January 31, 2011

Dear Fellow New Yorker:

First, please accept my family's wishes for a happy and prosperous new year. As Carl
Paladino's former campaign manager, I know the campaigns of 2010 were exhausting for
all of us. I wanted to drop you a note of thanks for your support for Carl's candidacy.

We lost at the polls, but we might still see a policy victory: today, Governor Andrew
Cuomo is talking like a fiscal conservative. His ideological shift - if it is for real - can
be attributed to two factors: New York's economic reality and the chorus of grassroots
protest.

I am writing you today because it may be up to the grassroots to deliver conservative

fiscal reform that can cut our taxes and save our State.

So far, Gov. Cuomo has proposed a series of reforms that sound an awful lot like Carl
Paladino:

● An annual cap on the growth of local and school district property taxes at two
percent, or 120 percent of the inflation rate, whichever is lower. (http://nyti.ms/
e4seDy)
● Layoffs of 10,000 to 12,000 state workers, about five percent of the workforce.
(http://on.wsj.com/es4ohu)
● A "storm" of real budget cuts, the first in far too long. One reporter thinks
Cuomo "would exceed the $7 billion in cuts proposed by Carl Paladino." (http://
bloom.bg/hBJVRX)
● Closing a $10 billion budget deficit with no new taxes, fees, or borrowing. (http://
nydn.us/ep0uqc)

Sure, Gov. Cuomo is "talking the talk." But will he "walk the walk" of fiscal
responsibility? We'll soon find out. His State of the State speech will be televised on
Tuesday, February 1st and budget talks will begin thereafter.

But we already have some indications of his resolve.

This month, Cuomo stood his ground on the property tax cap, resisting Democrat
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's push to link the cap to reauthorizing a state law
controlling rents for a million New York City apartments.

Cuomo said no. He wants the two issues dealt with "on their own merits," and he's right.

Cuomo has no draft legislation yet, but the Albany horse-trading has begun. Any tax
cap bill must include mandate relief, and mandates are Speaker Silver's lifeblood. The
Governor must make deep, unilateral cuts to major programs, such as Medicaid, in his
first budget proposals. If he compromises and excludes bloated mandates, a tax cap will
be only a fig leaf to hide this administration's shortcomings.

More leaves worth reading: an onerous State income tax surcharge on New Yorkers
making more than $200,000 - worth more than a billion in state revenues annually - is
set to expire. Much to the chagrin of Speaker Silver, Cuomo insists the surcharge must
sunset, otherwise it's "a new tax and therefore I'm against it."

I know - you really have to pinch yourself. What's next, a pit bull and a baseball bat?

Like you, I oppose the Democrat Party's progressive agenda. Like you, I fought like Hell
to stop Andrew Cuomo's campaign for Governor of New York State. I don't much like
him; I'm still angry about his dirty campaign against Carl.

But, at the risk of a localized lightning strike, I must admit the Governor's early fiscal
moves are conservative, responsible and absolutely necessary.

I think we all agree: we don't need tax caps - we need tax CUTS. That was a key contrast
in Cuomo v. Paladino, and we must never stop calling for tax cuts. But if the new
Governor is unable to show strength when cutting spending, slashing mandates and
enacting a property tax cap, he will never work for tax cuts.

"A property tax cap is the place to start," said Sandy Parker, president and CEO of the
Rochester Business Alliance, and a co-founder of Unshackle Upstate. "It forces the
conversation that has been put off for far too long."

Ms. Parker is right. So here is the question that has kept me awake at night: should Carl's
grassroots supporters cross battle lines and help Cuomo push a conservative fiscal
agenda?

If you are engaged in the political arena only to advance the Republican Party, you might
say no.

If you are active in politics because you desire a fiscally responsible government, you
must say YES.

I am a die-hard Republican who fought in the trenches for Ronald Reagan, Jack Kemp
and Carl Paladino. I'm as conservative as you can get, and last year I spent most of my
time criticizing Andrew Cuomo.

It is starting to look like I may end up eating a few of my words. But I would happily sit for
that meal if the Governor delivers real fiscal reform.
In fact, I am writing to tell you I will work to push Cuomo's fiscal agenda.

Right away, I will contact my legislators and ask them to vote for the two percent
property tax cap, but only if it includes mandate relief for local governments. I'll ask them
to cut spending, not raise taxes, to balance the budget. And I am writing to encourage
you to do the same.

Nobody asked me to do this; nobody has hired me to help. Just because Carl Paladino
lost doesn't make far more responsible fiscal policies any less urgent. I am doing this on
my own accord, at some risk to my conservative credentials.

If you want to stop the rocketing rise of your taxes, I invite you to join me and start by
backing budget cuts and real mandate relief under a two percent property tax cap.

Please telephone, email and FAX your New York State legislators demanding budget cuts
and a property tax cap with fundamental mandate relief. You can easily track down your
representatives' contact information here: http://nymap.elections.state.ny.us/nysboe/.

I also urge you to talk with your family, your neighbors, your co-workers, your grassroots
activist friends, and every New Yorker you come in contact with in the days ahead.
Tell them we have a decent chance that spending cuts - not tax hikes - will balance
our budget and there's a chance for a property tax cap that reigns in runaway State
mandates. But only if they contact their legislators TODAY.

Crossing party lines is what separates partisans from ideologues. I'm a lifelong loyal
Republican, but New York State is dying for tax relief. Spending cuts are first steps and a
property tax cap is just a start, but if we don't start today we'll never achieve our shared
goals of broader fiscal responsibility.

Tax and mandate relief: it's what we believe in. So let's get off the sidelines fight for it.
Thank you for your time and consideration of this vital matter.

Sincerely,
Michael R. Caputo
Buffalo, NY

PS: The lines are being drawn right now in the battle to save our State. Please take a
few minutes out of your day to gain control of your tax burden: contact your New York
State Assemblymember and Senator today via Web at http://nymap.elections.state.ny.us/
nysboe/. I've pasted an example letter below:

---
Assemblymember/Senator NAME
New York State Legislature
Albany, New York

Dear New York Assemblymember/Senator NAME:

New York State faces the most serious financial crisis in our state's history. The upstate
economy is in especially bad shape and people are leaving our state to find jobs and
opportunity elsewhere.

We have the highest taxes and the largest health care, energy and education costs of
any state in the nation. Today New York is unaffordable for the average worker and
unattractive to business. On top of these problems, our state faces a huge budget deficit
because our government has spent beyond its means for a decade.

I did not support Andrew Cuomo in this past election, but as Governor he has announced
a good plan to gain control of our state finances and fix our economy. I know he cannot
get conservative fiscal reform through a progressive legislature alone. He needs citizen
support - and he needs you and the other members of the state legislature to back his
plans.

The time has come to fix what is broken in Albany. As your constituent, I hope and
expect you will actively support spending cuts to close the $10 billion budget deficit - no
new taxes, fees, or borrowing to balance. I also urge you to lock in mandate relief as a
property tax cap requirement - any cap is a sham without mandate relief.

We all need to work together to get New York back on track. With your leadership, we can
create new jobs, control spending and grow our economy. Please keep me informed on
what you are doing to accomplish the two objectives noted above.

Thank you for your time and service.

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME
ADDRESS
CITY, NY ZIP