NORWICH – A small crowd made its way to East Park in Norwich Thursday to throw their support behind democrat John Orzel, who is vying for the state senate seat for the 52nd district in the general elections in November.
Orzel, 68, officially announced his candidacy on Wednesday. He is challenging incumbent Sen. Tom Libous, R-Binghamton, who has held the office for 22 years. As a lifelong resident of the Tripple-Cities Broome County area and current resident of Witney Point, Orzel expressed concern among supporters about the direction of the 52nd district and its current representation in state government.
Said Orzel, “Being a member of the state Senate has a duel role; representing you, the constituents of this district, but also representing the residents of the state as a whole. As it should be, it’s all about you and what serves you best. I want to serve you.”
Orzel ran for the same position on the democratic line in 2010, but lost to Libous in the general election.
Orzel is a former teacher of the Whitney Point Central School District, where he taught high school social studies, global studies, economics and government before retiring in 2000. He first stepped foot in the political scene in 1985 as a member of the Whitney Point Village Board of Trustees, followed by three elected terms as Mayor of the Village of Whitney Point, which he served from 1989-1995. More recently, he reappeared in the political spotlight after being elected to the Triangle Town Council in 2000 and again in 2008, before finally resigning from the position this summer to pursue his campaign for state senator.
Orzel has based his platform on three areas that are “of major concern,” which he highlighted in Thursday’s speech.
“I am concerned about the impact that the 2 percent property tax cap has had upon public school education,” said Orzel. “I do not propose eliminating the tax cap. I do advocate that alternative and supplementary sources of revenue to school property taxes be found in financing public school education,” he added.
A second concern, he went on to say, is the issue of natural gas drilling in the area. While not entirely opposed to hydraulic fracturing – a strongly contested debate and political hot-button locally – Orzel stated that should the DEC issue permits for hydraulic fracturing, it’s essential that regulations and enforcement be highly monitored “in order to provide us with the greatest degree of protection,” he said.
Orzel also touched on the issues of mandate relief, noting that he supports examination, evaluation, and “where possible, the elimination of outmoded and unnecessary mandates.”
“These are but three of my major concerns,” he added. “There are so many more (issues) to be considered and addressed.”
In his campaign, Orzel has accused Libous of generating “a fog so thick that it is difficult to see, especially the truth,” citing in his speech allegations of ethical misconduct against the senator, including misuse of campaign funds for legal fees and misuse of his office to promote a downstate law firm in exchange for a job for his son in 2006. Sen. Libous has denied the allegations.