The 2018 legislative session has officially ended in Albany. Unfortunately, much of the dialogue in Albany was spent focused on President Trump instead of seizing the opportunities to improve New York state. 

Even before the session began, Gov. Andrew Cuomo claimed New York was under assault from the federal government. Due to anticipated cuts in health-care funding, he said that New York would face a $4 billion deficit. Further, he claimed that the recent federal tax-reform law would only widen this gap and harm our state. Following this doom and gloom rhetoric, about $1 billion in taxes was proposed with this year’s budget rather than focusing on policies to boost the economy and make New York more competitive. 

Thankfully, we were successful in pushing back on some of these taxes but still, a new optional payroll tax was created, taxes on drug manufacturers passed, and surcharges on taxis and ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft were also signed into law. It is important to note that the purported cuts to health care never materialized and despite the rhetoric, the state is not bankrupt because of actions taken by the federal government. In fact, many signs show that because of the tax changes made at the federal level that more private businesses — small and large — are choosing to make investments, and in even some cases, provide their workers a raise.

After the budget was completed, it was a great opportunity to take up ethics reform. Even amid recent corruption cases involving Joe Percoco, a former trusted staff member of Gov. Cuomo, and Alain Kaloyeros, who was at the helm of many of the governor’s economic-development projects, including the failed CNY Film Hub, one would think reforming the state’s economic development programs and procurement procedures to prevent the pay-to-play politics would be a priority. Unfortunately, despite measures passing in the State Senate and efforts of many Assembly members, including myself, no action was taken by the governor or the Assembly Democrat majority. 

Another matter that went by the wayside was school safety. For all the criticism, once again, that came out of Albany against the federal government on school safety, nothing passed that would impact school safety on the state level. I advocated for the NYS Sherriff’s Association proposal which was to provide all schools with the financial resources to employ school resource officers. Providing students the same sort of protection that the state provides to judges seemed like a reasonable way to protect students. 

It is important to note that the school resource officers wouldn’t be just anyone. Under this proposal, they would be trained law-enforcement officers. In addition to their primary duty in keeping the students safe, they would have a positive presence in the school — a person who would build relationships with kids in school and, in doing so, can gain critical information needed in order to intervene and head off a tragedy. These are also the same trained law-enforcement officers who respond to emergencies in our communities when called. Many schools in Upstate are asking for this but they do not have access to funding that would pay for a school resource officer. This is where the state could have helped. Once again, the Assembly Democrat majority stonewalled this issue and decided to focus more effort on trying to implement more state policies on gun control.

We needed a session to focus on what can be changed to improve New York and pass policies that will move our state forward. In addition to ethics reform, school safety, and lower taxes, we need to increase penalties for drug dealers, protect victims of domestic violence, and lower property taxes. These are the issues that our constituencies are asking Albany to tackle, not Washington, DC. I will continue to be a voice in Albany that pushes for these and other measures that upstate residents seek.                                          

William (Will) A. Barclay is the Republican representative of the 120th New York Assembly District, which encompasses most of Oswego County, including the cities of Oswego and Fulton, as well as the town of Lysander in Onondaga County and town of Ellisburg in Jefferson County. Contact him at barclaw@assembly.state.ny.us, or (315) 598-5185.

President Donald Trump confounds his critics and friends. Maybe he confounds you. But you can understand a lot about Trump if you follow my friend John’s advice.

John is a big-time corporate headhunter. He finds people to fill jobs that pay multi-millions. He gets paid only if he finds the perfect executives. When they flop, he loses much of his fee. So he is careful in his work.

“Ignore most of what a job candidate promises,” is John’s advice. “But focus, utterly focus, on what he or she has done. His or her past reveals the likely future.”

This is the secret if you wish to understand Trump. Focus on what he did as a developer. 

Consider the critics, the commentators, bureaucrats, diplomats, world leaders, and other politicians. The multitude he confounds and confuses. Few of them have worked in business. Fewer have owned a business. Virtually none have signed paychecks for armies of workers. Few, if any, have negotiated as developers must every day. Few even understand what a developer is and does.

A good developer dreams. You see a swamp and he dreams of a shopping mall. You see sand and water and he envisions a resort and golf course. You see wasteland and he dreams of a housing development.

A good developer imagines what others cannot. What others scurry from as risks, he sees and seizes as opportunities. He brims with confidence when others bog down in fear.

A good developer negotiates endlessly. Haggling is the lifeblood of his business. He must push and shove, cajole, persuade, pressure, compromise, and flex — with zoning overlords, politicians, lawyers galore, sellers, unions, contractors, and suppliers. And inspectors, bankers, investors, and tenants.

Is it any wonder great developers are great persuaders? They must persuade to survive. Is it any wonder Trump negotiates totally differently from Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Kerry, as well as previous presidents? His history is as different from theirs as steel from marshmallow. 

Is it any wonder Trump created a video for North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and crew to view in Singapore? Most critics ignored it or downplayed it. A few scoffed at it. This is because they know so little of business. And they know nothing of how developers persuade.

The video projected the dream of prosperity for Kim’s country. It imagined resorts on the sands where Kim launches missiles. It urged Kim to dream of a wealth of goods to replace the poverty his people suffer. It portrayed high-speed trains and skylines of handsome buildings. (Watch the video for yourself. Google “White House Film for Kim.”)

Leading up to this, Trump rattled sabers. He lined up support from China, South Korea, Japan, and other neighbors. He invoked sanctions and threatened more. He displayed our military might — and made clear we would use it if Kim continued to play idiot.

This is how a developer would approach the politicians of a big city. “Let us dream together of turning your unused railyards into a shopping mecca. Imagine this swampy area as the future home of a sports arena. We have lined up support throughout your city. However, if this does not win your favor, we don’t need to be here. Philadelphia is begging us to come. So is Baltimore.”

Does this sound like the approach Obama, Clinton, and Kerry took with Iran? They negotiated a flimsy agreement. They wrote checks for countless billions. They were rolled. They thought they had persuaded Iran to change the nuclear future of the country. Right. They did little more than persuade Iran to take a planeload of cash. 

A good developer has many tricks of persuasion up his sleeve. Trump does. Many of them will confound critics, diplomats, and bureaucrats in the future. Because they do not understand business. They are ignorant of how developers think and work. They peer through lenses crafted from their own experiences. Experiences so different from Trump’s.

The secret to understanding much of what Trump does now is to know what he did, as a developer. His past achievements will likely be reflected in his future.

Critics reading this will howl that some of his past projects failed. They did. A mighty small percentage of them. Better to look at what he did in their wake.

From Tom…as in Morgan.                   

Tom Morgan writes about political, financial, and other subjects from his home in upstate New York. You can write to Tom at tomasinmorgan@yahoo.com. You can read more of his writing at tomasinmorgan.com