Andrew Cuomo
Elected on November 2, 2010, Andrew Cuomo, became the fifty-sixth governor of New York State. Prior to his election Cuomo served as New York State’s top legal officer. Cuomo became known for uncovering fraud within major health insurance companies and for his effort to bring national reform to the student loan industry. Governor Cuomo was appointed by President Bill Clinton as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 1997, where he found the HELP program. The HELP program is a private provider of transitional housing for the homeless of New York State (www.andrewcuomo.com). After his election in 2010, Governor Cuomo has help create several affective initiatives such as the SAGE Commission, the New York Rent Regulation Reform Act, and the Mandate Relief. Governor Cuomo made it clear his top priority as Governor is his commitment to public service, proving that by his efforts to protect investors from abuses on Wall Street and making the Internet safer for children nationwide. He also created the New York Citizen’s Campaign, a website designed to increase the dialogue between himself and the citizen’s. Governor Cuomo displays the leadership skills that are necessary to make a state like New York believe in their government. In the last year the State of New York has seen significant reduction in our current year deficit due to Governor Cuomo’s Executive Budget plan. This plan was made to reduce the year deficit without raising taxes for 2011-2012. The goal of the budget plan was to create a new kind of New York by renovating the states’ government. Governor Cuomo wanted to produce long term savings and better public service for the people. Cuomo quickly realized in order to vhange New York we must first change Albany. “ The new budget will require some difficult decisions. If we make make the smart choices now, and work together, we can change Albany and begin creating good jobs and a better life for our people” (www.governor.ny.gov). To help achieve these goals, Governor Cuomo created the SAGE Commission (Spending and Government Efficiency). The SAGE Comision is a committee of management experts and business leaders that analyze and decide on a strategy that will help consolidate the government and save taxpayers’ money. Cuomo made this commision to assist the fight in renovating the government of New York State into a more accountable and modern government. The Medicaid Redesign Team has also been tasked by the governor to find ways to reduce the cost in the Medicaid program for the 2011- 12 Fiscal Year. The Team constructs polls for the public to get an understanding of how they can increase quality and efficiency. Governor Cuomo has also taken part in launching the Mandate Relief program for New York. The Mandate Relief Council is an eleven member Executive and Legislative council charged with reviewing and advancing proposals to reduce the statutory and regulatory burden on local governments and school districts. Governor Cuomo signed the law creating the Mandate Relief Council as part of a mandate relief package that will save local governments and school districts more than 125 million dollars. New York State has the highest local taxes in America as a percentage of personal income and also has the second highest combined state and local taxes in the nation. When property taxes were measured as a percentage of home value in 2009, nine out of the top ten counties in the nation were all in upstate New York. Governor Cuomo helped create the Mandate Relief Council to specifically change these statistics. To accomplish this change, the Council is to review specific mandates identied by members of the Council, local governments, or school districts. After