Three reasons to vote Pataki

GAY RIGHTS

Pataki heavily lobbyed in favor of a gay rights bill that had languished in the state Senate for many years due to the opposition of Senate Leader Joseph Bruno. In 2003, Bruno finally gave in; the bill passed the Senate and was signed into law by Pataki. Bruno also admitted in the spring of 2009 (while out-of-power and facing trial on corruption charges) that he personally favored same-sex marriage but never brought it the floor of the State Senate because the majority of his conference was against it, stating "This is America, and we have inalienable rights... Life is short, and we should all be afforded the same opportunities and rights to enjoy it."

HEALTHCARE:

Under the Pataki Administration a number of new health care programs were created focusing on expanding care to the state's poorest citizens. In 1999, Governor Pataki signed into law comprehensive health care legislation that provided health insurance coverage, under Family Health Plus, to lower income adults who do not have health insurance through their employers. Child Health plus greatly expanded coverage for poorer families with children under 19 who did not qualify for Medicaid. By 2001, 530,000 children had been enrolled in the program. Family Health Plus would expand insurance coverage even further, offering free insurance to families and single adults who had too much income to be covered by Medicaid but could not afford insurance. Pataki also increased the affordability and availability of medication for seniors under New York's EPIC program by lowering fees and expanding eligibility. New York's 2003 ban on smoking in public places was passed and signed into law under the Pataki administration in the hopes that it would promote better health in New York and reduce health care cost overtime. Accessing his twelve years in office, The New York Times ran an editorial praising his work on health care.

Environment:
Pataki has long been regarded as an environmentalist and he has made the environment and open space preservation a top priority of his administration. He has long cited that Theodore Roosevelt is his political hero for his work as a conservationist. Pataki has conserved more land statewide and has pushed bond issues in referendums that provided more money to preserve land and clean up the state's rivers and lakes. He has been a long-standing advocate for cleaning up the Hudson River and in pushing stricter environmental regulations and penalties.

In 2005, Bloomberg Businessweek placed George Pataki among the 20 individuals it commended for their personal efforts to combat global warming, citing his Greenhouse Gas Task Force and efforts to increase New York's usage of renewable energies.

In 1996, Pataki oversaw the creation and passage of the Clean Water/Clean Air Environmental Bond Act. The act put forth $1.75billion for over 2,200 environmentally minded projects throughout the state. Projects were focused on improving drinking water quality, closing landfills, investing in recycling programs, cleaning up New York's polluted waterways, funding cleanup of Brownfields and clean-air projects. During his tenure, Pataki added over 1 million acres to the entirety of the protected open spaces of New York. He also worked to protect the drinking water of millions of New Yorkers through the Catskill Watershed Agreement. Through the agreement, the numerous small communities that surround the 19 reservoirs that provide drinking water for New York City received $1 billion in aid to assuage environmental issues and promote local development in return for accepting higher standards of environmental regulations to better protect the reservoirs. On Pataki's final day in office, The New York Times ran an editorial evaluating his twelve years as governor and praised his work on the environment. While the Times praised his work on health care and the environment,

He's to the left of Hillary on a lot of these issues.

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