Reproductive Rochester

In my previous post on the "Upstate" debate, I touched briefly on the idea some of us "Upstaters" have proposed that it may be more beneficial for the supposed Upstate and Downstate regions of New York State to secede from one another. I neglected to address how that could potentially change the political make-up of this region of the state. It has been suggested by some that in the unlikely event that New York State was rent in twain, with New York City, Long Island, and possibly some of the Hudson Valley counties as the new New York State and the rest of the state as a new entity, this would leave the downstate region as a Blue State thanks to all the forward-thinkers and liberals in New York. It is theorized that we of the former "Upstate" region (what would we be called? Old York? New Netherlands? Upstateland?) would become a Red State - after all, what would be left of us would be a great deal of farmland and small, largely rust-belt cities, both of which tend to embrace what might be considered "traditional family values."

As for me, as a dirty-hippie-tree-hugging-bleeding-heart-liberal, this would surely lead me to many beating of breasts and gnashings of teeth during election seasons, the main time I actually pay attention to politics. However, when I heard of this thought initially, that we of the "Upstate" region (Upstaters? Upstatians?), it led me to ponder about my own region - are we in Rochester and the Finger Lakes region so conservative? While the Mayor of Rochester has been a Democrat for as long as I can remember, the town elections tend to be a fairly even spread between Reds and Blues.

When I think about how I measure the political temperament of an area, one of the things I take into account is how open it is in terms of sex education and reproductive rights. Whilst I tend to bumble a good deal in terms of different political causes, I personally believe in everyone's access to information and resources in terms of contraception, honest reproductive options (versus misleading scare tactics), and affordable pre-natal care.

In terms of this, I believe that Rochester scores pretty well. Our primary resource is Planned Parenthood of the Rochester and Syracuse region, and our particular chapter is really quite active. This includes education, advocacy, and resources. This Thursday, 6/24, they are sponsoring their first Sex and Justice on Tap, a get together to meet their steering committee for REAL (Rising Educators Advocates & Leaders for Planned Parenthood, "a group of young, professionally and socially active people who are dedicated to building and strengthening PPRSR ties in the Rochester community") and to collaborate and raise funds with the aim of assisting all in having access to the information to manage their own sexual and reproductive health. Why is it called "On Tap?" because it is being hosted by Tap & Mallet, a small gastro-pup in the trendy South Wedge area, who is even offering complimentary drinks and nosh (and by the way, their drink selection is amazing and their food delicious - expect a post about them upcoming!). I think it's inspiring that a successful local business is putting itself out there to support a cause they believe in this manner. Kudos to you, Tap & Mallet.

If it were simply this, I would smile to myself that an awesome business is supporting a cause in which I believe. But wait, there's more! What is even more inspiring to me is when young people can also take a stand for their beliefs - hell, it's uplifting enough that they even form their own beliefs, let alone that they express them.

Enter Max Kamin-Cross. He's a Pittsford teen I had never heard of up until recently. Apparently, certain students in his high school had planned a pro-life day, including wearing shirts with such phrases as "Abortion Kills A Person." Now, I know when I was a teenager some kids wore shirts like this, and while I knew they were entirely within their rights to do so, it still made me silently seethe. Not young Mr. Kamin-Cross. He wrote to the local Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America who donated shirts, pins, and bumper stickers to him and his own cohort of students who chose to wear their own Pro-Choice shirts. Interestingly, on the day of the scheduled "day of the shirts," only 25 wore pro-life shirts whilst over 100 wore pro-choice gear, an interesting turn of events given that Pittsford is a predominantly Republican area.

Politics aside, here what is even more inspiring about that story: Kids on both sides of the debate were involved. Both voiced their opinions in a non-offensive, respectful manner. Remembering how confrontational high school could be, I suppose it is likely that individuals on both sides of the fence could have been outright jerks about their particular viewpoint ("I AM RIGHT YOU ARE WRONG AND SHOULD JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!") - but still, this was, in essence, an organized, passive protest. The fact that young people are doing that, regardless of their beliefs, did that, is enough to give me hope that when these kids enter the world they will aspire to create the change they wish to see.

Rochester's Mayor a Future Lieutenant Governor?

I had intended to write an entirely different post today, however as I turned on my local news, my next post just about wrote itself! Funny how things work out.

I confess, I am one of "those people" so often lamented in our society. I tend to be somewhat oblivious when it comes to politics - at least locally. Oh sure, I can tell you the concerns the region has, but when it comes to which politicians are saying what, I can seldom tell you. Admittedly, not a great thing.

Recently, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced that he would be running for governor. Today the announcement came that he was selecting Rochester Mayor Robert (Bob) Duffy as his choice for Lieutenant Governor.

Mayor Duffy has been in the fore of Rochester news for several years. Born and raised in Rochester, Duffy served seven years as Chief of Police before being elected mayor in 2006. Re-elected in 2009, Mayor Duffy has lately been in the local news over his controversial push to begin mayoral control over the Rochester City School District. The city schools have their share of issues from truancy, low graduation rates, poor test scores, drugs, and violence. Pointing to vast improvements under mayoral control in other cities, Mayor Duffy has been pointing to this as a solution for some of these problems. He has met a lot of opposition from parents, the school board, and other citizens.

Despite this, there have also been many successful initiatives Mayor Duffy has led. He started the 311 call center, a toll-free number billed as "one call to City Hall." He began Clean Sweep, an annual city initiative to beautify neighborhoods. To involve the community in helping out high-crime areas, he helped begin programs such as Pastors on Patrol, gang-prevention program Pathways to Peace, and police-citizen coalition PAC-TAC (Police and Citizens Together Against Crime). He lowered city property taxes. Hell, don't take my word for all this - his website has a List of Accomplishments during his reign as mayor (not exactly humble, but hey, that's politics for you).

There is some concern that if elected, many of the initiatives started by Duffy may fall by the wayside, including mayoral control of schools, revitalization of downtown sites, and some of the aforementioned programs that have already been successful. Some Rochesterians support his decision whilst others are concerned that he will leave Rochester in the lurch.

So why is someone who usually doesn't pay a whole lot of attention to politics spending so much time talking about Bob Duffy? As a fellow Rochester native, I am interested to see how, if elected, how this might affect Western New York State. Having lived here my whole life, I am pretty much used to the rest of the country - the rest of the world even - seeming to think New York State is pretty much comprised of New York City, Long Island, Westchester County, and a very ambiguous term called "Upstate" which is used to describe pretty much everywhere else. To illustrate, here is the message most people get about New York State:



Hm, that's an awful lot of nonentity there. In reality, here are the correct names of the regions of New York:

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We who are lumped into the generic "Upstate" label are pretty much used to being disregarded not only by the rest of the country, but by our own state government. Many "Upstate" regions voice feelings of neglect on the part of the government. In some ways, I can understand the error: It would be foolish to ignore that New York City is a mecca of national and international business, culture, and history. At the same time, Western New York, the Finger Lakes, and many other "Upstate" regions have been suffering economically.

Despite its many wonderful qualities (including being rated #6 on the Places Rated Almanac Best Places to Live in America out of 379 communities in America), Rochester is a rust belt city with businesses - and young people - leaving in droves. Where's the help for us, and cities like ours? In fact, in March of 2009 some state senators motioned for a vote to divide New York, seceding "Upstate" as its own entity that can focus on its own unique needs. Some citizens agree wholeheartedly with this motion, such as Unshackle Upstate. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but I think it illustrates a valid point: "Upstate" New Yorkers feel pretty darn neglected and are pretty miffed about it.

I'm not here to say the Cuomo/Duffy ticket is going to be a panacea for all of "Upstate's" woes - I may not be fully invested in politics, but I'm not that delusional. However I do think it would be interesting to see how having one of Rochester's native sons in such a position of power and how this may - or may not - ultimately lead to a closer understanding of the particular needs of this region.

Any other Rochesterians or New Yorkers out there? How do you feel Mayor Duffy's viewpoint could potentially affect government relations with "Upstate?"