Politics on the Hudson

   County clerks who protested the state’s plans to issue new license plates and charge drivers $25 each to get them said tonight they are not happy that the state is moving forward with production of the new plates.

   Faced with pressure from county clerks and residents, Gov. David Paterson and legislative leaders agreed over the weekend that the state would not require the old plates to be replaced. However, production of the new Empire Gold plates is still on track, which prompted 31 county clerks to send a letter to the governor today.

   The governor’s administration had said new plates were necessary because reflectivity was wearing off on the current ones. Paterson admitted this week that the real reason for the plate replacement program was to raise money for the state. The measure was passed as part of the current budget. The governor and legislative leaders said they would make up the money the state will not get elsewhere in the budget.

   The clerks submitted petitions with more than 100,000 signatures collected from people who oppose the new program.

   Counties whose clerks signed the letter include Broome,  Chemung, Cortland, Dutchess, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Steuben, Tioga and Tompkins.

   This is a copy of the letter they sent today: 

Dear Governor Paterson:

We were greatly troubled to read published reports that the State, at your direction, plans to proceed with the manufacture of the new Empire Gold license plates, despite commitments by you and legislative leaders on both sides of the political aisle to scrap the controversial reissuance plan (“Paterson admits license fee was a ‘revenue grab,’ ” Democrat and Chronicle, Nov. 18).

County Clerks from across the State have gathered more than 100,000 names of New Yorkers who are opposed to the license plate reissue, through online and paper petitions that were delivered to you and legislative supporters of the original plan. The people of the state have spoken up that and said that they don’t want the Empire Gold plates, nor do they feel that the reissuance plan was justified by Albany’s desire for more revenue.

Facing a $3.2 billion budget gap, and in light of the Legislature’s pledge to undo the license plate mandate, it makes no sense that you should continue to produce these plates, at a cost to the state that you have placed at $32 million.

County Clerks respectfully ask that you rescind the order to begin manufacturing the new plates pending legislative action on the repeal of this ill-advised plan.

County Clerks have proposed additional ways to cut state spending and improve government efficiency to help deal with the budget deficit, and we await your response to our request for a meeting to discuss these and other ideas.

Sincerely,

Patricia A. Ritchie

St. Lawrence County Clerk, President, NYS Association of County Clerks

Richard R. Blythe, Broome County Clerk

James Griffith, Cattaraugus County Clerk

Susan Dwyer, Cayuga County Clerk

Sandra K. Sopak, Chautauqua County Clerk

Catherine K. Hughes, Chemung County Clerk

John H. Zurlo, Clinton County Clerk

Elizabeth Larkin, Cortland County Clerk

Bradford Kendall, Dutchess County Clerk

Kathleen Hochul, Erie County Clerk

Joseph Provoncha, Essex County Clerk

Don M. Read, Genesee County Clerk

Michael Flynn, Greene County Clerk

Jane S. Zarecki, Hamilton County Clerk

Sylvia M. Rowan, Herkimer County Clerk

JoAnn Wilder, Jefferson County Clerk

Douglas P. Hanno, Lewis County Clerk

James A. Culberston, Livingston County Clerk

Cheryl Dinolfo, Monroe County Clerk

Wayne F. Jagow, Niagara County Clerk

Sandra J. DePerno, Oneida County Clerk

M. Ann Ciarpelli, Onondaga County Clerk

John H. Cooley, Ontario County Clerk

George J. Williams, Oswego County Clerk

Frank Merola, Rensselaer County Clerk

Kathleen Marchione, Saratoga County Clerk

Indy Jaycox, Schoharie County Clerk

Judith M. Hunter, Steuben County Clerk

Robert Woodburn, Tioga County Clerk

Aurora R. Valenti, Tompkins County Clerk

Dona Crandall, Washington County Clerk

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