46th Congressional District — Incumbent State Sen. Neil D. Breslin will face two Democratic challengers this year for the party’s nomination in Tuesday’s primary for the 46th District Senate seat.

Breslin, 66, is seeking his seventh two-year term in office, and this is the first time he has faced a primary.

His Democratic opponents are Charlie Voelker, 44, who lives in Delmar, and David Weiss, 52, of the small Albany County hamlet of Medusa.

neil breslin

Democrat Breslin said now that he’s running for his seventh term, he is convinced the Democrats will be in the majority in the state Senate. They are two seats shy going into the election.

“I would like to be there to play an integral part in universal health care in New York state and an integral part in how we deal with education,” he said on Thursday from his office at the Capitol.

“As an example, I would mandate for the 150 high-needs school districts mandatory pre-K, full-day kindergarten and small classes to be paid for at the state level.” Breslin said the programs would eventually reduce crime by giving children a positive start in school and targeting their needs early.

He said the state needs a “circuit breaker” to limit property taxes so they are fair on the elderly, those on fixed incomes and younger people.

“I believe there has to be a surcharge on those who make more than $10,000 a week. They were taxed two years ago and the state received $2 billion.”

His opponents say the job should be full time and they question Breslin’s role as counsel with the Albany firm of Hiscock & Barclay while he serves in the Senate.

But Breslin said he works longer and harder than most people in the Capitol, estimating he works an average of 80 hours a week as senator.

He left the law firm of Girvin & Ferlazzo in June 2007 and said he did not know about the relationships the law firm had with school districts in the Capital Region. The firm has faced nearly half a million in fines from state authorities after state officials concluded that BOCES had incorrectly listed Girvin & Ferlazzo lawyers as employees in order to earn state pension credits.

Breslin is a ranking minority member of the Insurance Committee and has served on the Executive Committee of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators for years.

He said he’s passed more legislation in 12 years than any other Democrat in the Senate. This past term he sponsored the Harriman package, which would have provided millions of dollars in aid to the city of Albany; Gov. David Paterson vetoed the bill.

charles voelker

Voelker, making his first run for elected office, is associate athletic director at the University at Albany and in his job he handles external revenue opportunities.

He believes state government is driving business and young people out of New York and the state should be run like a business. He said that Breslin has been part of the “tax and spend regime.”

“I think we need a full-time senator and someone who will go out and pursue revenue opportunities and corporate partnership opportunities, instead of taxes being the solution for all the problems,” said Voelker.

The big issue is the economy, Voelker said. “It goes right back down to taxes and special interest money. They are so mired in special interest, they [legislators] make no decisions for anyone.”

Voelker said if elected, he’ll work full time and would pursue businesses to partner with the state to generate revenue and jobs for the Capital Region to alleviate some of the tax burden.

He’d support a health care plan similar the one in Massachusetts, where everyone must have health insurance, either through an employer or an individual policy.

“We have to stop special interest monies, one of the biggest problems we have,” Voelker said.

david weiss

Weiss, 52, sells radiant heat and is president of New York Farmers Windpower LLC, a wind development business.

He has two young children and said their futures are dim if the status quo remains in the state Legislature.

“I don’t see leadership and vision in the state and district,” he said.

The biggest issues facing the electorate are property taxes, health care and energy, said Weiss.

Weiss wants to pass a Community Based Energy Development legislation to help establish locally owned energy companies that would help produce jobs for local people, and create lower electricity costs for schools, hospitals and manufacturers and municipalities.

Albany county and the city of Albany spend more than $200 million on municipal electricity, said Weiss, who proposes building a wind farm in the Helderbergs to generate municipal electricity. “If we can do it, it would pay for itself very quickly. The city could save $200 million.”

Weiss said he would also like single-payer universal health care without the insurance company and he supports the circuit breaker for property tax relief.

Individuals who make half a million a year should pay more of their fair share of taxes, he said. “Corporate tax reform must occur,” he said.

“The reason I’m running is I truly feel the district needs real focus and a progressive vision,” said Weiss, who said he was one of the original members of Greenpeace when it formed in 1975 and also worked with and remains a key advisor to Rainforest Action Network.

He said he is an activist, not a politician. “I feel being an elected public servant is about empowering your constituents and holding town hall meetings to reveal problems and listening to the public who also have solutions.”

The 46th Senate district includes all of Albany County and the job pays $79,000 annually.