It's that time of year again during the political cycle when candidates are scrambling to demonstrate to the voters their 'accomplishments' during their time in office. Steve Saland, the curent state senator, who is campaigning for yet another term (as if being in office for 32 years isn't long enough) has a challenger this election cycle, hence the daily mailings that his constituents have been receiving outlining his 'accomplishments.' The writers here at the HV News Lies, who maintain their keen analytical skills aren't drinking the Saland kool-aid. Why aren't we? A most recent mailing that was sent out is full of political jargon that is recycled over and over again and is rather...vague.

1) Steve Saland claims to be a 'the highest conservative Senator four of the last five years.' According to who? His most infamous vote which legalized gay marriage is hardly 'conservative.' Though Mr. Saland stated to initially be against legalizing gay marriage, he claimed to have have been 'enlightened' and voted in favor of the bill. This 'enlightenment' may have been in the form of green because the donations he received towards his campaign, especially from gay advocacy groups  increased dramatically ($500,000 dramactically). We also learned that he was in attendence at the wedding for the couple that was wed recently, who coincidently, as Democrats, contributed heavily to Saland's campaign. Mr. Saland also had Governor Cuomo sign a proclamation declaring this couple's wedding day in honor of them which was read at the ceremony by Steve Saland.  Yet, the mailing lacks any detail on his deciding vote on this controversial bill. Why did he omit this detail? Steve Saland also has accepted contributions from liberal groups including SEIU, aka ACORN which controls The Working Families Party. The question is, knowing Steve Saland has been involved with these groups, how can he declare himself as a conservative?

2) He claims to have enacted the first property tax cap. Actually that was a brainchild of Andrew Cuomo and if anyone is familiar with the 2% tax cap perameters, taxes CAN be increased over 2% as long as there is a majority in favor of the increase. The tax cap is not the end solution although Joe Kakish and Ailleen Rohr thought it was when they were interviewed by the Poughkeepsie Journal. It has created another set of problems that is affected by inflation, an increase in costs, salary increases and as we saw, unforseen costs such as last year's storms which caused the need for repairs and clean-ups.

3) Steve Saland claims to have created new jobs in the private sector, specifically using a statistic of 14,000 new jobs in the Hudson Valley. This is rather vague. These are questions that should be asked: How was he responsible for 'creating' these jobs? What kind of jobs were they? What payscale and capacity were these jobs? Were they full-time or part-time? We find it ironic that in a time that the State is encountering financial difficulties and are laying off state employees, he is claiming to 'create' jobs in the private sector and since when was the State responsible for creating jobs in the private sector?

4) Steve Saland claims to have repealed the MTA payroll tax to small businesses and self employed residents.  The MTA payroll tax was not completely abolished, as  certain businesses were exempt from paying this tax. The question is, if Steve Saland was so concerned about the autonomy of New York State from New York City, then how did he allow this controversial bill to pass in the first place and why did he accept campaign contributions from Mayor Bloomberg?

5) He claims to have created the NY-WORKS initiative which is forecasted to bring over 4,000 more jobs to the area. Again, questions should be asked. What kind of jobs? In what area of the economy will these jobs be in? Again, his claim is rather vague...

6) His claim that he 'promised to go to Albany to cut spending, lower taxes and create jobs' is a fallacy.  According to ACCRA Cost of Living Index, New York state ranked #6 on the list of the most expensive states to live in according to MSN: Ten Most Expensive States to Live in. If Steve Saland has been in office for 32 years and during that time New York has not only become on of the most expensive states to live in, but has experienced a downturn in its economy, losing its 'Empire' status, then how is it possible that Steve Salan has kept his 'promise?' The Hudson Valley is a rather expensive area to reside in compared to other areas of the state, which have a lower cost of living. Steve Saland should have been more careful in choosing the verbiage in his campaign literature, because if you read between the lines and use your critical thinking skills, you'll see his rhetoric for what it is...a joke.