Chris Collins. Jim Keane. Two men enter…
Questioning by Kevin Hardwick and Bob McCarthy. If you have a question you’d like considered, leave a comment; the Professor will find it. (Starbuck?)
WBEN Sunday 10am - 12pm.
Also - check out Geek’s take on the WGRZ debate here.
WNYM seeks to provide a forum for snarky opinions and open discussion. However, we do need to have some ground rules around this joint. In order to make our comments useful and interesting, the following guidelines have been established for comment users. In short; don't act like a libelous or hate-filled tool and we'll get along just fine.
Click here to register to vote in New York State (deadline is October 10, 2008 for general election)
Click here to sign the petition to rename Buffalo Niagara International Airport after Tim Russert
A shovel-ready blog from the sunny shores of Lake Erie. Proudly blogging about WNY, politics, cars, and other esoterica since 2003. Click here to contact the Buffalopundit.
Click here to find lunch in Buffalo today
Click here for the Wendt Foundation's 2006-7 disclosure form
LC Scotty Says:October 27th, 2007 at 7:59 am
For Mr. Keane:
What planet do you have to be from to take being associated with the Gorski administration as a Good Thing?
I only ask because he keeps trotting it out there like the diaspora was put on hold for those years or something.
Haterade Says:October 27th, 2007 at 9:31 am
What was so bad with the Gorski administration ?
Bill Altreuter Says:October 27th, 2007 at 11:06 am
A reasonable observer, looking at the substantial amounts of money that has been raised to wage this campaign, would be justified is concluding that this is really all about who is going to dispense patronage in Erie County for the next four years. What systems will you commit to put in place to make the awarding of contracts and appointments as transparent as possible?
Pauldub Says:October 27th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
For Mr. Collins:
You stated that you did not agree with the Xspand Deal. What method would you employ to collect these monies that would give the county a better return?
Bruce Says:October 27th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
Mr. Collins,
Throughout the campaign you have continually railed against “career politicians” for ruining the area. However at the same time you have accept endorsements, support and money from Tom Reynolds, Jimmy Griffin, Dale Volker, Alfreda Slominski and Mary Lou Rath. How can you be against career politicians in one breath and tout your support from some of Erie County’s biggest career politicians in another?
joanbflo Says:October 27th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
Keane offered a solution to the Peace Bridge, Inner and Outer Harbor, Seneca Casinos, medical corridor etc. These are already ongoing and he had nothing to do with those projects. How can he claim he will ensure that they will be done in his administration? They will be done in anyone’s next administration!!!! I want to know is where is his ” New Economic Growth Blueprint”? That is what I need to know… not what Higgins and others already accomplished.”
starbuck Says:October 27th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
Paul - just wondering how come that’s only for Collins? Keane has said he’s totally opposed to the Xspand deal also.
Cindyk Says:October 27th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
For both candidates: (it’s sort of a two parter)
During the “county crisis” the City of Buffalo lost half of it’s libraries on the premise it would save money, with less libraries we’re still paying the same amount of taxes for them….
What are your plans to restore services libraries in the City of Buffalo?
What areas out the county would you cut so that neighborhood services can been returned?
Ms. Curious Says:October 27th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
Since the city of Buffalo spent over $54,000.00 tearing down four of your failed investments, do you feel a responsibility to reimburse the taxpayers? And what about the four remaining houses? When are you going to tear them down?
Ms. Curious Says:October 27th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
Oops! the above questions were for Mr. Collins.
Michele Johnson Says:October 27th, 2007 at 10:15 pm
To both candidates:
What would you do as County Executive to encourage home ownership in the City of Buffalo?
What incentives on the county level would you offer to someone to become an owner occupant in the City?
starbuck Says:October 27th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
****** For Mr. Keane:
Regarding your two claims in the WGRZ debate that jobs Mr. Collins created are “dead end” jobs and that he caused more jobs to leave WNY than to stay:
1.) From where did you obtain information on which to base those two claims, and will you make it public so voters can judge whether it’s valid criticism or empty rhetoric?
2.) If any companies consider coming to WNY with $10-per-hour jobs, would you as County Executive encourage them to come here, or would you tell them to locate those jobs somewhere other than Erie County because you feel $10-per-hour jobs are inherently “dead end”?
******* For Mr. Collins:
1.) When discussing the matter of your loans for East Side house purchases in the 1990s, you mentioned the difficulties neighborhoods over there have experienced. Should county government do anything differently than has happened under the Gorski and Giambra administrations to try improving conditions in distressed areas of Buffalo different from what it currently does?
2.) Many East Side ministers endorsed your opponent, as have almost all city politicians. If elected, who would you plan to consult and coordinate with about inner city issues and any possible changes in the county government’s approaches?
****** For both candidates:
The recent suspect in home invasions and attacks on elderly residents of the Broadway/Fillmore neighborhood had been released after only 8 months in jail for a previous very similar violent crime spree. Another recent suspect was charged with a committing a murder in Buffalo after being kept in jail for only a few days for a violent assault. Would Erie County citizens benefit from violent criminals serving more jail time, and if so, are you willing to expand the County Jail?
Kevin Hardwick Says:October 28th, 2007 at 6:44 am
FYI - I’m informed that the entire debate will be posted on wben.com by noon on Monday.
Thanks, Alan, for promoting the event and soliciting some great questions.
Dan Says:October 28th, 2007 at 7:47 am
For Mr. Keane
You have said that if elected you will not draw on your pension (BTW the fact that you were in politics long enough in your life to actually HAVE a pension seems to underscore MR. Collins’ comments, but I digress) - what are the consequences for someone who is receiving a state pension if they go back to work full time in the state system?
Pauldub Says:October 28th, 2007 at 7:54 am
Starbuck - Question is for Collins since I want to hear his ideas. This is not a shot, I would like to hear his ideas.
Something tells me Keane would just bring it in-house, create more jobs, more overhead, less net for the county. Just my opinion.
Bill Says:October 28th, 2007 at 8:39 am
Keane:
I noticed that in your both of your televised debates you couldn’t make a single point without reading off of prepared notes. Can’t you do anything spontaneously? It seems you lack the mental cpacity to articulate a thought without a script.
To WGRZ and WNED
Most debate formats don’t allow for notes to be brought into the room. Did the Keane campaign make this a condition to their participation in the debates?
Paul Jonson Says:October 28th, 2007 at 9:00 am
To Keane: If you are so committed to Erie County and bringing it from despair; if you lose, will you stay in Erie County or go back to Florida?
To Collins: If elected, how do you plan to work with the Legislature without running over them?
Square Peg Says:October 28th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Why would anyone assume that “facts” as presented by the party with the most to lose would be accurate? Especially if such said party is the keeper of the facts, both pertinent and inconvenient?
starbuck Says:October 28th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Paul - I see your point. I heard only bits and pieces of debate this morn, so don’t know if that was asked but FWIW, I heard Collins previously say he’d do those collections in-house and he believes there’d be ways to make it efficient and cost-effective that way.
It does sound potentially inconsistent to me if it increases size of govt, but I suppose it all depends on the details of how it’s implemented and what percent could be successfully collected including penalties.
For this and other stuff, I think it’d be useful to find out what other localities across the U.S. do and what are their results. I realize Xspand has contracts with quite a few, so it could be informative to compare return on investment between some of those vs. some municipal govts who do in-house collections and are known for efficiency (not sure which localities those would be, but there must be some - perhaps not in NYS, but maybe the Tennessee, Indiana, Carolina, Nevada type states might have some decent examples).
LC Scotty Says:October 29th, 2007 at 9:18 am
Haterade,
When compared with the Rutkowski and Giambra administrations, there was really nothing wrong with the Gorski administration. They have all been about the same-fiddling while Buffalo burns.
Haterade Says:October 29th, 2007 at 9:32 am
LC …. you can honestly compare the three ? C’mon.