When it comes to change in Albany, state Senator Dave Valesky acknowledgs the need for more.
“Reform as a process,” said Valesky, “is never fully complete.”
Valesky , D- Oneida, is up for his third term as senator from the 49th state Senate District. His challenger is Republican candidate Andrew Russo, a concert pianist from Fayetteville making his first run for public office. The 49th state Senate District includes the southern and northeastern portions of Onondaga County, the northeastern part of Cayuga County, the southern border of Oneida County and all of Madison County.
The election is Nov. 2. At stake in the election is control of the state senate. Now, Democrats hold 32 seats to the Republicans’ 30.
In his first campaign in 2004, Valesky capitalized on public outrage toward state government after the so-called “Brennan Report” famously described the legislature as the nation’s most “dysfunctional.” In his bid for re-election this time around, he promises to continue the long process of change. He wins praise from colleagues, party officials and family members for making some progress on that promise. But he’s also getting criticism and doubt from those who want more.
Valesky — the son and husband of teachers — has also lost the support of one of his key constituencies — the teachers’ unions. The New York State Teacher’s Union has announced it will no longer support him. The union is staying out of endorsements in the 49th Senate District race. But it has singled out Valesky for criticism for voting to accept $1.4 billion in budget cuts in education spending, for voting against a farm-workers’ rights bill and for voting to cap property taxes, which help support schools.
“We look at a legislators record on key votes for a one or three year period, their stances on issues important to our members and the relationship with local members in places like Syracuse,” Carl Korn, spokesman for the New York State Teachers Union. “It was an important bill to give farm workers certain rights and Senator Valesky voted against that. He also supports a property tax cap, which we believe would be harmful to public schools.”
Valesky defended his votes and downplayed the loss of the teachers’ union support. The farm bill, he said in an interview, “would have resulted in the loss of many jobs across upstate New York.” Small and medium- size farmers would have faced additional government requirements. Said Valesky, “I believe not many of them would have been able to survive.”
Valesky was born in Oneida. His father, Joe Valesky, taught high school social studies there for 36 years of teaching high school social studies; his mother, Carole Valesky, was an elementary school teacher for 26 years. His wife Julie, is a teacher at Seneca Street Elementary in Oneida. He and Julie have three sons; Brian, 16; Nathan, 13; and Stephen, 10.
Valesky graduated from SUNY Potsdam with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and has a master’s degree in political science from the University of Connecticut. Before going into politics, he was the anchor of the television show “Hour CNY” on WCNY.
As a child, Valesky grew up in a family where discussions of politics were a routine course of life, his father Joe Valesky recalls. Joe Valesky served as a member of the Oneida Common Council and deputy mayor. He recalls young David encouraging him to accept requests to run for office. “‘Dad, you told us we should always accept challenges and be involved in your community’,” Joe Valesky recalled Dave saying.
With his own children, politics is often a shared experience, say David and Julie Valesky. “We always watch the results together and we’re looking forward to the same result this year,” he said.
Outside of politics, Valesky relieves the senate-job stress by playing with the children and playing the piano, said Julie Valesky. “When he comes home, if it’s still daylight out, the kids immediately say ‘Dad, will you play catch with me?’ and I can tell he’s tired by the look on his face. But he says ‘Sure,’ and somehow that gives him his second wind,” said Julie Valesky.
Valesky shares an interest with his opponent, concert pianist Andrew Russo, in music. In addition to playing the piano at home, Valesky also plays the piano and organ at his church, St. Patrick’s Parish Church in Oneida.
“It’s something that’s a great relation for me and there’s certainly a great deal of stress associate with a position like this,” Valesky said. “Music has always been a way for me to relax and relieve many of the pressures.”
For Valesky, one of the ideas behind his own campaign for office was The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. In 2003, the Center issued an extraordinary report labeling the state government and dysfunctional, and recommending changes.
The report’s recommendations have been the source for much of Valesky’s work with colleagues in the senate, he and colleagues say.
“We certainly used the Brennan Report as our roadmap for reforms,” said state Sen. Jeffrey Klein, D-Bronx. Klein served on a special committee to restructure the senate with Valesky, who was its chair. Klein praises Valesky for his leadership and commitment to changing government process.
“We didn’t accomplish everything in the Brennan Report recommendations, but we accomplished a lot,” Klein said. “It’s something he feels passionately about.”
Among those accomplishments, Klein and others cite: term limits for committee chairs and those in leadership posts; a method of allowing a bill to bypass the committee process, where legislation often stalls, if someone can get 32 senators’ signatures.
But to some, that’s not enough. “It doesn’t seem to be getting done as fast as it should be done,” said Marianne Simberg, chair of the Madison County Democratic Committee that includes Valesky’s hometown of Oneida. But, she said, Valesky is headed in the right direction. “He feels that politics is the art of compromise. Half a loaf is better than none.”
For his part, Valesky promises more change in government procedures. For example, he is sponsoring a bill to set up an independent commission to re-draw the state’s electoral districts for senators and assembly members.
“Instead of a system where legislators draw their own lines and in effect choose their own constituents,” said Valesky. “There ought to be constituents who choose their representatives.”
(Ana Yanni is a graduate student in magazine, newspaper and online journalism.)
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