Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia), in response to the deep divide between upstate and downstate New York revealed in the recent elections, is renewing his push for his “Two New Yorks” legislation, numbered A00391. This legislation would permit counties to place an initiative on the ballot to poll citizens on whether or not they want to see New York separated into two states. Hawley believes this is an important first step toward true representation for upstate New York.

“These recent elections have made one thing clear: New York City has a tight grip on the electoral politics of this state, and it is not working for upstate New York. Longtime upstate New Yorkers are being driven out of the state they were raised in because of oppressive taxes and the lack of well-paying jobs,” said Hawley. “I’ll be making my ‘Two New Yorks’ legislation a top priority to find out if upstate New Yorkers want to take the step to separate from New York City and downstate interests.”

The upstate/downstate divide was made abundantly clear in this year’s gubernatorial elections, where Gov. Cuomo’s entire margin of victory came from New York City alone. He won New York City by 569,278 votes, but only won the election by 480,605 votes. This means that without New York City, he would have lost and New York’s next governor would be someone more aligned with the upstate priorities of lower taxes, a better business climate, and the restoration of Second Amendment rights.