Gould's style of leadership ideal for this sheriff's office

The race for Cayuga County sheriff has been one of the most hotly contested local campaigns in several years, and the reason is simple - the candidates offer two very different approaches to this crucial post.

One thing about both incumbent Rob Outhouse, the Republican and Conservative candidate, and challenger David Gould, who has the Democratic and Independence lines, that cannot be questioned is their law enforcement experience.

Both men have roughly three decades serving this region, Outhouse working up the ladder in the sheriff's office and Gould carving out a distinguished career with the New York State Police.

Both have handled just about every type of crime investigation there is, and they both can make the split-second decisions required of a sheriff during a public safety emergency.

What separates these two men more than anything is their leadership philosophy.

And above all else, that is the basis for our decision.

Outhouse often has talked about the sheriff's office as a “paramilitary” organization, and as such, the need for a clearly defined hierarchy of leadership is paramount. He is the commander in chief, and those who work in his office have to follow a chain of command.

He's right that there needs to be well-defined leadership structure, but he takes the military analogy too far.

Gould's mantra has been that a sheriff has to give respect in order to get respect.

He believes in more daily interaction with his charges, and he also believes in giving them some flexibility to go out and do their jobs.

But he also insists that he can put his foot down if needed.

A huge part of the sheriff's job - probably the most important - is to be a manager of people. Gould offers the better choice in that regard.

We also like Gould's practical ideas for the office.

He wants to get substations open more consistently at the northern and southern end of the county to provide better coverage there.

While Outhouse does have more budgetary experience - and he's done good work to bring new revenue to the department - Gould has shown he has a firm grasp on financial matters and he'll be a quick learner.

And finally, we can't look past the long list of endorsements Gould has picked up in this race, perhaps unprecedented for a challenger running against an incumbent.

That support, especially from the deputies in the sheriff's office, must be considered by voters on Tuesday.

In a campaign that has become increasingly bitter, this county will need a person running the sheriff's department who can bring a team back together to start working.

That person will need to reach out to those who campaigned against him, and he'll need to unify the public's support of the sheriff's office. We believe Gould is the person who can do that better.

The Citizen endorses David Gould in the race for county sheriff.

Let Valesky continue reform push

From the moment he stepped inside the state Capitol as a freshman legislator in the Senate, David Valesky has had a bull's-eye on his back.

Valesky, running for re-election this year on the Democratic and Working Families lines, had defeated longtime Republican incumbent Nancy Larraine Hoffmann. Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno was not pleased to see a new Democrat in his chamber.

But Valesky was not daunted, and he continued speaking out against Bruno and the broken system of legislating in Albany. And largely on the momentum for reform that brought Valesky into office, some improvements were made.

The Legislature made the budget process more open, and an on-time spending plan resulted for the first time in two decades.

While you can't give Valesky the full credit, his presence in Albany certainly contributed.

Fortunately, Valesky realizes that plenty of Albany reform still must take place, and he continues to speak about it loudly.

His opponent, Jeff Brown, also touts himself as a reformer. Like Valesky in the Senate, Brown has spoken out against abuses of power by Speaker Sheldon Silver in the Democratically controlled Assembly.

And Brown, the Republican, Conservative and Independence candidate, is calling for the same reforms in his Senate run.

But we share the worry of many observers that Brown will struggle to stand up for the reforms that Bruno is likely to oppose. Bruno's Senate campaign committee has poured significant funding into this matter, and we're sure he'll expect complete loyalty in return.

Both of these candidates make strong cases, with their credentials as well as their arguments. Valesky gains the slight edge, though, when it comes to his credibility as a reformer, and we like his moderate views on many issue.

The Citizen endorses Dave Valesky for another term.

Finch will bring invaluable experience to the job

In a campaign season often marked by negative advertisements and high-spending candidates, the 123rd Assembly District race has offered a nice reprieve. Both incumbent state Assemblyman Gary Finch, the Republican and Conservative party candidate, and challenger Barbara Abbott King, on the Democratic and Working Families lines, ran decidedly clean campaigns that spoke more about their own ideas than anything else.

Make no mistake, these two candidates have their differences, but they both seemed to agree that attacking the character of their opponent does not make for good politics.

This race was King's first campaign of any kind, and while she clearly offers fresh ideas and intelligence, her political inexperience showed. At times she has not been familiar enough with key issues facing residents of this district - such as the Indian land-into-trust situation or the need for a better legislative redistricting policy.

Finch, on the other hand, has emerged as a true leader who is becoming increasingly comfortable speaking his mind on a range of issues. This year, he has become especially interested in the public education shortcomings evident at so many school districts in New York, and he clearly understands how crucial vibrant schools are to the region's economy. We urge him to continue talking loudly and bluntly about the worrisome dropout rates and lack of job skills so prevalent in upstate New York, and we expect him to use his post to find answers to these problems.

Some people may be tempted to vote against Finch simply because he won't be in the majority party of the Assembly, and therefore have limited access to state funds for local projects. But Finch has shown he can work with Democratic colleagues as well as members of the state Senate to bring home state dollars. And sending candidates to Albany merely so they can play in the broken pork-barrel spending game sends the wrong message to leaders there.

We hope Finch has learned from his opponent in this campaign and is willing to explore some of her ideas, especially her proposals to open new markets to farmers through state policy. And we hope King has learned from Finch the importance of being well-versed in the myriad issues state legislators must confront these days.

While we're not convinced she's ready for Albany, King certainly has shown potential to be a valuable leader. We urge her not to give up on politics if she loses on Tuesday.

For voters in this district in 2006, though, Gary Finch is the right choice.

Vargason most qualified to be county judge

Cayuga County employs a unique system where the county judge hears not only criminal cases, but civil matters and family court cases, as well. The term runs 10 years.

Tom Leone, the Democrat, Independence and Working Families candidate, would certainly be respectful to people coming before a court, but we disagree with his campaign assertion that being a father makes him more compassionate and therefore more qualified to render fair decisions concerning family issues.

Leone might make a fine judge. His character and demeanor are not at issue here, but having been working as Auburn's corporation counsel makes him a bit rusty on the daily workings of the county court system.

Jim Vargason's lengthy experience as the county's top prosecutor has brought him into contact with an incredibly diverse cross-section of people and the issues that affect them. His office has expanded its services to crime victims and he has been honored for his work to help victims of sexual assault.

We have heard the argument that Cayuga County judges hear far more civil cases than they do criminal cases, but this isn't necessarily a detriment to Vargason, the Republican and Conservative candidate. As someone who oversees grand juries and works closely with judges, Vargason will have a smaller learning curve.

The Citizen endorses Jim Vargason to be the next Cayuga County judge.

Petrus deserves another term

Republican county legislator Ann Petrus has always brought needed energy to the Legislature, and she also brings a practical philosophy to her job.

Her opponent, Independence and Conservative candidate Ray Masterman, speaks of his willingness to listen to the people of his district as his top qualification.

Both candidates offer a true sense of community service to the job, but Petrus seems to have a better sense of how county government works and how it can be improved.

The Citizen endorses her for the county Legislature.

Our picks: Pirro, Callaghan, Spitzer, Clinton

Some statewide races this year may appear to have already been decided as the Democratic candidates for governor and state senator have enjoyed strong leads in the polls.

But that shouldn't stop anyone from questioning the stances of all candidates and making informed decisions about who might offer the best representation.

It will be interesting to see whether the apparent popularity of gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer will help others on the same party line or whether Republicans, Conservatives and others will turn out to vote in numbers nobody expects.

The editorial board at The Citizen has studied the statewide candidates in all parties. Because we wound up choosing major party candidates, the reasons behind those choices focus on those candidates:

Attorney general

The race for New York's attorney general has been bogged down with stories about the troubled personal life of Jeanine Pirro. Among other sidebars, Republican Pirro is alleged to have tried to illegally tape record her husband because she believed him to be having an affair. We have to separate the candidate from her husband and look at Pirro's record. As district attorney for Westchester County, Pirro tackled violent crime, elder abuse, child abuse and sex crimes.

Democratic candidate Andrew Cuomo, on the other hand, has name recognition. His father was a longtime New York governor and Andrew made a name for himself nationally as Housing and Urban Development secretary in the Clinton Administration. Cuomo once worked for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office but left that job to work in private practice.

Pirro has been working full-time as a prosecutor and her experience in that venue outweighs Cuomo's resume. As attorney general, Pirro will be able to build on her experience as a county prosecutor and take her crime-fighting expertise statewide.

The Citizen endorses Jeanine Pirro for attorney general.

Comptroller

Problems with the integrity of the state Comptroller's office have been well-documented in recent weeks as Democratic incumbent Alan Hevesi has apologized for having a state worker act as chauffeur for his wife. He repaid the state $83,000 for those services only after the issue was made public. Hevesi's actions have destroyed the integrity of his office, and the leadership there must be trusted to someone else.

Republican challenger J. Christopher Callaghan brings experience as former treasurer for Saratoga County and pledges to be an ardent auditor. Callaghan has promised to seek experienced investment counselors to help him manage the state's $140 billion pension fund, a responsibility that can no longer be trusted to Hevesi.

The Citizen endorses for J. Christopher Callaghan for comptroller.

Governor

As the first signs of meaningful reform begin to blossom in Albany - the Legislature passed its second consecutive on-time budget this year, and the public will now have easy access to the specifics of pork-barrell spending - Republican Gov. George Pataki is leaving office to pursue a potential run at the White House.

Republican John Faso is a former state assemblyman who has pledged to cut income, property and business taxes. Faso, however, likely lacks the political clout to bring meaningful change to Albany. And his party's lack of financial support does not help his case.

Democrat Eliot Spitzer, who has also promised to lower property taxes, will bring significant change to the governor's office and the Legislature as a whole. We realize Spitzer's changes will not be welcomed by everyone, but we have already seen the Republican Party's best efforts, and it's time to shake things up in Albany.

We endorse Eliot Spitzer for governor.

U.S. Senator

As a U.S. Senator, incumbent Hillary Rodham Clinton has been able to silence most of her critics from the mud-slinging campaign of 2000. She has been anything but the left-wing radical many conservatives were expecting. She has had her share of disagreements with the Bush Administration but has also shown tact and poise as one who can build bipartisan support.

Her opponent is former Yonkers mayor John Spencer. Spencer is credited with cutting waste and helping to spur economic development as a two-term mayor. He has been a vocal critic of what he sees as Clinton's liberal agenda and has tried to link her to perceived weaknesses in her husband's presidential administration.

While we're not comfortable with the idea that Clinton may abandon her senate seat for a run at the White House in 2008, she has shown to have the best interests of New Yorkers at heart in her first term.

We endorse Hillary Rodham Clinton for U.S. Senate.

Walsh knows his district better than anyone

As much as some pundits are saying this year's elections are about national issues, we still believe the most important questions we ask of candidates for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are locally based.

When it comes to knowing the local issues and the needs of the communities in his district, it's hard to imagine a more qualified candidate than incumbent Republican James T. Walsh.

Some people, including his opponent, Democrat Dan Maffei, have criticized Walsh for being to narrowly focused on his own district. He should be more involved as a regional leader, they argue, and with his seniority, he should be more of a power player in Washington by now, too.

But given the choice, we'd much rather have a congressman who would prefer to be meeting with a supervisor in Sterling about the sewer line project going on up there than standing in front of television cameras in the nation's capital.

While Maffei clearly brings an impressive Washington resume to the table in this election, we wonder how much he truly knows about the district he wants serve - especially the small, rural communities outside Syracuse.

And we wonder whether he'll be more interested in battling the president than reaching out to constituents if he wins.

Maffei has done a good job explaining why so many of this country's national policies are flawed, and voters should certainly take those issues into consideration.

But we don't see Walsh as the staunch pro-Bush legislator that his opponent portrays him to be, and in many respects, Walsh is where most of us are at in the political spectrum - the middle.

Above all else, Walsh has proven that he works hard and delivers results for this area.

We endorse him for another term in the U.S. House.

Meier has performed in Albany, is ready for D.C.

Despite the bitter national party-sponsored advertising, Michael Arcuri and Ray Meier have more in common than most candidates. Both campaigns have mentioned saving money, cutting taxes and the importance of education with regard to the region's workforce.

They agree the situation in Iraq needs to be resolved, though Democrat Arcuri favors a much more aggressive timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

The political ads presented by the national committees in this race have been some of the dirtiest we've seen in years, with Meier's Republican Party being the more egregious purveyor of insults and innuendo, but we have not used any of that information for the basis of our decision.

This race boils down to one of experience. And while state office is not a prerequisite for moving on to a position in Washington, we believe Albany's cut-throat Legislature is as good a proving ground as any, and Meier has that experience under his belt.

Arcuri says he's a good alternative to putting another Republican in the 24th Congressional District seat, but his work as Oneida County's district attorney may not have prepared him well enough for the job.

Libertarian Party candidate Mike Sylvia has brought an added dimension to this race, and we applaud the efforts by third-party candidates to bring alternative views to the electorate. Sylvia has some good ideas - like a major downsizing of the federal government that would keep more money in control of individual states - but he is not a realistic choice for this position as a first-time candidate with 22 years of work in the private sector.

Meier has a broader range of experience on state issues. Having written laws and built coalitions, he will be able to quickly establish himself in Washington.

We endorse Ray Meier for Congress.