Our Commitment

UPAC will support only candidates who believe in, and pledge to support with votes, our vision for a better New York.

Central To Our Vision

  • Reducing State and Local Spending, which continues to outpace inflation. New York, its taxpayers and job creators simply cannot afford our state's current spending habits.
  • Reducing Taxes, Fees and Assessments, which make New York's income taxes an appalling 22% higher than the national average. Local property taxes are 55% higher, while local sales taxes are twice the national average.
  • Reducing Mandates, the labyrinth of laws and regulations that make New York notoriously unfriendly to business and job creation and saddle local governments with expensive unfunded requirements that ultimately raise taxes. State legislators must stop forcing mandates on the hard working men and women of this state.
  • Reducing State Borrowing, which continues to escalate. Nearly 17% of every tax dollar collected goes to debt payments. New York now resorts to bonding projects in order to provide additional operational dollars.

The Simple Fact

The simple fact: New Yorkers can no longer afford to elect leaders whose tax-and-spend policies ultimately hurt families and businesses. According to a 2009 CNBC report, "America's Top States for Business", New York ranked #36 – coming in dead last under the Cost of Doing Business and Workforce categories. The 2010 Alec-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index, issued earlier this year, found that New York has the worst economic outlook of any state in the country.

Some More Alarming Statistics

  • The 2010-2011 budget will hit New York's families and businesses with another $1.2 billion in new taxes and fees. That's on top of the $8 billion in taxes from the 2009-2010 budget.
  • State spending increased from $131.8 billion in the 2009-2010 budget to $136.5 billion in the 2010-2011 budget.
  • Between 2000-2008, more than 1.5 million New Yorkers fled the state.

These dismal statistics and rankings are a direct result of the failed policies of our legislative leaders. It's up to us to change those policies and we do that by changing who we send to Albany. And we start with this November's election.

Your contribution to UPAC will help us make that change and begin building a brighter future for our state.

Judgment Day

Earlier this year, Unshackle Upstate launched the Judgment Day campaign. This multifaceted campaign has made Unshackle Upstate and UPAC one of the largest political organizations in New York. From now until November 2, we're in a full on sprint to let all New Yorkers know how their elected officials performed during the legislative session and budget process. At the finish line, we will win the race when we elect candidates that will work with us to change the course of our state…not work against us and digging a deeper hole in our recovery.

Our legislative scorecards will very clearly show which Senators and Assembly members worked in the best interest of their constituents and which ones bowed down to other interests. By letting voters know who exactly voted for more taxes and bloated budgets, they'll be able to make the best decision for themselves and their family when they step in the voting booth.

Candidate Profiles