One stop shopping, this site
contains links to state and county information in many topic areas.
A good source of information
regarding demographic and economic factors by state and county.
A good site for information on
demographics, economic indicators, and major industry facts for both states
and counties.
A brief overview of New York's
economy and information on per capita income.
A brief overview of some of the
major agricultural commodities produced in New York, and the regions where
each product is grown.
A strong voice for New York's
farmers, this leading lobbying organization is active in New York politics.
This site includes the organization's issue agenda and other interesting
material pertaining to agricultural issues in New York.
Many concerns of New York's farmers
have been addressed in Albany, but challenges continue to confront this
key industry in New York State.
The web site for the leading
lobbying organization in the state concerning the economy and business
interests.
A report by the NYS Business
Council addressing the state's manufacturing base and the prospects for
a manufacturing renewal.
New York's elected officials
in Washington are well positioned to look out for the state's important
banking and financial services industries.
This web site includes statewide
and county voter enrollment statistics. Other information pertaining to
elections in New York can be found here as well.
This table illuminates some key
factors that account for the upstate-downstate difference in political
views.
The 1982 gubernatorial election
is used in this article to demonstrate some of the political implications
of New York's regional rivalries.
A collection of video clips which
highlight the different constituencies that are represented by Assembly
members and Senators in the state capitol.
This article takes a humorous
look at how the idea of the two New York's played out in two recent issues,
rent control and the Northeast Dairy Compact.
A look at how the issue of welfare
reform has exposed differences in the views of Assembly Democrats across
the state.
A collection of video clips in which legislators discuss the primary issues that confront their constituents and the state
At a basic level, politics involves addressing and, hopefully, resolving social and economic conflicts. In order to understand the political dynamics of a given state it is important to recognize the major role that demographics, economic differences, and regional tensions, play in the political process. The policies and political battles exhibited in a state are often manifestations of underlying social and economic forces at work. Put simply, how we think about politics and policies stems, in large part, from who we are, where we live, and what we do for a living. This first chapter overview explores the landscape of New York State politics by examining some of the major demographic attributes, economic differences, and regional tensions that give rise to the politics of the empire state. Some of the political implications of New York State's diversity are explored as well. |
In examining the Sociodemographic features of New York State, it is clear that diversity is a key attribute of the state's population. New York State is the third most populous state in the nation, with a population of over 18.2 million people. While the state's landscape includes a mixture of urban, suburban, and rural elements, New York is an increasingly urbanized state with 92% of the population living in a metropolitan area. In comparison, only 79% of the United States population lives in metropolitan areas. The state's population density is underscored by the fact that New York is third nationally in terms of population, yet it ranks 30th in actual land area (49,108 square miles). While only one sixth of the state's population lives in the forty four counties that are considered to be predominantly rural, in terms of the character of the communities in the state many are rural or small towns. The fact that the state contains distinct areas of rural, suburban, and urban areas also gives raise to some unique political battles as will be discussed further below. The demographic groups that exist in New York State are also important to consider. For instance, New York State's population is racially diverse. In 1990, 74% of the state's population was white, with an additional 16% being African American, and a sizable portion of the State's residents are Asian American or of Hispanic origin. An important dimension of New York's racial composition is that these percentages are far from evenly distributed across the state. Nonwhites comprised 48% of New York City's population in 1990, yet only 14% of the suburban counties that surround the city. These differences are displayed in the upstate metropolitan areas as well. As Sarah Liebshutz notes, Rochester's 1990 population consisted of 39% nonwhite residents while Monroe County's population was only 16% nonwhite in that same year. Many upstate rural counties, in the Adirondack north country and in the Southern Tier region, are very heavily white in their racial composition. To the extent that the needs of various racial populations are different, clearly the political leanings and policy needs differ as well. The age of the state's population is another important demographic factor. New York has the third highest elderly population (2.3 million) in the nation, with Florida and California occupying the top two spots. In turn, New York State contains a large pool of young citizens since it ranks third in the nation with 4.7 million people under the age 18. Yet overall New York's population is older than other states, since the state ranked 19th in population over 65 years old in 1996 and 37th in people under 18 years old in that same year. Demographics are important to consider since population characteristics influence state policy needs and outcomes. For instance, given the fact that the elderly often have greater health needs, it is not surprising that New York State leads the nation in Medicaid spending ($24 million in 1995) and had 3.3 million people enrolled in the program. The wealth of New York's population is also important to examine since it has a direct impact on tax capacity, quality of life, and needs of the state's residents. Overall, the per capita income of new yorkers is high, $29,181, which ranked fifth in the nation in 1996. Yet one of the most striking features of New York's income data is that large disparities exist between those individuals who are very wealthy and others who are extremely poor. While the percentage of people in poverty nationally was 14% in 1996, New York contained a poverty rate of 16%. Obviously, these distinct differences in wealth across the state have an impact on the needs of New York's citizens, and play a role in the policy battles that exist. |
The economy of New York State is multi-faceted with a mixture of service industries, manufacturing, and agriculture. In fact, the states' largest industry is agriculture, with dairy farms being a dominant component of farming in the state. Agriculture and related businesses are located across the upstate region of the state, including the Hudson Valley, Finger Lakes area, and central and western New York generally. Farming communities have faced, and continue to face, challenges stemming from development pressures, tax issues, and adequate prices. While some of these issues have been addressed the debate over whether New York farmers can join the Northeast Dairy Compact continues to be an important issue. Manufacturing has been a long term anchor of the New York economy and, while this sector of the economy has suffered in recent years, manufacturing enterprises continue to offer employment to many New Yorkers. Moreover, particular industries have dominated the economy of select areas across the state. Historical examples include glove manufacturing in the Gloversville-Johnstown area, shirt manufactures and iron works in Troy. Today, Kodak remains a major player in the Rochester area, IBM still provides a dominant presence in Binghampton and the Mid Hudson Valley, and the paper industry continues to help the greater Glens Falls area. As in many parts of the country, New York State has grappled with the change over from a manufacturing base to service industries. These dramatic changes continue to be important for New Yorkers and pose challenges for elected officials throughout the state. Service industries now account for the largest component of New Yorker's income, and in 1996 accounted for 32% of all earnings in the state. One of the key segments of the service industry boom in New York is in the areas of finance, insurance, and real estate. While these entities are crucial throughout the state, the downstate economy, especially the New York City metropolitan area, depends heavily on those growth areas. Another service oriented industry, tourism, is important for many pockets of the state, including the Saratoga-Lake George area, Long Island, the Finger Lakes region, and Niagara Falls, among others. Finally, other communities depend heavily on Colleges and Universities, and in some areas, such as Albany, government is a primary employer. Government policies that affect these components of the economy are sure to gain the watchful eye of local officials and the citizens who depend on them for their livelihood. The budget for higher education is always a hot issue in places like Plattsburgh and Cortland, and the recent passage of legislation changing the tax status of vacation homes caught the interest of people in the Lake George area. |
As noted previously, who we are, where we live, and what we do for a living all have an impact on how we think about politics and policies. This fact is manifested in party enrollment trends, electoral politics, and the issues that individuals and regions care about. New York State's diversity is clearly evident in the conduct of politics and policy making, and certain cleavages, such as the upstate-downstate split, exist across many dimensions of political affairs. The state's diversity and regional tensions are the most apparent when the two house of the legislature are examined. One way in which the views and ideas of the New York's citizens are displayed is in voter enrollment trends. Overall, the state leans democratic since Democrats outnumber Republicans state wide by a 5 to 3 margin. Over two million New Yorker's have chosen to remain independent which represents approximately 20 percent of the registered voters in the state. Yet the state wide numbers do not exist uniformly across the state's 62 counties. At the county level, the regional differences are striking in terms of enrollment numbers. In Kings County ( Brooklyn), 71% of the registered voters are Democrat compared to only 11% Republican enrollment. These numbers are not overly surprising given the urban flavor of Brooklyn, and the policy concerns of the county's residents. In contrast, Steuben County, located along the Southern Tier region, has a far grater number of Republicans (56%) than Democrats (26%). Given the rural, agricultural base of the county this partisan alignment makes sense. The population density of these two counties is striking--King County contains over one million registered voters, while Steuben County records 55,000 registrants! These disparities are exhibited elsewhere as well. Albany County, a Democratic stronghold, maintains a 2 to 1 democratic advantage, while Nassau County (Long Island) contains nearly opposite numbers. While party allegiance is often a crude measure of a person's views, it is no stretch to suggest that the elected officials who represent these areas will approach the issues from different ideological angles. Although there are several distinct regions in the state, the most enduring split exists between the upstate and downstate areas. While the exact delineation of the downstate area is debatable it usually includes New York City and Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, and Rockland counties. This split between the two areas has prompted many commentators to remark that, in fact, "two New Yorks" exist. The two New Yorks are not just geographic in nature, but are quite different racially, culturally, and, to some extent, economically as well. Moreover, these regional outlooks are evident in the results of New York's gubernatorial elections. In 1982 when former Governor Cuomo won his first election he won only 9 out of 62 counties in the state, yet his strong support in the heavily populated downstate region, especially New York City, enabled him to win a close election over Lew Lehrman, the Republican candidate. Twelve years later, when Governor Cuomo was defeated by Governor Pataki in a close election the regional differences were noticeable again. As Jeffrey Stonecash reports, Pataki won 65% of the vote in the upstate rural areas, and Cuomo garnered over 70% of the New York City vote. In other words, the vote for governor in 1994 was, in part, an indication that different world views exist within the empire state. While the statewide races clearly reflect the divergent views of New Yorkers, the diversity of the state is most forcefully demonstrated in the two house legislature. The New York State Assembly is broken into 150 districts in which each representative has approximately 110,000 constituents. The 61 members of the New York State Senate represent districts in about 290,000 people reside. It is obvious that legislators representing the distinct areas that comprise the state will have diverse opinions about issue priorities and policy views. The upstate-downstate conflict is institutionally reinforced in the legislature since the Senate has a majority of Republicans who are largely from suburban and rural communities across upstate and on Long Island. The Assembly, in contrast, has a Democratic majority of which roughly two thirds come from the New York City area. In 1994, there were 61 Assembly members from New York City, 58 of these members were Democrats with only three Republicans. Conversely, 38 members represented various upstate rural counties with 31 Republicans and 7 Democrats among their ranks. These constituency differences go a long way towards explaining the protracted and often messy political battles that exist within the New York State Legislature and across the branches of New York State government. Many issues that arise in New York State politics become more conflictual due to the different regional interests that exist. During the 1997 legislative session the debate over rent control regulations was a classic example. The vast majority of rent control apartments are located in New York City with a smaller amount in Westchester and Nassau Counties. The ability to maintain affordable apartments was a clear constituent need that the legislators of the downstate area advocated. Democrats in the Assembly and a small number of Senate Republicans pushed to keep the existing regulations while upstate legislators, mostly Republicans, fought for the expiration of rent controls. The Northeast Dairy Compact was an issue during the 1998 legislative session in which the upstate-downstate tensions erupted as well. Dairy farmers across the upstate region of the state have seen their ability to get adequate prices for milk fall, and these farmers view membership in the dairy compact as a way to gain better prices for their product. On the other hand, consumers will probably pay more for their milk if this change occurs, and so downstate legislators have been reluctant to pass the legislation. In the last couple of years, issues such as welfare reform, property tax changes, criminal justice policy, have all demonstrated the conflictual nature of New York State politics. It is important to remember that the politics and policies
of New York are a reflection of the demographic, economic, and regional
diversity that exists in the state. The battles in Albany are often symptoms
of the underlying interests, needs, and desires of New York's large and
diverse population.
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