Elaine Altman for State Senate

Elaine Altman is a teacher with 24 years of experience. She’s running for State Senate against Mike Ranzenhofer, a career politician with a weak record. Unfunded Albany mandates and the outright theft of public school funding to help balance Albany’s spendthrift ways, she’s marketing herself with the social media hashtag #sendateachertoAlbany. 

She is advocating for greater investment in public services, fair taxes and fair funding for public education, mandates that support teaching and learning, rather than tests, tests, and more tests. 

The Amherst Democratic Committee is hosting a $25 fundraiser for Altman today from 5:30 – 7:30 at Loughran’s at 4543 Main Street. Anyone who wants to go to Albany to fight for stronger public education is worth a listen. 

28 comments

  • Elaine is a good person, very intelligent, and a highly professional teacher. She would make an excellent state senator, I wish her the best in this difficult race.

    • Wouldn’t she really make a better teacher seeing she is a “highly professional teacher”?

      • Wait a second. So, we’re supposed to only hire politicians to government? Wouldn’t Mike Ranzenhofer make a better lawyer? Wouldn’t Chris Collins make a better venture capitalist? Wouldn’t David DiPietro make a better dry cleaner? Give me a break.

        • You give me a break.

          I am not saying she is any less or more qualified than Mike.

          Campaign slogans such as:

          fair funding for all schools? How so? What is fair? Does she want to increase budgets across the board for all schools?

          Mandates which positively support teaching and learning? As in? Mandates currently are putting a burden on local school budgets and she want more of them?

          Investment in public services? As in larger more costly government? Higher salaries? Where does she think an investments should go?

          Fair taxes for all? Who decides what is fair? What does she think is fair? That is the question.

          Reforms to keep New York graduates, businesses and residents in are state? Examples?

          • Fair funding for schools: getting rid of the Gap Elimination Adjustment, which robs school districts throughout the state to balance the state budget.

            I’m not on Elaine’s fucking campaign staff, so if you have specific questions about policy, why not throw them her way? I am in favor of anyone who (a) isn’t Mike Ranzenhofer; and (b) believes that schools are underfunded and over-mandated. I answered your questions about public services. (I thought you liked roads and infrastructure).

          • Oh not her campaign staff? Well you tend to be the mouthpiece for the party she is registered in. If you don’t know the details of her agenda other than her campaign slogans why are you promoting her?

          • Because she’s a Democrat, I’m a Democratic committeeman in the district she’s running in, and because Mike Ranzenhofer is a useless Republican seatcover who’s had 20+ years in public service with nothing to show for it.

          • Do you are just a low information voter swayed by campaign slogans… 🙂

            A lot of elected leaders have been in public service for 20+ years and nothing to show for it.

        • Alan do you know the answers to any of the questions I posted below? Or are you just going with her based on some campaign slogans and that she is a Democrat?

  • Translation from political hack-speak to English:
    “greater investment in public services”
    =
    “more government spending”

  • Alan?

    “greater investment in public services”

    Define that.

  • Razenhofer is a do nothing but it seems that district does not know how to vote any line but
    Rep

    • That because his district was gerrymandered by the reps. in 2010 just like Collins district…..although it was already leaning rep.

  • Intheknowinbflo

    So is Mrs. Altman going to represent all of us or just the teachers? NYSUT’s insider in the senate. Wonderful.

    • She’ll represent more of “us” than Ranzenhofer.

      • Intheknowinbflo

        Doubt it. She’s been in a district where performance keeps sliding, the socio-economic climate is declining and the wages keep rising – over $100,000.00 a year to run the staff development center. More funding = more taxes.

  • Another thought came to mind. Alan seeing you are promoting her do you know her stance on illegal immigration? Alan what is your view? Are you going to promote candidates that want open borders ?

    • Holy shit, the stupidity of this question is worthy of a post of its own.

      • Start a post! Good idea. What is your view on allowing anyone and any body to just enter into the USA illegally?

        • Stupid question, that’s what!

          • Answer the question.

            What is your view on allowing anyone and any body to just enter into the USA illegally?

            I can answer it. I am against it.

          • Brave man! You’ll have to wait until tomorrow morning for my post, but in the meantime, I note that you haven’t yet condemned pedophile birthday clowns. Why do you support pedophile birthday clowns, Tony?

          • Did I say you support illegal immigration? No. I asked “What is your view on allowing anyone and any body to just enter into the USA illegally?” Either you support it or you don’t.

            Clowns creep me out. For the record I would not allow pedophiles to be birthday clowns or any position that would put them into contact with children.

          • Tony, your question was stupid.

            Nobody supports “allowing anyone and any body to just enter into the USA illegally”.

          • It is not a stupid question. Currently the Obama Administration doesn’t seem to be doing anything to stop what is going on currently. What are they doing? They are transporting the people who are crossing the border illegally deeper into the USA.

          • 1. Ours is a nation of laws;
            2. Our laws say you cannot deport someone without due process – even more complicated, a “2008 law guarantees unaccompanied minors from those countries access to a federal asylum officer and a chance to tell a U.S. judge that they were victims of a crime or face abuse or sexual trafficking if they are sent home. If the claim is deemed credible, judges may grant a waiver from immediate deportation. Word of mouth gets back, and now people are calling and saying, ‘This is what I said'” in court, said a senior U.S. law enforcement official, who was not authorized to speak on the record. “Whether it is true or not, the perception is that they are successfully entering the United States…. That is what is driving up the landings.”;
            3. Because you cannot summarily deport anyone, you need to house/detain them in order to let the legal process take its course;
            4. While it would seem ideal to house and detain them closer to the border, this has proven to be untenable due to the humanitarian concerns at issue.
            5. This: “They often turn themselves over to authorities immediately after crossing the river, following the advice of smugglers, friends and relatives, who tell them they will eventually be released and allowed to continue to their destination.”

            “For parents with young children, that has largely been true because the U.S. has only one long-term family detention facility in Pennsylvania, and it’s full. Most parents are handed notices to appear at the immigration office closest to their destination and dropped off at bus stations across the Southwest.”
            6. Read that whole article and you’ll note that this wave of immigrants is – on questionable advice – SURRENDERING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT once across the border. This is a unique and largely unprecedented situation, as undocumented immigrants typically work to avoid law enforcement.

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