Upstate struggles from It is said that New York is called the Empire State because of its historical significance, economic power, and cultural influence, particularly during the late 18th and 19th centuries.  The name is also attributed to a George Washington 1785 letter in which he referred to New York as “the Seat of the Empire”.

I suppose that New York state was once the seat of the American empire, but the glories of the 18th and 19th centuries are nothing more than the glories of a past age and I suspect that if President Washington was afforded the opportunity to visit New York State today he would be appalled at what it has become.

I’ve lived most of my 80 years in upstate New York mostly in the beautiful Mohawk Valley and in equally beautiful Chautauqua County. Both regions have changed, not always for good, over that period but still manage to retain those things that make small town and rural living so attractive for myself and others.

But today upstate finds itself at the mercy of absolute Democratic Party control in Albany. Certainly, upstate leadership has made mistakes in the past, but the majority of the current problems facing upstate were created by downstate individuals and institutions that lack any real understanding of upstate New York or have any understanding of the negative impact that their actions have on upstate, Democrats in downstate and Albany probably seem to have a better understanding of the European Union than they do of upstate New York.

An example of the ignorance downstaters have about upstate was legislation being proposed by Democrats to prevent the Department of Environmental Conservation from issuing new permits for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) nearly all of which are in fact large family owned dairy farms in a misguided effort to protect the environment. Passage of this foolish legislation would limit milk production and make New York less competitive in the production of dairy products and cost upstate jobs.

Another example of downstate ignorance was the passage of the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act that ignored the special nature of agricultural employment by essentially making agricultural workers pay and benefits the same as five days a week, 9 to 5 workers and placing a lot of financial stress on the farming community.

In the New York State Legislature, the Assembly has 150 members and the Senate has 63 members. Downstate New York Democrats hold a significant majority of these seats. It’s safe to say that downstate representatives constitute well over half of both legislative bodies.

The Democrats have controlled the Assembly since 1975 and the Senate since 2019. Democrat Kathy Hochul holds the office of governor, the notorious Democrat Letitia James is the attorney general, and Tom DiNapoli is the comptroller placing a virtual lock on state government. One-party rule is seldom a good thing regardless of party but the situation in New York is exacerbated by the fact that the Democrats base of power is located in the metropolitan New York City area that has few things in common with rural upstate New York.

Upstate gets lost in the shuffle. How do we correct this problem? Some tell us that secession of upstate from downstate is the answer with one website announcing that New York should be two separate states adding a new state called New Amsterdam encompassing everything north of Westchester County. Unfortunately, secession has little chance of success needing the approval of the New York legislature and the United States Congress.

Then looking for answers on how upstate New York can make its voice heard in Albany I found that the best solution is good old fashioned citizen action. This means contacting your representatives by emails, letters, and phone calls to make yourself heard. Another way is to respond to surveys our representatives send out periodically because they really do look at them.

Another way to make our voices heard is supporting groups like Upstate United that advocate on issues important to upstate or the Business Council of New York that advocates for businesses of all sizes in New York including those in upstate. Or we can support organizations advocating for environmental protection, second amendment rights, education, healthcare and economic development all important issues in upstate New York. Or it can be as simple as writing letters to the editor or submitting opinion pieces. For you social media types this means using social media platforms to voice opinions and engage in discussions on issues important to upstate New York.

So, don’t despair because all is not lost. What is needed is for the people of our region to be aware of issues important to upstate New York and to let politicians and other leaders know what we think.

Thomas Kirkpatrick Sr. is a Silver Creek resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com.