Katz and Tully Debate Fiscal Reform and Taxes

With Election Day only two weeks away, local community residents packed the Carmel VFW Post 1374 Tuesday evening, October 19, for a Candidate Forum. The event was organized by the Putnam County League of Women Voters and provided local candidates with a venue to share their views on issues, focusing on principle rather than personality.

While the short forums invited candidates from various local legislative and assembly races, the contention for the 99th Assembly District seat featured Brendan Tully (Democrat) and Steve Katz (Republican).

Katz opened the debate with a statement explaining that he is not a professional politician, but rather a citizen with experience and knowledge. He said he was looking to go to Albany to lend a helping hand. He discussed his experience as a businessman, who recently opened up an animal hospital in the Bronx dealing with the frustrations of being oppressed by taxation.

"We're going to cut taxes, we're going to cut regulations," Katz said. "We need to make New York a competitive place to run a business."

Tully said actions and not words are needed. He presented his plans to solve the economic problems, highlighting his strategies for high tech and green tech opportunities in the local area.

"The problem with this recession isn't just the jobs that we've lost but it's that we haven't created new jobs to replace them," Tully said.

Putnam County LWV members asked the candidates a set of questions, such as what type of fiscal reform they support in regards to small business. Tully urged for a change to the system and only funding programs that are proven to work, while providing transparency through quarterly report cards and state wide map that shows where every dollar of spending was going, he said. Bringing in a business perspective, Katz said an outside forensic accountant needed to be hired to investigate the budgets and figure out tax cuts.

The rest of the questions presented to the candidates were pre-written questions submitted by the audience, including one which inquired their opinions of the MTA tax. Both candidates said they wanted the tax repealed. Katz discussed the frustration of the MTA's incompetence while Tully explained "government shouldn't be making it harder for business, only helping it."

As the financial turmoil of the state is the biggest concern this election season, both candidates discussed the need to reduce taxes and the need that some services should be removed.

While reiterating his feelings on MTA tax and property tax, Tully also tried to go in depth until time ran out with examples of the need to remove costly systems such as the Commission of Corrections, whose job description is identical to that of the Department of Corrections, he said.

Katz also discussed his concerns with the MTA tax and property tax, while also pushing for the removal of school tax for seniors.

"They've gone their whole lives helping to support us," he said. "They deserve to be enjoying the rest of their years in the houses they earned."

In closing statements, Tully reflected on his work as an attorney fighting for veterans' rights and in honor of the forum being held in the VFW requested an applause for all those in the room who had served our country. Katz closed out the evening urging the need for tax reform by showing a comparison between property tax in Fairfax county and Westchester county, both equivalent in regard to wealth statures. A profound difference could be seen on the tax of a million dollar house with Westchester paying $30,000 while Fairfax only pays $6,900, he said.