As Prepared for Delivery
Good Morning.
I want to thank you for all for being here today, and I want to especially thank Mayor Polanski for the warm introduction. I greatly appreciate it.
Welcome to my hometown of Lackawanna and to this beautiful library – a library donated to the City of Lackawanna by Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie understood the value of getting a good education, and he knew the key to achieving that goal was to ensure everyone, regardless of income level or social status, had access to information through public libraries.
Like so many of you here today, I didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth. As the son of a steelworker and a nurse, it was a steel spoon. I grew up with my two younger brothers, Robb and Kevin, not too far from here. Our parents, Charles and Janice, taught us the value of hard work, to fight for our beliefs and to understand we are part of a greater community. Those lessons helped guide me successfully through Lackawanna public schools; the University at Buffalo; the University of Toledo College of Law and they still resonate with me today.
Six years ago you gave me the privilege, at the height of the worst fiscal crisis this community had ever seen, to serve as your independent taxpayer watchdog – your Erie County Comptroller. I thank you for the opportunity to serve on your behalf. The ‘Red-Green’ fiscal crisis wasn’t caused by ‘bad luck’ that was beyond our control or by outside forces like Albany mandates. No, it was a crisis of leadership caused by poor decision making.
Although those were dark days, with a lot of hard work, I am proud to say under my watch we have turned the corner, restored fiscal stability to Erie County and the promise of a bright future lies ahead—if we make the right decisions.
Unfortunately, the mistakes that created the ‘Red-Green’ financial crisis are being made once again by the current county executive.
Chris Collins said he was going to “run Erie County like a business.” He failed to tell us, however, what type of business.
Under his rule, Erie County has turned into one of those Wall Street businesses where cuts are made at the bottom to afford high paying salaries and bonuses for the big-shots at the top.
A business that uses smoke and mirrors to mislead investors, employees and the public into thinking everything is fine when in fact, it isn’t.
And a business like the ones that ended up crashing and burning, bringing our economy and millions of jobs down along with it while their executives landed softly on the backs of the hard-working because of their golden parachutes.
Despite his rhetoric, the truth is, this county executive raised your taxes and decimated necessary services you rely on, like libraries, at the same time he gave significant raises to his patronage appointees.
A county executive should work with our partners in government and the private sector in order to move our community forward, be open to compromise and do what is in the County’s best interests.
However, Collins’ record is one of ignoring the rule of law and our system of checks and balances—while daring others to cross him. He has wasted your tax dollars on frivolous lawsuits in order to force capitulation to his every whim, and refused to spend tens of millions of federal Stimulus dollars to create jobs in order to pad the County’s piggy bank during election season to protect his.
Even more importantly, he has forgotten the reason why he was elected in the first place: to serve the public, not rule over them.
A county executive should be an inclusive leader for the entire county: urban, suburban and rural. Chris Collins has instead been a divisive figure, pitting urban versus suburban while neglecting the needs of our rural constituents. Erie County deserves better.
You deserve a county executive who understands the value strong libraries bring to not only our community but the education of our future generations.
You deserve a county executive who measures the strength of our economy not by the size of his own bank account but by whether you can make ends meet.
You deserve a county executive who understands a strong arts and cultural community not only enriches the mind but is also an investment in our economic future.
You deserve a county executive who won’t raise taxes and cut services at the same time he gives his friends in government significant raises.
You deserve a county executive who works on behalf of all of us, regardless of where you live or the size of your pocketbook, not just the select few.
And I believe I am that person.
That is why today, I announce my candidacy to become Erie County’s next executive and I humbly ask for your support.
Erie County is much more than Spaulding Lake in Clarence. It’s rural communities like Sardinia, Brant and Alden. It’s neighborhoods like Mount Vernon in Hamburg, Kaisertown in Buffalo, and Ebenezer in West Seneca. It’s villages as different from each other as Sloan is to Kenmore, and Farnham is to Williamsville.
Erie County is first-ring suburbs like Cheektowaga and Tonawanda and cities like Buffalo and Lackawanna. It is all of the above, each with their own unique issues affecting their residents. That is why after this announcement I will be traveling across the County to take my vision for the future directly to the people of Erie County.
I envision a county government that proactively prevents the waste, fraud and abuse of your tax dollars; that rebuilds our infrastructure and puts people back to work, while protecting your tax dollars, growing our economy and ultimately—working for you.
As your County Executive, I will return government to those who own it – the citizens of Erie County. County government should not be treated as the prize for winning an election, where the unqualified friends and family of the victor are rewarded with high paying jobs at a time when librarians, auditors, sheriff deputies, and even rodent control officers are laid off.
As your County Executive, unlike the incumbent, I will aggressively fight Medicaid fraud by capitalizing on successful programs being implemented in other counties across the state.
As your County Executive, I pledge to work with our partners in government to make Erie County and its underlying municipalities a leaner, more efficient provider of services. Only by reducing the amount of government through the elimination of duplicative services can we compete in a global economy for the businesses of tomorrow.
As your County Executive, I will preserve our cultural organizations and award winning library system. Erie County should be a leader in community enrichment and ensure high quality libraries are accessible to all.
And as your County Executive, I will tirelessly work to grow our economy. County government should create an economic climate that allows business and industry to grow, which will create jobs. That climate includes formulating a comprehensive plan for regional development and reducing the excessive number of industrial development agencies and special taxing districts that currently exist.
I believe Erie County’s best days are ahead of us, but only if we work together to guide our community forward. That is why I have entered this race, and with your support we will return responsible government back to its owners – the residents of Erie County.
Thank you.
