Krueger, Farber Spar for State Senate Seat

By [Dan Rivoli] Everybody"s candidate for state office on the ballot this November is mad at Albany, even those currently serving in the capital. Liz Krueger, elected to the State Senate in 2002, and her Republican opponent Saul Farber largely agreed on the dysfunction that has plagued state government. But the two each explained why they should be elected to change Albany"s ways. Krueger knows there is voter antipathy at the Legislature. But she ticked off her and the Democratic majority"s legislative accomplishments to reform government and help constituents. She reminded the audience's slightly more than two dozen's at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House of the Democrats" major legislation they passed, including the expanded bottle recycling bill, ending no-fault divorce, public authorities reform, pension reform and the domestic workers bill of rights. When the moderator asked about improving the climate in Albany, Krueger mentioned her efforts to purge her Democratic colleague Hiram Monserrate and helping to oust Pedro Espada in the September primary. â??My commitment to ensure that we have a better Senate is to get rid of bad apples, Krueger said. â??We will continue to support good people and good ideas and weed out the bad people. Farber laid out his agenda for if he is elected to this East Side Senate seat, which has a nearly three-to-one Democratic enrollment edge. He promised to propose an independent audit of the MTA and start a small business assistance program and use stimulus money to help businesses hurt by the Second Avenue Subway construction. Farber also tried to lay the state"s partisanship and fiscal problems at Krueger and her Democratic colleague"s feet. â??We need a legislator who understands that government services is more than smiling at press conferences or presenting checks to not-for-profits, Farber said. â??We need a fresh new face with a vision and commitment to work in the best interest of the people. Krueger countered that Republicans now co-sponsor Democratic bills and vice versa. She referred to the global economic meltdown and mentioned that her colleagues replaced economic programs with â??smaller, targeted programs. â??We are in economic trouble, Krueger said. â??We got rid of most economic development programs that had been in place for two decades in New York because they weren"t working. On transportation, Krueger touted the public authority reform law that affects the MTA and the new Select Bus Service that recently launched. Farber, however, blamed the fare hikes on a state budget that cuts funding to the MTA. â??What"s inappropriate and disingenuous is when state legislators go to Albany and vote, in this case like the senator did, against funding the MTA but they come back to the district and say, â??It"s appalling and shameful that they"re cutting services," Farber said, recounting a Daily News editorial. The two candidates were asked about their support of Mayor Michael Bloomberg"s pilot program to prevent people from buying soda and sugary drinks with food stamps. Krueger supported the proposal because of the adverse health affects of sugar and corn syrup. â??Soda is unbelievably expensive and isn"t a food, Krueger said. â??People will be able to buy soda, but they will have to think about whether that dollar's or two or three dollars that they don"t have a lot [of] in their pocketbook's is really going to go to soda or to other nutritional food products. Farber, however, believes that using food stamps for soda is â??none of my business.