From:
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=466343&category=STATE&new\
sdate=3/30/2006
via: http://www.upstateblog.net/weblog/archives/2006/03/more_from_the_c.php

Spitzer slams Bush policies
Gubernatorial hopeful touts record on environment as he leads rivals in new
poll

By ELIZABETH BENJAMIN, Capitol bureau
Thursday, March 30, 2006

ALBANY -- Democratic gubernatorial front-runner Eliot Spitzer outlined an
environmental policy Wednesday focusing on renewable energy, cleaning the
Hudson River and beefing up staffing at the state Department of
Environmental Conservation.

Speaking to a friendly audience of about 200 people at WAMC's Linda Norris
Auditorium, Spitzer railed against President Bush, whose policies have
angered many environmentalists.

The state attorney general called Bush "hands down the worst president on
environmental and energy issues that this country has ever seen" and said it
will be increasingly up to state and local governments to safeguard their
own air, water and land.

Spitzer said he has sued the Bush administration "no less than 17 times to
block their attempts to dismantle our environmental protection laws."

He called for more incentives for renewable energy such as solar, hydro and
wind power, and said the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Westchester
County should be closed as soon as replacement sources can be found for the
2,000 megawatts it produces.

Spitzer praised Republican Gov. George Pataki's open space conservation
efforts, which include a goal to protect 1 million wilderness acres. But, he
said, more preservation needs to be done in urban and suburban areas.

Spitzer also called for "adequate" staffing at the DEC, saying that with 800
fewer employees today than in the mid-1990s, inspection and oversight jobs
go unfilled.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found Spitzer leading fellow
Democrat Tom Suozzi, 69 percent to 14 percent among Democrats. A January
Quinnipiac poll had Spitzer leading the Nassau County executive 72 percent
to 8 percent.

Spitzer and Suozzi both polled ahead of the Republican hopefuls: former
Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, former state Assembly Minority Leader John
Faso and former state Secretary of State Randy Daniels. The poll showed Faso
passing Weld, 22 percent to 16 percent, with Daniels at 8 percent.

The poll of 1,674 voters was conducted March 21-27 and has a 2 point margin
of error overall, 3.7 points among Democrats and 4.2 percent among
Republicans.

Elizabeth Benjamin can be reached at
454-5081 or by e-mail at
ebenjamin@ timesunion.com