NEWS

VOLUME 16, ISSUE 10 November 11, 2010

DEMOCRATS SWEEP STATEWIDE RACES DiNapoli won a four-year term in the offi ce he was ap- pointed to in 2007, replacing disgraced former Comp- Democrats swept all statewide races on Tuesday, No- troller Alan Hevesi. DiNapoli turned back a challenge vember 2. was elected ’s from former Wall Street executive Harry Wilson, who 56th governor winning 61 percent of the votes cast and won the endorsement of the biggest newspapers in the defeating Republican opponent , the Buf- state. falo lawyer and businessman who ran a Tea Party in- spired campaign. Turnout in the race was estimated at In House races, incumbent Democratic House mem- about 40 percent of eligible voters or about 4.1 million bers who lost included Mike McMahon of Staten Is- adults. Paladino tallied 34 percent of the vote, with the land, John Hall and in Hudson Valley rest going to various third party candidates. districts and in the Mohawk Valley. Re- publicans captured the central New York seat vacated In the U.S. Senate contests, Charles Schumer was when Representative Eric Massa resigned in a sex elected to a new six-year term defeating political con- scandal. sultant Jay Townsend, getting 65 percent of the vote. won a two-year term in a special NEW YORK STATE SENATE MAJORITY IS election to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton. Gillibrand DOWN TO THREE RACES got 61 percent against former Representative Joe Dio- Guardi and she will have to run again in 2012, a presi- Control of the New York State Senate was down to the dential election year. Senator Eric Schneiderman won outcome of three races this week: incumbent Demo- the attorney general’s race, defeating Staten Island cratic Senators of Buffalo, Craig District Attorney Dan Donovan; and Comptroller Tom Johnson of Nassau County and Suzi Oppenheimer of Westchester County. Democrats now hold a 32-30 edge over Republicans, but incumbent Brian Foley of IN THIS ISSUE... Long Island and Darrel Aubertine of the Watertown area both lost last week. That means that Democrats ♦ Democrats Sweep Staetwide Races must win all three of the seats still in play to keep their ♦ New York State Senate Majority is Down to Three majority, while Republicans need to pick up only two Races of the three to win the majority. ♦ Additional $300 Million Budget Gap Vote counting this week showed Thompson trailing ♦ Governor Paterson, Governor-Elect Cuomo Hold Joint Press Conference Republican challenger Mark Grisanti by 468 votes, and Johnson trailing Jack Martins by 415 votes. Op- ♦ Two Affi liates Trying for Pepsi Grants penheimer leads Bob Cohen by 466 votes, with most ♦ Smollin, Bent Bookend Successful Annual Con- of the vote counted. Republicans say they are nearly ference certain they have won the Thompson and Johnson rac- ♦ Make Your Voice Heard es. Democrats maintain that they will win all of the races.

Cerebral Palsy Associations of New York State AFFILIATE SERVICES OFFICE • 90 State Street, Ste. 929 • Albany, NY 12207 • 518-436-0178 • Fax 518-436-8619 Democrats say they are confi dent they will retain ma- 3. New York needs to generate jobs and that will only jority control when the vote counting is done. It is not happen if we get “taxes under control.” Need to clear when that will be, as both sides have put lawyers offer businesses a more viable environment. on the case and painstaking recounts of machines and paper ballots could take weeks to complete. The re- 4. New York needs to cut spending by “recalibrating count in one 2008 race, the close re-election of Sen. programs.” Programs need to be redesigned to Frank Padavan of Queens, took three months to com- eliminate waste, fraud and abuse. He will use this plete. Unfortunately, Senator Padavan, who has been point in time to do what the system needed anyway a champion for people with disabilities, lost his elec- to become more effi cient and save money. tion last week. 5. To balance the budget you “need to cut funds where In the meantime, if there is a 31-31 split between Sen- you spend funds – health care, education and State ate Democrats and Republicans, Senator Ruben Diaz operations.” Sr., a Bronx Democrat, told reporters last Thursday that he was open to supporting a Republican major- 6. He will explore getting help from the Federal gov- ity leader. Diaz, who is one of the “Three Amigos” ernment. who initiated the Senate Coup last year, is a maverick among Senate Democrats and an outspoken opponent TWO AFFILIATES TRYING FOR PEPSI of gay marriage. GRANTS

ADDITIONAL $300 MILLION BUDGET GAP Hudson Valley Cerebral Palsy Association and the E. John Gavras Center are in the running for $250,000 Governor Paterson’s Budget Division reported that the November Pepsi Challenge Grants. The good thing is state faces a $300 million budget gap in the current you don’t have to choose between these two great pro- fi scal year and the Governor said that he favored an grams. You can vote for both every day this month. additional 1.5% to 2% across the board cut to close the gap. The Governor has proposed another cut simi- The grants are awarded to the groups that receive the lar to the FMAP contingency Fund cut that includes most votes. VOTING IS FREE AND EASY. The a mid-year cut to Medicaid and state aid to schools. voting lasts for the entire month of November and Governor Paterson cancelled plans for a November 15 you can vote early and vote often in this poll. special session, saying that the uncertainty over who controls the state Senate must fi rst be addressed. Go to www.refresheverything.com. At the lower left of the page, you will see two choices: “Sign In” and GOVERNOR PATERSON, GOVERNOR-ELECT “Join Refresh Everything.” If you have voted before, CUOMO HOLD JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE just sign in. If you are new to this, click “Join Refresh Everything.” A box will pop up asking for your name, Governor David Paterson and Governor-elect Andrew email address, birthday and password. Complete ev- Cuomo held a joint press conference on November 9th erything in this box, then click done. during which they took questions from reporters. Gov- ernor-elect Cuomo stated the following in response to • At the top of the page, click on $250,000. those questions: • Click on the drop down box just above that, and choose “Near You.” 1. The defi cit is minimally $9 billion. (May be high- • Scroll down until you fi nd #154, Educational Field er if Governor Paterson is unsuccessful in bringing Trips for Special Needs Children: Gavras on the the Legislature back to Albany to close the addi- Go or Opportunity League for the Hudson Valley tional $315 million defi cit in the current year.) project, which will be listed in the Health Category under $250,000 awards. 2. No new taxes. Taxes are too high and new taxes • Click Vote for the idea. will drive people out of New York. New York al- • Please do this for both projects for the remainder ready taxes “rich people.” of the month. You can also vote through your Facebook or Twitter The Conference was held October 25-27 at the Des- page, and you can also text to: 73774 and put 104030 mond Hotel and Conference Center in Albany. Nation- in the body of the text message for the Gavras proj- ally-known and respected speakers from colleges and ect and 104097 for the Hudson Valley project, then hit universities, non-profi t organizations, government and send. the health care industry presented the latest informa- tion on issues ranging from education, health care and Both Affi liates are working hard to secure these grants advocacy to government policy, Medicaid regulations, to improve their programs, so please spread the word. public relations and development. Everyone may vote up to 3 times per day for each Af- fi liate. Please take advantage of all of these ways to Sister Anne delivered a fast-paced non-stop series of vote and share this with your friends, family and col- hilarious stories and anecdotes to drive home her mes- leagues. The voting ends November 30 so please start sage about the importance of tending to one’ s own today. mental, physical and emotional health needs. She ham- mered home the need to take time to relieve stress and MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD maintain health through laughter and social interaction and backed it up with statistics about their therapeutic The New York State Developmental Disabilities Plan- and recuperative value. ning Council (DDPC) is seeking information on self- advocacy from individuals with developmental dis- Courtney Bent showed clips from her award-winning abilities. This information will be used to help the documentary fi lm, Shooting Beauty, to tell her inspira- DDPC to better meet the advocacy and self-advocacy tional story as an aspiring fashion photographer whose needs of New Yorkers. career turned when she discovered the previously un- tapped talents of a group of individuals at a center for Please take a couple of minutes to answer the questions people with disabilities. Bent’s efforts spawned a pho- either through their Electronic Survey (https://app.ex- tography program called “Picture This” and became pressemailmarketing.com/takesurvey.aspx?id=20801) the backdrop for the fi lm and her session at the Con- or you can print the Self Advocacy Survey (http:// ference. ddpc.state.ny.us/publications/self_ad_solution_surv. pdf) and mail your response by December 15, 2010 On Monday, October 25, 500 people attended the CP to: of NYS Annual Awards Banquet to honor more than a dozen organizations and individuals for their con- NYS Developmental Disabilities Planning tributions to people with disabilities. New York State Council (DDPC) Senator Frank Padavan was named Legislator of the 155 Washington Avenue, 2nd fl oor Year for his strong support for people with disabilities Albany, NY 12210 and their families. Kent McCloskey of Upstate Cere- For more information call 1-800-395-3372 bral Palsy in Utica received the prestigious Al Felmet Achievement Award in recognition of his ability to SMOLLIN, BENT BOOKEND SUCCESSFUL overcome the challenges of cerebral palsy. ANNUAL CONFERENCE The next evening nearly 550 people attended the Cel- The 2010 CP of NYS Annual Conference began with ebrate Staff Banquet to recognize 55 outstanding em- an inspiring Keynote Address by Sister Anne Bryan ployees from the 24 CP of NYS Affi liates across the Smollin and ended with a thought-provoking presen- state. tation by award-winning photographer and fi lmmaker Courtney Bent. In between, over 800 people attended The 2011 CP of NYS Annual Conference is scheduled more than 50 presentations and educational sessions for October 21-23. providing valuable information about issues important to people with disabilities and their families.

CP of NYS Board Members Robert DiFrancesco (left) and Natalie Rogers congratulate NYS Senator Frank Padavan (cen- Al Felmet Achievement Award recipient Kent McClo- ter) receives the Legislator of the skey, from Upstate CP, at the Year Award from CP of NYS Board CP of NYS Annual Awards Banquet. Members Robert DiFrancesco and Natalie Rogers.

CP of NYS Board Members Robert DiFrancesco (left) and Natalie Rog- ers congratulate Al Felmet Achieve- ment Award recipient Kent McClosk- ey, from Upstate CP, at the CP of NYS Annual Awards Banquet.

Enable Executive Director Sara Wall-Bollinger (left) with Staff Recognition Award recipients Amy Ostrander, Lisa Tinklepaugh and Clifford Walsh at Tuesday night’s “Celebrate Staff” Dinner.