2010 Senate District 33 – Democratic Primary

Gustavo Rivera is the former director of outreach for U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and a former part-time adjunct lecturer at Pace University.  Rivera’s top priority, in contrast to the record of the incumbent, Senator Pedro Espada Jr., is to open up a district office in a timely fashion as he believes that being accessible to constituents is of paramount importance.  Rivera also emphasized the importance of bringing responsible economic development to his district.  Rivera, for example, plans on getting involved immediately in the Kingsbridge Armory debate because he believes that leadership from the Senate is needed on the issue in order to bring necessary economic development and jobs to the district.  Other top priorities for Rivera include making healthcare more accessible and improving education in the district.  With regard to reform, Rivera supports the creation of an independent redistricting commission.  Rivera stated that he does not support distributing member item equally among elected officials but does support making the process more transparent and efficient.  Rivera is a young and energetic candidate that has a thorough understanding of the issues affecting his district.  Citizens Union was impressed by Rivera’s knowledge of reform issues and his ideas for bringing change to Albany.  For these reasons, CU has chosen to prefer Gustavo Rivera.

Daniel Padernacht is a lawyer and a lifelong resident of the district.  Padernacht is running for senate because he believes he has the right skill set and greatest knowledge of the district to help its residents.  Quality of life issues would be a top priority for Padernacht, such as increasing available parking within the district.  He also would seek to improve education.  Padernacht stressed the importance of bringing transparency and openness to government and plans on publishing explanations of his votes on his website.  With regard to reform issues, Padernacht has not fully developed his views on many issues critical to Citizens Union.  His questionnaire was incomplete and he deferred on taking positions on concepts, preferring to withhold judgment until reviewing specific bills.  It was difficult to determine, for example, the extent of his support for an independent redistricting commission.  When asked why he would be a better senator than the incumbent, Senator Espada, Padernacht stated that he would be a different kind of senator rather than a better senator.  Given that Padernacht is still considering his position on issues of great importance to Citizens Union, we do not prefer him.