WGXC-90.7 FM
Seward wants to split New York in two
Jan 13, 2010 6:31 pm
From Paul Smart:
State Senator Joseph E. Robach, a Republican who represents part of Rochester, has proposed legislation -- co-sponsored by Senator James Seward who represents Greene County -- that would allow each of New York State's 62 counties to hold a referendum in 2010 to ask voters this question: Do you support the division of New York into two separate states?
The referendum - if it is even legal - would be nonbinding.
Four Republican senators - William J. Larkin Jr., Michael H. Ranzenhofer, James L. Seward and Dale M. Volker - joined Mr. Robach in introducing the bill this year, even though the proposal has little chance of becoming reality in a state where Democrats control the governor's mansion and hold a narrow majority in the Senate and a commanding majority in the Assembly.
Nonetheless, the proposal - which states that there is a large degree of apparent support for dividing New York into two separate states, so as to separate the distinct social and political concerns between upstate and downstate New York - reflects longstanding misunderstanding, even animosity, between the various parts of the state. The last governor who was not from either New York City or the Hudson Valley was Nathan L. Miller, of Syracuse, who served from 1921 to 1922.
State Senator Joseph E. Robach, a Republican who represents part of Rochester, has proposed legislation -- co-sponsored by Senator James Seward who represents Greene County -- that would allow each of New York State's 62 counties to hold a referendum in 2010 to ask voters this question: Do you support the division of New York into two separate states?
The referendum - if it is even legal - would be nonbinding.
Four Republican senators - William J. Larkin Jr., Michael H. Ranzenhofer, James L. Seward and Dale M. Volker - joined Mr. Robach in introducing the bill this year, even though the proposal has little chance of becoming reality in a state where Democrats control the governor's mansion and hold a narrow majority in the Senate and a commanding majority in the Assembly.
Nonetheless, the proposal - which states that there is a large degree of apparent support for dividing New York into two separate states, so as to separate the distinct social and political concerns between upstate and downstate New York - reflects longstanding misunderstanding, even animosity, between the various parts of the state. The last governor who was not from either New York City or the Hudson Valley was Nathan L. Miller, of Syracuse, who served from 1921 to 1922.