Know Your County Legislators: David Pullen

David Pullen is a Republican serving Allegany County District I (Angelica, Belfast, Caneadea, Centerville, Granger, Hume, Rushford). His term, along with all other Allegany County Legislators, expires at the end of 2009. His answers to the email questionnaire rest below:

Where were you born/raised?

I was born in Paterson, NJ, and lived there until I was 10. My family then moved to Blue Point, NY, which is on Long Island. I lived there until I came to college at Houghton College, in Allegany County, NY. This has been home for me ever since, now more than 40 years.

When does your term expire?

My term expires on December 31, 2009.

Do you intend to run for reelection?

At present I am tentatively planning on running for re-election. However, that depends in part on how the economy goes over the next few months. I typically spend between 30 and 40 hours per week on County Legislator duties. That is time that I must take away from the business that I run to support myself and my family. If the economy continues to slide I may have to re-direct my time towards supporting my family.

What is the greatest challenge facing Allegany County today?

Economic development. It would be easy to say that the primary challenge is high taxes. That is certainly a major issue. However, it is my position that the only way we can accomplish a reduction of taxes is through increasing economic activity. I strongly support development of the "Crossroads" area where I-86 and Route 19 intersect. If we can increase the amount of money we collect from Sales Tax we could reduce real property taxes. If new businesses locate in the County they could help absorb some of the burden from homeowners. In addition, reducing operating costs for County government is a major concern. I have attended Union contract negotiations for two years in an effort to seek change and relief on some of the fringe benefits that County employees receive, that most of our residents and taxpayers do not receive from their employment. Those are some major areas of concern and challenge.

Do you approve of Governor Paterson's proposed State Budget and why?

No, I do not approve of it. He has indicated that he is trying to cut the budget to cover the deficit that exceeds $15 billion. However, he and the Legislative leaders then insist that neither Medicaid, Welfare costs nor education can be touched. Our budget has exceeded $120 billion for several years. Our problem is not inadequate funding. The problem is excessive and out of control spending. The proposed budget creates over 100 new taxes and charges. It will simply drive more residents and businesses out of NYS.