Over the summer, state Sen. Tom Libous was indicted on charges of lying to the FBI and was forced to resign his seat in the state senate after rising in the ranks as the second-highest Republican in its chambers. As a result, the 52nd state Senate seat, comprising of Broome, Tioga and Chenango counties, was vacated. Democrats, after spending nearly 30 years watching the Southern Tier sink economically because of Libous’ inaction, were in a position to finally take back the seat in the state Senate. Before Barbara Fiala, the Democratic Party nominee and former DMV commissioner, announced her candidacy, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he would “do whatever [he] could do to elect” her.
It’s been two months since Fiala and Fred Ashkar, the Republican candidate, announced their intentions to run, and Fiala is getting outspent. I can’t help but ask: Where’s Cuomo?
This race is important. Democrats are one seat away from having the majority in the state Senate, should the Independent Democratic Caucus be convinced to return to the party. And this could be that seat. It deserves all the help it could get to win it back. Yet, in a Time Warner Cable News interview last week, Fiala played down the governor’s involvement and said, “Certainly, I have not had a conversation with the governor.” Gov. Cuomo, a man whom she served and who is a fellow Democrat, had not made any attempt to truly support Fiala in her campaign outside of that first statement.
The governor has said multiple times that the Southern Tier is in dire need of help. Yet, throughout his time in office, he has done little to assist the area, which the New York Times dubbed last week the “Forgotten Tier.” While some disagree, I believe “forgotten” is an accurate description of the status of the Southern Tier. While Gov. Cuomo has pledged time and time again to help rebuild this region, he has done anything but. He has forgotten it. This area deserves better.
The Republican Party has done anything but forget about the Southern Tier. Ashkar has amassed a war chest from the re-election efforts of Sen. Libous and the local party — his resources are limitless as he outspends Fiala five-to-one. Ashkar has been swinging through the district, racking up supporters, from Republicans and Democrats alike in a region that disapproves of Gov. Cuomo by 60 percent.
As a proud Democrat, I am biased. Yet, I believe that the Democratic Party has the best ideas to help rebuild the Southern Tier and tackle many of the issues needed to help bring the region back. I have argued in previous op-eds that local leaders need to take initiatives in enacting reform, yet they need a strong advocate in the state Senate. If Cuomo were serious about helping out this area, he would be touring, headlining fundraisers and giving speeches in the Southern Tier. We need a presence, not a quiet endorsement — and we needed it yesterday.