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County Executive Forum Follow-up
County Executive Forum Follow-up October 23, 2007 This past spring, the Partnership's Government Affairs Committee evaluated the 2007 political "playing field" to determine what the our involvement should be in next month's local elections. It was decided that, as a part of that involvement, we would sponsor a forum where general election candidates for Erie County Executive would respond to questions about the Partnership's priority business issues. We believed it was important to have these priorities vetted publicly, not only to continue to raise the candidates' awareness of them, but to set the stage for on-going involvement with, and accountability for, the next County Executive. Last Wednesday, we held that forum. Those in attendance heard from two candidates who have many similarities in their ideas and vision, but who are, in the end, approaching Erie County government from two very different perspectives. In preparation for your Election Day (which is two weeks from today - make sure to get out and vote!) decisions, I want to share the candidates' positions on policy issues of importance to Partnership members. We are especially pleased that both candidates expressed their support for dedicating 100% of the county's "bed tax" revenues to the Buffalo Niagara Convention and Visitors Bureau - our priority issue. Here is a comparison of the candidates' stances based on questions that were asked in Wednesday's forum: ISSUE | CHRIS COLLINS | JIM KEANE | Apprenticeship Law | Repeal it | Keep it | Improved Management of County Government | • Six Sigma • TQM • Employee empowerment | • "ErieSMART" • Performance-based budgeting • "Pay as you go" capital spending | IDA Merger | For it | For it | CVB/Bed Tax Dedication | For it | For it | Framework for Regional Growth | For it | For it | Planning Board | For it | For it | ECFSA | It's necessary (for now) | It hasn't been tough enough (on Giambra) | Economic Development Priorities | • Broader use of incentives • Branding the region ("back office capital" of America) • BNMC | • BNMC • Waterfront Development | Working with Partnership | Unclear - more focused on marketing/branding | Partnership definitely will be "at the table" |
Again, please make sure that the business community is represented at the polls on Tuesday, November 6 by voting. Andrew J. Rudnick President & CEO
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County Executive Forum Follow-up
