GOP hopeful kicks off his bid

WEST CARTHAGE — New York can avoid financial peril if its state legislators spend less, take a "top down" approach to job cuts and work to shrink the size and scope of government, a Republican state Assembly candidate said Wednesday.

Kenneth D. Blankenbush, Black River, said these are "the values of the north country." They are also, without coincidence, the most popular principles of the tea party movement.

The Jefferson County Legislature chairman began courting the fledgling group's support even before the more moderate Dierdre K. Scozzafava decided not to seek a seventh term representing the 122nd Assembly District.

Even though the Gouverneur Republican isn't running, Mr. Blankenbush said the tea partiers can make a difference in this election.

"They have a message that the elected officials better start listening to," he said after officially kicking off his campaign at Keddy's, 15 Bridge St. "They're concerned about losing their liberty. They're concerned about paying taxes. And I believe our elected officials better start paying attention to what they're saying, because their message is strong, and it's the right message."

Mr. Blankenbush is also a social conservative, saying Wednesday that he's anti-abortion and opposed to same-sex marriage.

Ideally, he said, he'd like similarly minded Republicans to win seats in Jefferson County: the 118th Assembly District, the 48th Senate District and the 23rd Congressional District.

But Mr. Blankenbush said he didn't care "if you have a D or a R at the end of your name. You have to work with the people that the voters said you're going to work with."

The Assembly is composed of 105 Democrats and 42 Republicans, so Mr. Blankenbush won't be able to accomplish anything without support from the other side of the aisle.

The county lawmaker wasn't worried.

"I did that as chairman," he said. "I feel like I can go down and get consensus there, too."

Mr. Blankenbush said he would join the Republican conference in opposing the Assembly's budget proposal to borrow up to $2 billion annually to fix the state's finances.

"We've got to go to Albany and cut those credit cards up and start paying as we go," he said.

He also advocated for a flat percentage cut across all agencies, although he admitted he did not have a specific number in mind.

"We have to look at the top and we have to say, 'Do we need that position? How much are we paying for that position?' And if we don't, we've got to get rid of that position," he said. "They're getting six-digit incomes down there, and I'd like to know what they do to earn that. And if, in fact, they're not earning their money, we ought to get rid of them."

Mr. Blankenbush also objected to the state's sweep of revenue from snowmobile registrations, which is supposed to be used for trail improvements, to pay general fund expenses. He'd also like the state to stop taxing phones for emergency dispatching in areas where it's no longer being handled by the state police.

The owner of B.E.L. Associates, a Watertown insurance and financial services firm, said he will put $30,000 of his own funds into the race. The business owner said the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee has offered its assistance, but will "stay neutral" until after a potential primary.