Paterson to Speak at Alfred University

Alfred University has announced the Governor David Paterson has agreed to deliver the commencement address at Alfred University on May 16th. The event is to be held at 10:00am in McLane Center. Pundits believe that the site was chosen for its ability to house a large angry mob, high ceilings for launching rotten vegetables at the podium, and double doors for easy entry and exit with pitchforks and torches.

NYSDOT: Most Bridges Safe to Cross

The NYS Department of Transportation recently released its list of deficient bridges in Allegany County. Of the 420 bridges in the County, eighty are rated as "structurally deficient" and twenty are classified as "functionally obsolete". That's an increase of 13% over last year, when 71 bridges were cursed with the "structurally deficient" label. For those commuters willing to alter their route, Allegany County's worst bridge is over the north branch of Philips Creek on State Route 244 (Town of Amity). For those who aren't willing to detour, don't say you weren't warned.

SUNY Payroll Seems Fair

In these hard economic times, its good to know that some people are doing okay.

Over three-hundred SUNY employees are paid in excess of $200,000/year according to the Albany Times Union searchable state payroll database. At the top of the list is Steven L. Strongwater, CEO of Stony Brook University Medical Center, who pulls in a tidy $723,010.00 annually.

SUNY Fredonia has 27 employees who make over $100,000/year (very few of them professors). SUNY Alfred has 11 employees who meet the same qualifications, including Alfred Mayor Craig Clark, who doubles as a professor at the college.

Explore the Database

Gillibrand Turns In NRA Card

In her first opportunity to express her "hunters' rights" stance, new U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand accidentally pulled the wrong lever. The Senator, along with thirty-five other detractors, voted against a recent proposal that would limit the District of Columbia's ability to enact gun legislation. The same measure would remove the semi-automatic gun ban and remove gun registration requirements. According to her spokesman, Matt Cantor, "As she has said before, Sen. Gillibrand believes that local governments have a right to place reasonable restrictions on firearms." Obviously once Gillibrand's constituency expanded to the downstate, her politics followed suit.

Read the Albany Times-Union Article

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.

Gov. Paterson Buys New Lawn Furniture

Expenses at the Governor's Executive Mansion jumped 14% last year, according to a NY Post article. This is compared to a similar time frame under Eliot Spitzer's reign. Paterson has purchased new linens, wine glasses, lawn furniture and Turkish rugs, with household expenses topping $60,000 in the last nine months. Thanks to The Empire Page for the link.

Read the Article

Hartsville Board Blocks Windmill Project

Bob Clark of the Hornell Evening Tribune reports that the Hartsville Town Board has issued a moratorium on any wind project development. The move is a sound one by the Board, who have now ensured that German developer E.ON doesn't circumvent the town's interests in the project.

E.ON has prepared and presented a draft Environmental Impact Study and presented it to the Board. The one year moratorium will provide the Board and the Town's residents ample time to review the study. Also of concern, the Board noted, were the possible ramifications of property value drops due to wind farm construction.

Read the Article

Wellsville Officials Assess Citizen Incompetence

Due to the resignation of Wellsville School Board member Everet Dale Anderson, the Board is requesting applications from those residents interested in filling the vacancy for the remainder of the school year. According to a press release, qualified applicants must be, "a citizen of the United States, at least 18 years old and not judged to be an incompetent. A person must also have been a resident (but not necessarily a taxpayer) of the district for an uninterrupted period of at least one year immediately before election."

Courtesy of the Wellsville Daily Reporter

Schumer Announces Pittance for Southern Tier

In what should in no way be considered good news, Sen. Schumer announced $8.9 million in school aid for Allegany and Cattaraugus Counties yesterday. This is our share of the $4.7 billion in aid promised to stabilize the State's public schools via the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Let's break it down. In terms of population, the two counties populations represent 0.672% of the State's total population. This funding represents only 0.189% of the funding designated for disbursement across the state. In other words, Allegany and Cattaraugus County are receiving less than one-third of what would be rightfully theirs, assuming public school enrollment is comparable to overall population.

This is likely going to be a common theme in regards to the disbursement of stimulus funds, with most of Albany's focus remaining on downstate, and on the state's other urban centers (read ghettos, slums, gang turfs). But don't worry, we rednecks can't tell the difference between 9000000 and 47000000000, but that them sures alot of zeros!

Read the Article

Opinion: Picking on the Blind Man

It is evident that President Obama has been given a long leash in his attempt to stabilize the economy. His almost constant reminders that our situation will deteriorate before it improves protects him from criticism. Gov. Paterson's situation seems to be the polar opposite. Saddled with an even more dire outlook and an even more inept legislative branch, Paterson has become the scapegoat of all politicians, union leaders, and new york state residents.

Paterson actually believes in a balanced budget, and for this belief has drawn the ire of both republicans and democrats: Republicans because he's raising taxes and fees on everything from soda to ski lift tickets, and democrats because he's forced to cut spending across the state.

Anyway, here's another example of residents' disdain, courtesy of the Dunkirk Observer.

Steuben County Officals: We Feel Violated

The Corning Leader and Steuben Courier have reported two separate instances of broken promises from Albany. In Corning, a $200,000 state grant, secured by state Sen. George Winner Jr,. that was to assist the city in renovation of City Hall, the Police Department and City Court has been rescinded. A $300,000 grant secured by Assemblyman Jim Bacalles for the same project appears to be on the chopping block as well. In Bath, a $50,000 grant for Bath Police Department radio communications has been yanked, after most of the equipment has been purchased. While Corning mayor Tom Reed was stating the obvious, “It’s not good news, not good at all,” Bath Mayor David Wallace told it from the heart, stating, "A promise made to us by the state in my opinion has been broken...It seems to be a strictly political move to punish Republicans in the Senate."

Both towns are in a pickle. Improvements for Corning's buildings are necessary to comply with Office of Court Administration mandates (see Allegany County). The City of Bath still has to come up with the money to pay for what has already been purchased, but perhaps the Village Board was hasty in approving a $50,000 measure without the cash in hand.

Massa: Corporate Money Not So Evil After All

In an all-too-expected turn of events, Eric Massa has come under fire for reversing what was one of the pillars of his 2008 campaign. Massa received $7,000 in corporate donations in November, following the announcement of his victory. This is in contrast to his constant criticism of GOP opponent Randy Kuhl, who was on the payroll of a number of large companies throughout his tenure as Representative. Massa had the following to say:

“It’s not fair ... to fight the battle so lopsidedly,” he explained. “No one criticized my opponent about him taking corporate donations. I’ll be darned if I’m the only person to set that example.”

That's a little like claiming its okay to steal cable because everyone else does, but no one should be surprised. Campaign promises are for winning elections, and corporate donations are for...um...winning elections. Fear not, though, as now Massa's conscience will only allow him to receive donations from righteous corporations, not evil ones like big oil and tobacco. For all his efforts, Massa receives our coveted 'Golden Flip-Flop Award' for the month of February.

NYSAC Warns of "Gathering Storm"

This week, the New York State Association of Counties issued a research report called The Gathering Storm: Challenges Confronting the Future of New York. It is, as it sounds, a bleak outlook for the state's future, particularly in the upstate. Most of the report discusses the state's population vacuum and job loses. I thieved two interesting graphs (below). Click here for the full report.

Here Come the Dollars

Doesn't all this stimulus talk make you want to go out and buy a Cadillac?

The Dunkirk Observer reports that Brian Higgins has announced funding for Chautauqua County schools through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Jamestown city schools receives the largest chuck, $2,663,000 of a total $9,009,000.

Read the Article

Meanwhile, the Corning Leader reports that Eric Massa is announcing $600,000,000 for the district, nearly twice what he previously anticipated. According to Massa, New York State is to receive 25 billion dollars through the stimulus package, far more than any other state.

Read the Article

Know Your County Legislators

Today I sent the following email to four county legislators (one from each county). Once the replies are received I'll post them to the site. The legislators were:

Chautauqua County: Keith D. Ahlstrom

Cattaraugus County: Crystal J. Abers

Allegany County: David T. Pullen

Steuben County: Don Creath

Dear Sir/Madam:

I am the writer of the political blog, 'Southern Tier Politics' and would like to ask you a few questions for a segment called 'Know Your County Legislators'. If you would be so kind as to answer the brief questions below and return them via email, I will post them, as written, on the blog for my readers. Additional information will be provided such as party affiliation, years in office, etc. Please excuse the impersonal nature of this interview, although I find it easier for the interviewees as they can answer the questions at their leisure. Feel free to be as brief or detailed as you like and feel free to abstain from any questions. If you have any questions or would prefer to conduct a phone interview, please email me at william@southerntierpolitics.com. Thank you for your time.

Regards:

William Harris

Questions

Where were you born/raised?

When does your term expire?

Do you intend to run for reelection?

What is the greatest challenge facing Chautauqua County today?

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

If the County receives funds from President Obama's Bailout package, how would you like to see the money spent?

Massa Speaks in Alfred

Bob Clark of the Hornell Evening Tribune reports that Rep. Eric Massa gave a Town Hall Meeting at the Alfred Station Fire Hall Saturday. Most of his time was spent justifying the stimulus package. Other topics included Social Security and Medicare.

Read the Article

Massa also spoke at an agriculture summit at Alfred State College where he affirmed, "I believe we can grow our way out of this recession." Only if we're growing marijuana, but the sentiment is nice.

County Budget Dollars per Resident

For kicks, I decided to see how the four county's governments compared in budget size per resident (based on latest census and either 2008 actual or proposed 2009 budgets). Here's the results:

Allegany County wins the prize for smallest budget, but they spend more per resident than both Steuben and Chautauqua Counties. Cattaraugus County rolls out the red carpet, spending over $2500 per inhabitant (they always look like they're having more fun). Chautauqua County has the largest population and rewards them by spending the least ($1,486.31/person). Steuben County has a population similar to Catt county yet has a budget 12% smaller.

Cattaraugus County

Budget: 203,895,790
Population: 81,534
Spending/Resident: $2,500.74

Chautauqua County

Budget: 201,182,751
Population: 135,357
Spending/Resident: $1,486.31

Allegany County

Budget: 105,121,381
Population: 50,267
Spending/Resident: $2,091.26

Steuben County

Budget: 180,900,633
Population: 98,236
Spending/Resident: $1841.49

Allegany County Court Renovation

A little dated, but below is a summery of costs for the proposed Allegany County Court renovation and construction plan ($18,684,000 total estimated cost). Not a good time to be saddling taxpayers with this kind of cost, but as it was with the new Allegany County Jail, state mandates force the county's hand.

Read the Article

Schumer: Americans Like Pork

Oh brother...as reported in the New York Post:

Read the Article

State Budget Link

For those with lots of time and a strong stomach...

Proposed 2009 NYS Budget