>> Coming up on "Need To Know," he refers to himself as Reagan
in living color and wants the republican nomination for
Governor.
He's Randy Daniels and we'll be talking with him.
>> And we report on an emerging environmental and health
concern that could affect hundreds of previously closed
environmental hazardous sites here and across the state.
>> We also have our weekly business report.
Stay here for "Need To Know."
[Captioning Made Possible by WXXI]
>> Thanks for joining us.
You listen to randy Daniels talk and you can hear traces of
Ronald Reagan.
Albanyís too big, Albany spends too much, Albany needs
To be cut down to size.
Even wants to apply that call for government reduction to the
local level.
We're going to get at that later.
But Daniels, a republican candidate for Governor, after a
career as a broadcast journalist went to work for democrats
like former New York city mayor David Dinkins.
But Daniels has had a change of political heart.
And by 2001 he was appointed New York's secretary of state by
republican George Pataki.
Now Mr. Daniels wants to replace him.
We welcome in gubernatorial candidate randy Daniels.
Thanks for being here.
>> Pleasure to be here with you.
>> Let's start with this question about your conversion.
You said it was your experience covering Ronald Reagan as a
journalist, as a reporter that drew you to conservatism.
I'm curious.
You work for democrats after Reagan left office.
Was in a slow conversion?
>> I've been a democrat most of my life but always a
conservative democrat.
Yes, it has been a slow but steady journey.
Because you have to look back to review your life of the things
you believe and compare them with the knowledge that you have
today.
And I believe that Ronald Reagan was right when he said that
the government is too big, it spends too much and needs to be
cut down to size.
That's one of our primary problems in New York.
Our government is too big at every level and we can't afford it
I agree with Ronald Reagan also when he said that we are a
great nation with a great people and we are too great to be
limited to small dreams.
We don't think big enough in New York again.
And that's one of our problems.
And that's one of the things I want to deal with in solving our
problems.
>> As a conservative, somebody running as a conservative, this
is a state that's 5-3 in enrollment advantage for democrats.
People whom you would think would be deciding on a more liberal
basis.
How do you appeal to those who don't -- who aren't
Republicans?
How do you feel outside of the base?
>> I think you talk straight to people.
You give them common sense solutions to their problems.
You don't panned tore them.
You don't tell them what they want to hear.
You tell New Yorkers what they need to hear.
That's what I've been doing all over the state.
I'm getting a reaction to it.
Not just with republicans, not just with conservatives, but
with democrats, with independents, up state and down state all
over the state.
I was secretary of state of New York.
For almost five years.
I know this state.
I understand its people.
I understand its problems.
And the only republican rung for Governor whose actually run
the government of New York
>> What do we need to hear?
>> That we are living beyond our means.
That we cannot sustain the spending that we are currently at.
And we want to spend more this year.
And that we are taking too much from our children.
We are the first generation of New Yorkers who are on the
precipice of not being able to give to our children a life
better than our parents gave to us.
That's never happened before.
We are a better people than that.
We're capable of more than that.
But first what we must do is get our fiscal house in order.
And that starts with stopping the explosion in spending.
>> Of course, for the last 10 plus years, a republican, a
person who ran as a republican conservative has been the
Governor.
Why will people look at randy Daniels, a republican
conservative, and say something is going to change this time as
opposed to the last 10 years when it didn't change at all.
>> First of all, I'm not George Pataki.
I'm randy Daniels.
I speak for me.
We are different people with very, very different
personalities.
>> Are you disappointed in Pataki's performance?
>> No, I think George Pataki has been a good Governor.
I think he must be judged bitter I can't in which he governed.
That is Ayer I can't in which they had a veto-proof which could
bring government to a halt.
I intend to extend true party democracy to every corner of in
this state.
>> How?
>> First of all, you've got to reorganize the republican
party.
And force the republican party to compete everywhere.
We have made a conscience decision as a party not to do that.
I believe that's been a strategic blunder for us.
I believe that's where our base is declining in addition to the
fact that economic factors here in upstate New York have caused
a significant decline of the population in the last 10 years,
500,000 people have left upstate New York because of the
economy.
Because of our inability to take the bold steps that are
necessary to transform New York.
Now, there's been a lot of tinkering around the edges.
Well-meaning programs designed to help foster economic
development to attract investment and create jobs.
But tinkering around the edges will not solve New York's
problem.
That's what makes me different from everybody who's running.
On both sides of the aisle.
I've offered bold solutions to our problems.
But it will take a commitment from the people of New York to
take the government back and make sure that the changes that
I'm talking about, cutting taxes -- dramatically so.
Dramatically reducing the size of government.
I'm the only one that's called for a freeze of the budget for
three years at its current spending level
>> All right.
>> That's how you get there
>> First I want to ask about the republican party.
Steve is backing William.
Why is your candidate backing the party?
>> He's happy with him that's fine.
>> Why arenít you happy with him?
>> I think I'd make a better Governor.
I understand the state.
William well has never done anything for anybody in New York
ever.
Ok?
Why should he be Governor of City of New York just because he
woke up and decided he he'd like to be Governor?
You need a rational for running.
My rational is very simple.
I believe that I can bring the greatness back to New York that
we have always exhibited over the years.
I believe that we have to go through a transformation process
in this state.
I know what that process is.
I understand what the impediments to our long-term fiscal and
economic health are and how you deal with it.
And I'm prepared to go out and build a majority that will force
Albany to begin to make these changes.
The people -- listen, this is very important point here.
The people are in charge.
Not the government.
And it's time for the people to take their government back.
And if you want change, that's what's going to be required.
Simply changing Governors is not sufficient if the policies do
not change and we don't get a new mandate that is necessary to
bring sweeping change to Albany.
Without a new mandate from the people, it won't happen.
>> In upstate New York the Rochester business alliance
president sandy parker has said we're in trouble.
We need help.
And if we can't get reform for things like workers comp costs,
we're going to ask for upstate to be exempt.
Would you exempt upstate New York from these laws?
>> I understand the challenge.
But I don't think that's how we get to where we need to go.
We need a comprehensive solution from New York.
>> Statewide
>> Statewide.
It does not make sense to carve out regions for special
programs.
Special programs aren't going to get us where we need to be.
Repealing the wicks law and reforming compensation, these are
things that need to be done but this is not going change life
in New York.
This is what I want you to understand.
What I want the people to understand.
Our problems are deeper than that.
Our problems start with we spend more money than we're taking
in and we cannot afford to live at the level that we're
living.
That is a reality.
And until the people except that -- no.
The people keep demanding more.
There's not more to give so what I'm saying is let's have a
reality check here.
Let's look at what we're spending.
Let's look at what our real revenues are.
And let us stop believing that we can simply pass laws and take
the money out of --
>> He'd say we need help if it we can't convince people
downstate to do it, then we need exemptions, we need upstate to
be exempt so we can compete, we're in a troubled time
>> Exempt from what?
>> Wicks, scaffold, workers' comp.
>> A lot of people would like to be exempt from wicks.
It is true it adds new cost to construction.
But I reformed the building code in this state three years ago and
brought us the international building code.
That has reduced the costs of construction statewide by almost
20%.
New York city is the only area of the state that it doesn't
apply to because they have home rule.
But understand these are good ideas but they're not big
enough.
They're not bold enough.
They're not comprehensive enough to change your life and the
people who live on your street.
>> Let's talk about an idea you wrote about in the "The New
York Post."
You called for a look at major consolidation of local
governments in upstate New York.
Tell me why.
>> I called for major consolidation of government at every
level in every corner of New York.
Not just upstate New York.
This isn't an upstate problem
>> Did you mention upstate.
>> It's part of New York.
Here's the problem.
Let me state it for you as clearly as possible.
We have less people in New York but we have 90,000 more people
working in the government sector than we did when our
population was almost a million more than we had now.
So the only thing growing in New York is government.
Ok?
The population growth that we're getting is only coming from
immigration.
That is largely to New York city.
The upstate population has drop by 500,000 people.
People are voting in New York with their feet.
They're leaving.
They're leaving for opportunity.
But they're also leaving because they cannot afford to live
here
>> You talked about we should go ahead and have the sit-down
with local government officials, hammer out an agreement based
on the same principles used to downsize federal military
installation and decide which local governments have to merge.
In Monroe county merging government has been especially for
republicans up here we like government at the local level.
We don't want to merge because we want a representative close
to the people.
How do you reconcile the two?
>> You have to be able to pay for it every good republican
ought to believe in sound, fiscal policy first and foremost.
I believe that the solutions to most problems lie closest to
where people are.
But we have governments at the local level in New York that
cannot be sustained by the tax base that they have.
We've got to move toward sharing of services.
This is very, very important.
We cannot have local government just so a few people can have a
job in the public sector.
We have to have cities and towns and villages that are viable
and can deliver services and protect their people.
The first obligation of any government is to protect your
people.
If you can't afford a fire department and a police department
and your tax base can sustain it, then you have to look to your
neighbor and join forces.
This isn't about egos.
And this isn't about politicians.
This is about an efficient system of government that people can
afford to pay for.
>> I have about one minute left.
You said Elliot Spitzer persecuted C.E.O.'s and created a
climate of corporate fear in New York.
Could you explain what you meant?
>> No question about it.
I have said that I have three major problems with Eliot Spitzer
as my Governor.
His temperament, his judgment, and his lack of maturity.
I don't believe you call up corporate leaders of New York and
threaten them.
Because you don't like what they say about you in public.
That is inappropriate for a public official.
>> You're not talking about his activities --
>> I am talking about his activities.
It doesn't have to be done that way.
You don't have to destroy a company in order to save it.
You don't have to erode shareholder value because you want
press coverage as opposed to negotiating the solution that
solves the problem and saves jobs.
You don't kill companies.
You don't kill jobs.
You don't kill dreams to build up your political career.
And I believe that has been a byproduct of what he has done.
Enforcing the law is not issue.
It is enforcing the law and trying to politically benefit from
it that's the problem
>> Thank you very much for being with us.
Gubernatorial candidate randy Daniels.
We had previous discussions with some of the other candidates
for Governor within easy access.
Just go to the web.
Head to the political notebook.
Our website on politics and government, you'll find
conversations with republicans.
Politicalnotebook.org.
We want your feedback.
Email us or you can call our response line.
258-0250.
>> It's not a household term, not yet.
But the more state, health and environmental officials learn
about it the more worried they are about the potential impact
that vapor intrusion could have on communities throughout New
York.
"Need To Knowís" Julie Philip reports many of these communities
are in Monroe and nearby areas.
>> Let's go first to Genesee county.
It's the site of one of the largest toxic spills ever in
western New York.
Cleaning it all up was out of the question.
But public water lines were eventually installed to replace
contaminated wells and the case was closed.
But recent research indicates ground water contamination was
not the only threat.
Another problem may have been unwittingly ignored.
This happened on December 7, 1970.
More than 35 years ago.
>> We knew.
>> There was a major spill.
>> Nobody ever talked to us about it or said what was in the
cars or anything else.
>> Tom still lives around the corner from the accident site.
He was the first to notify authorities that something might be
terribly wrong.
>> It was the smell of the water.
You could smell it in the water.
>> None of the area was served by public water.
So everybody was on the domestic well
>> Ray is a local politician with an interest and a degree in
geology.
As the contamination spread several miles and more and more
homes were being affected, he was occasionally called in to
offer advice to his neighbors.
>> Within the first few years after the spill they were angry
and still trying to get something done.
Now they seem to be resigned and depressed about it.
>> I'm sure it's taken pressure off of people.
Think they've forgotten about it.
>> But this old wound is about to be re-opened.
Families around here might no longer be drinking this chemical
but there is a chance they are breathing it in.
>> Vapor intrusion is really one you have harmful or volatile
substances in the ground.
The vapors from those substances make their way up through the
ground into people's homes, places of business.
>> All buildings, even new ones, have flaws in the
foundations.
So that's an opening.
For these vapors to migrate through.
Also, there's normal ventilation of a build are or house.
Sometimes creates a negative pressure in the house.
Almost like a chimney.
It would draw these contaminants through these cracks and
crevasses.
And into the house.
>> Until 2003 environmental and health officials nationwide
were not all that worried about vapor intrusion.
So it was typically ignored during the cleanup of toxic waste.
>> What elevated that concern was E.P.A. and these other
agencies were finding more contaminants than they expected.
When they looked at a bigger picture of what was next to the
house or what the conditions of the ground water is, it was
like the light bulb went off and they said, oh there is a
correlation here.
>> We were going to revisit sites that had been previously
considered to be closed to see if vapor intrusion was a problem
>> These sites include the train wreck in Le Roy.
But there are many, many others.
>> Certainly thousands probably.
We're not there yet.
We're still identifying all of those sites.
I don't even want to take a Gus at what the final number is
going to be.
>> The state is re-examining more than 30 inactive cases in
Monroe and the surrounding counties and nearly 400 more
elsewhere.
It is going to be a difficult and expensive process.
Millions?
>> Oh sure.
Yeah.
Well in excess of that, well in excess of that.
>> Billions?
>> That I don't know.
But you're talking about an awful lot of money.
>> One other unknown?
Exactly how many people might be affected and who they are.
>> Although no one we know.
It would serve absolutely no purpose at all to send out general
pronouncements that there may be a problem somewhere in your
neighborhood that doesn't do anybody any good.
>> If you think this sounds a lot like radon gas, it is.
And it isn't.
I talked to Rick Elliott of the Monroe county health
department.
He said these man-made chemicals are a trickier to track than
radon, a natural liquoring gas
>> Radon is associated with certain areas of the state based on
the geology.
So we kind of know where the elevated radon levels
are.
Again, it's similar in that it's a long-term health impact.
>> We contacted the New York state help department to talk
about this potential threat to public health since they are
partnering with the D.E.C. on the vapor intrusion program.
But the state health department declined an interview.
Elliott who again works for the Monroe county health
department, offered to give some general information about
vapor intrusion.
He says hundreds of different chemicals might cause vapor
intrusion problems, even at levels so low you cannot smell them
in your home or office.
>> Someone wouldn't even be aware that they are being exposed
to them but the levels can be high enough that there could be a
chronic health effect.
Exposure to low level of chemical over a long period of time.
It causes health problems.
The types of problems were depending on the chemicals.
>> There are plenty of other factors that contribute to the
health risk as well.
For instance, a person's age, genetic makeup and lifestyle all
play a role in whether or not you get sick from these
chemicals.
So the fact officials are re-examining old waste sites does not
necessarily mean there is a higher cancer risk or a greater
threat of liver disease in these areas.
The health problems will be very site specific.
It will take months if not longer to determine what types of
problems if any exist.
And, Elliott reminds us that the chemicals in question can be
found in cleaners, paint thinners, spot removers, common
products you bring into your home.
>> A lot of these chemicals are chemicals that we use in a home
so it's not like we're not being exposed to them.
Gasoline, every time you pump gasoline, you're breathing in.
It's a matter of exposure and risk and known exposure and
unknown exposures.
Trying eliminate these unknown expose yours -- exposures as
much as we can.
>> And that is the bottom line.
There are still a lot of unknowns when it comes to vapor
intrusion.
And the specific risks it poses to local families.
>> If you'd like to learn more about vapor intrusion, visit the
station website, wxxi.org.
Then go to public newsroom or post some websites on the topic
in the "Need To Know" section.
Let's turn to the business section with the business section.
>> Joining us is business reporter for "the democrat and
chronicle."
To have you with us, Dave.
>> Thanks for having me.
>> We're going to focus on Xerox and its focus on color today.
Something a little different.
I'm kind of interested in the history of color which you know a
lot about at Xerox.
>> It's kind of ironic, almost.
Xerox has had color machines for 40 years.
But in some ways they are partially responsible for restricting
the growth of color in the office.
Typewriters used to have a red underlining ribbon on them to
make the copy stand out.
And when Xerox's machines, black and white machines, starting
coming out --
>> People loved them.
>> People loved them.
It wasn't reproducing that color.
Eventually the typewriter companies figured why make that red
ribbon and it was gone.
Now Xerox is looking to stake its future on that color down the
road.
>> 2001 I think it was they started this big push
>> Right.
It's really hit its stride in the last year in 2005 they
released dozens of new machines that had color capabilities.
You probably have seen some of the ads on TV.
They're spending millions to buy ads online in print, and on of
it it
>> But, and this was an interesting statistic, only 8% of their
pages out of all the Xerox copiers, only 8% of the pages
produce ready in color.
>> That's right.
That's doubled from about two years ago.
And it's also a huge opportunity, meaning there's a lot of room
for growth in that sector.
If only 8% the pages are printed that way, Xerox see that as a
way to horn in and make a little more money.
>> What's keeping it down?
Although you said it's doubled recently, it's still a fairly
low number.
What's keeping it down?
>> Partially it's still the cost at this point.
Xerox likes to throw the statistic out that a color page is
about five times as profitable as a black and white page.
And that's good for Xerox but not necessarily good for us or
The office manager trying to control the costs.
They would much rather use the cheaper black and white and save
a little money.
>> So they're going to try to convince people that it's more
the extra cost.
>> Right.
And they have teams of people who are out showing customers how
they can use color effectively in documents.
Teaching them how to lay documents out with color.
How to use it.
Without it looking as one Xerox scientist told me, like a color
version of a ransom note, keeping things clean.
And hoping to get people into color that way.
>> So it's a real push.
If you look at all the other technologies coming out here,
computer printers, cell phones, explore big, everywhere.
>> Right.
Color became adopted in those fields because the price came
down.
Now you're looking at five to eight cents a page for color
printing where a few years ago it was 20 to 30 cents a page.
That's starting to drive that adoption as well.
>> So we are going to start seeing even though Xerox says this
is where the profit, this is where the growth is prices have
got start come downing a bit in addition to people using it
more.
And part of the way that's going to happen in this competition
is Xerox is starting to see a bit of that many
>> Xerox is not the only company with these ideas.
Their competitors are Ken and Rico.
>> And the folks across town as well.
>> Aand Kodak with theirs in the production space have all had had the same idea
essentially
>> Does Xerox have a strategy to deal with this competition?
>> They are aggressively engaging on some of the low end
pricing structures.
They introduced a solid ink printer -- excuse me, multifunction
printer, scanner, copier.
They already bumped the price down
>> They're being aggressive.
Thanks so much.
>> Thank you.
>> "the business section" can be had on demand when you want
it.
Audio podcast of this and past business section discussions are
available at democratandchronicle.com.
>> That's our report.
Next week we sit down with a man appointed to be Rochester's
next police chief, David Moore.
Join us then.
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