By JOE LOTEMPLIO
PLATTSBURGH — David Kimmel, challenger for the 114th Assembly District seat, says a state suit against utility companies for causing global warming is frivolous and should be dropped.
He is calling upon his opponent, incumbent Janet Duprey, and other legislators to withdraw their support for the suit.
Duprey says Kimmel doesn’t know what he is talking about.
“I am dismayed at the lack of understanding of the legislative process that my opponent continues to display,” she said.
SUIT STARTED IN 2005
Kimmel is challenging Duprey in a Republican primary this September. Duprey, who lives in Peru, was elected to the Assembly in 2006 after serving as Clinton County treasurer for 20 years.
Kimmel says the state, at the behest of then Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, entered a suit against Midwest utility companies, along with other northeast states, in 2005.
He said the state has spent significant amounts of taxpayer money in the suit in an attempt to hold the utility companies responsible for global warming.
“The underlying problem is that global warming has come under sharp criticism due to recent revelations that some of the ‘data’ regarding climate change has been contrived,” Kimmel said in a news release.
The case was eventually dismissed in court, but that decision was vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals last September, allowing the state to continue with the suit.
CRITICIZES DUPREY
“This is significant because our lawmakers, including my opponent Janet Duprey, were focusing on gay marriage and backroom political deals, such as her support for Assembly crony Dede (Dierdre) Scozzafava in the infamous New York 23rd Congressional race, instead of rising utility costs,” Kimmel said.
“Notably, this frivolous suit has been going on, unchallenged by legislators, during Ms. Duprey’s entire tenure in the Assembly. This simply cannot be reconciled with her claim that she is concerned about rising energy costs for North Country residents.”
Duprey backed Scozzafava in last year’s congressional race, but Scozzafava’s campaign faltered because many Republicans did not like her stance on gay marriage and abortion.
She dropped out of the race three days before the election and threw her support behind Democrat William Owens, who defeated Conservative Party candidate Douglas Hoffman.
GROSS-RECEIPTS TAX
Kimmel said that as the lawsuit continues, it is no surprise that Gov. David Paterson’s 2010 budget calls for a 200-percent increase in the local gross-receipts tax.
The tax, according to a news release from the Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce, would raise electricity, gas and telephone bills, Kimmel said.
Kimmel agrees with the chamber that business owners and citizens should tell Albany to “reverse this trend and lower these taxes to allow our economy to grow and to stop driving jobs out of our state” and to “tell Albany to reject any new taxes or fees on electricity, gas or telephone, including the proposed local gross-receipts tax increase.”
Kimmel said lawmakers at every level of state and local government, including Duprey, should reject the receipts tax increase and withdraw support for the global-warming suit.
“This issue is far too important and urgent to wait until the results of the 2010 election,” he said.
NOT LEGISLATURE ROLE
Duprey said Kimmel apparently does not know how government functions.
She noted that the attorney general is elected by the voters to uphold the law as he determines.
The legislature does not, nor should it, have any jurisdiction over the attorney general’s cases or court proceedings, she said.
“Most fifth-grade students learn there are three branches of government, which function separately in accordance with the Constitution,” she said.
“Perhaps my opponent wants to brush up on state government before he continues to issue ridiculous statements.”
OPPOSES TAX HIKE
Duprey said she voted against the 2009-10 budget that included the 2-percent increase on utility bills.
“The governor can propose anything he wants to, and he has proposed many taxes and fees in the 2010 budget which I do not support.”
Duprey said the chamber is right to oppose the increase in the gross-receipts tax.
“I do not support this tax increase as we cannot tax our way out of this fiscal crisis,” she said.
“We must reduce spending, focus on getting New Yorkers back to work and reduce the cost of living and doing business in New York.”
E-mail Joe LoTemplio at:
jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com
