who believe in fair district lines and competitive elections.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bill O’Reilly, 212-396-9117
Bill@novemberteam.com
November 20, 2023
NEW YORK STATE CONSERVATIVE PARTY RELEASES 2023 LEGISLATIVE SESSION RATINGS
Brooklyn, NY – The New York State Conservative Party today released its 2023 scoring of state legislators on 25 key conservative bills in Albany.
Overall Senate ratings averaged 38.86% — Democrats averaged 14.29% while Republicans averaged 88% — and the Assembly’s overall rating average was 39.52%, with Democrats averaging a 16.47% Conservative score and Republicans averaging 88.5%. The Governor’s Mansion and both houses of the Legislature are currently controlled by Democrats.
Twelve legislators — two senators and ten assembly members — scored a 96% Conservative rating. They are: Senators Mario Mattera (2 SD) and Steven Rhoads (5 SD); Assembly Members Joe Angelino (121 AD), Ari Brown (20 AD), David DiPietro (147 AD), John Lemondes (126 AD), John Mikulin (17 AD), Philip Palmesano (132 AD), Doug Smith (5 AD), Robert Smullen (118 AD), Brian Manktelow (130 AD), and Chris Tague (102 AD).
“When you look at the overall Conservative score in the state legislature you can see why New York feels like it’s falling apart,” said State Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar. “On issue after issue, Democrats are driving this state leftward, with most Republicans fighting for common sense conservative reforms on crime, taxes, immigration, education, Constitutional freedoms, and human life. The encouraging news lies not with the incumbent Democrat legislators, but with a voting public that is increasingly recognizing that runaway progressivism is undermining the health of their state.”
Legislation used to rank legislators included criminal justice reform measures, infringement of Second Amendment rights, radical green programs, and pro-life issues that affect the lives of all New Yorkers. More than 60% of New Yorkers consider themselves either “conservative” or “moderate” according to independent polling.
“Voter education has always been a core tenet of the Conservative Party,” Chairman Kassar continued. “Taxpayers must be made aware of how their elected officials spend tax dollars and where they stand on key philosophical, cultural, and economic issues. One glance at these issue rankings will show the average citizen just how out of touch with their viewpoints most New York legislators are today.”
The Conservative Party encourages voters to review the ratings and to let legislators know where they stand,” Chairman Kassar said.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bill O’Reilly, 212-396-9117
bill@novemberteam.com
November 16, 2023
Statement on Rep. George Santos by New York State Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar
Brooklyn-NY…“The House Ethics report says what we already knew: Mr. Santos must either resign or be expelled from the House of Representatives. The Conservative Party has been crystal clear about Rep. George Santos’s criminal behavior since it was first revealed. We’ve urged Mr. Santos to do the right thing for his district, country, and political party by resigning, but Mr. Santos wanted to do it his own way. Now his time is up.
“We urge his immediate resignation, and, absent that, his removal by a vote of his House colleagues. We will then urge Gov. Hochul to call a special election in NY3 as quickly as possible. No one is above the law.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bill O’Reilly, 212-396-9117
bill@novemberteam.com
November 16, 2023
Kassar: Crimes Have Consequences; Hochul’s Ill-Conceived “Clean Slate” Act Can’t Erase Criminal Behavior; Deprives Business Owners of Critically Important Information
Brooklyn-NY…“It’s clear who Governor Kathy Hochul is listening to and it’s not the voting public. New Yorkers are outraged at the ongoing crime wave and have made their voices heard about ill-conceived criminal leniency policies like no-cash-bail. But Mrs. Hochul and her woke advisors were only warming up.
“The Democrats’ new ‘Clean Slate’ Act will erase the criminal records of thousands of New Yorkers, depriving potential employers of essential information when making decisions. Many of these businesses are willing to give people with criminal records a second chance, but to restrict their information is dangerous and wrong.
“Mrs. Hochul and her woke colleagues are systematically working to create a fairy-tale, consequence-free state, where criminals avoid jail time and crimes are forgotten by the state. But what about the consequences to the victims? And what about the unknowing employer? It’s hard to imagine a Governor worse on public safety. Everyday New Yorkers pay the price.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bill O’Reilly, 212-396-9117
bill@novemberteam.com
November 15, 2023
Hochul Social Media ‘Hate Speech’ Surveillance Creates Chilling Precedent: New York State Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar
Brooklyn-NY…“Governor Hochul’s scheme to monitor the social media transactions of New Yorkers is chilling to the core. Nobody wants to see the type of internet vitriol that occurs between some citizens, but government’s giant hand can be the most frightening one of all. Law enforcement authorities can and should monitor legitimate terrorism suspects online, but spying on everyday citizens is unconstitutional and wrong.
“We speak about the Chinese Communist Party’s ‘social credit scoring’ system with tremendous derision, but here in New York we risk walking down the same path. Where one begins scoring citizen speech, one begins scoring citizens. Leave law-abiding New Yorkers alone.”
