New York Republican State Committee

History

The New York Republican State Committee was established in 1855, one year after the founding of the "Republican Party" by William H. Seward and Thurlow Weed. Initially, the committee met every three years to plan the Republican National Convention and it occasionally met during the election campaigning periods.

The establishment of the Republican Party in New York in the 1850s was a difficult task. At the time, the nativist American Party, (a party evolved from the Know Nothing Party) was active. However, the committee presented nominees from a party with well-recognized members, a defined set of principles, stable, powerful, well-known leaders and a well established structure. The committees nominees were first successful in 1856. Around 1894, when immigration was at its peak, the New York State Constitution created a clause which caused upstate New York to have reappointed districts so that there would be more votes per district. This gave native New Yorkers more votes than immigrants. It was not until 1974 that the US Supreme Court deemed this clause unconstitutional. This created a turmoil in the politics of New York because the Republican party lost its hold on the state legislature. Since 1959, Nelson Rockefeller (1959-73) and George Pataki (1995-2006) were the only two major Republican governors of New York.

Until 1911, the New York Republican State Committee nominated its candidates through a primary or caucus system. This system meant the average voter had very little input as to who would be their choice for the state and federal offices. This system was taken out of practice after the passing of the Direct Primary Law in 1911, which allowed for more input from those present at the primary.

Small business and agriculture

The committee, like its national body, promotes agriculture as an industry to strengthen the state economy via its "flow on" effect. It cites the benefits to employment, small business and the food industry as well as development of arable land for marketing.

Ethics

Senator Andrew Lanza, the chairman of the Ethics Committee, sponsored the Public Integrity Reform Act of 2011 which was signed into law in the week of August 14, 2011. The Act focuses on financial disclosure of businesses and lobbyists and penalties for non-compliance.

Energy

The committee promotes PACE financing for the purchase of clean energy infrastructure by New York citizens. Up front costs may be diffused over many years.

Electricity

The committee supports the construction of a smart grid in New York to provide cost and efficiency benefits in the supply of power.

Natural gas

The New York Republican State Committee encourages the use of marcellus shale in southern New York for extraction of natural gas. In 2008, Governor David Paterson approved the extension of the drilling area and protections for property owners.

Taxes

The committee agreed with the passing of the bipartisan "Job Creation and Retention Package" on 19 January 2011, where concessions were given to small business employers. The committee proposed a cap on school property tax excluding new properties.

Health care

The New York Republican State Committee opposes all government-run healthcare. Instead, it supports competition between health care providers in the private sector. The committee also suggests specialised medical malpractice courts or "health courts".

County committee

New York State has 62 counties. Every two years, in each county, Republicans elect a "Republican County Committee". The chair of each county committee is the face of the Republican Party in that county. New York also has 150 Assembly districts. Republicans elect one male and one female leader in each district. The district leaders form the executive committee of the respective county committee. The chair and the executive committee seek new party members; control local finances; find candidates to run for public office and choose the nominee (unless both candidates have petitioned enough signatures to trigger a primary).

State committee

The New York State Republican State Committee is composed of one male and one female representative from each Assembly District. Before each statewide election, the committee organises a party convention and chooses candidates for offices of the state. 60% of the committee's vote is needed to win the party's nomination. If no candidate wins 60% of the committee's vote, the candidates with more than 25 percent of the committee's vote compete in a "primary" which is held in the month of September. A candidate with less than 25 percent of the committee's vote may compete in the "primary" if they have a petition of support of greater than 15000 voters.

The State Committee also elects one National Committeewoman and one National Committeeman to represent the state committee to the Republican National Committee in Washington, D.C. The current National Committee members are Jennifer Saul, a Republican fundraiser and former chairwoman of the New York County Republican Committee, and Lawrence Kadish, a real estate developer from downstate New York.

Current elected officials

The New York Republican Party holds a majority in the New York State Senate and 9 of the state's 27 U.S. House seats.

U.S. House of Representatives

Statewide offices

Notable Legislators