ALBANY – State Sen. Catharine Young, ranking member of the New York State Senate Elections Committee, along with members of the Senate Republican Conference, are calling on all State Senators to pledge perfect attendance in the face of pending legislation to consolidate federal and state primaries.
The pledge calls on each representative to commit their attendance every calendared session day in Albany from what could be the start of the petitioning process in March through the month of June, which would become the new primary season.
State primaries are currently held in September and federal primaries are held in June.
The promise would help eliminate attendance issues by members of the lawmaking body. Of particular note, the GOP sighted the case of Adriano Espaillat, who twice abandoned his duties in Albany to run for a Congressional seat in New York City.
In 2014, Espaillat missed more than any other member of the Senate, a total of 891 votes. During his first unsuccessful June bid, he even outpaced a Democratic Senator facing corruption charges in court. In 2016, again, Espaillat was derelict in his Senate duties and simply didn’t show up in order to win a Congressional seat in New York City.
“Every senator must remember that we serve the people, not ourselves. This pledge is a reminder that the people elect us to be their voices in the state capitol and they rely on us to be here, not absent and on the campaign trail as we have seen before. Empty chairs are simply empty promises to New Yorkers. Let’s show the public that we hold ourselves to the highest standards and sign this pledge,” said Young.
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