Power shift urged in Albany
Businessman calls Bruno and Silver impediments to progress

BINGHAMTON — Electing state Senate Democrats and Assembly Republicans in November may be the best way to reform Albany politics, a Baldwinsville businessman said Wednesday.

Mark Bitz, president of Plainville Turkey Farm, is urging voters statewide to shift power in the state Legislature to take influence out of the hands of its longtime leaders — Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno — who Bitz believes are the biggest impediments to progress.

“The people we elect are irrelevant. They have no power,” Bitz told the Press & Sun-Bulletin editorial board on Wednesday. “The power resides at the top.”

Bitz published a book in March called “Creating a Prosperous New York State: Making Elected Officials Accountable for New York State’s Performance Relative to Other States.”

He also maintains a Web site (www.freenys.org).

The time is Now!