Miner promises a “Better Deal” for upstate development

Miner pledges an ‘infrastructure-driven’ economic development agenda

Independent gubernatorial candidate Stephanie Miner is pledging to deliver a “Better Deal” for Western and Central New York as it relates to economic development than Governor Andrew Cuomo.

The Cuomo Administration’s economic development efforts have been the subject of public corruption prosecutions while producing nominal job gains. Rather than offering corporate subsidies, Miner envisions an infrastructure-centric spending program focused on modernizing water and sewer systems across Upstate and Central New York.

Miner is making a multi-billion dollar commitment to modernize the State’s water and sewer systems while regionalizing the fractured governance structure of local authorities.

“As we speak, we have raw sewage overflowing into creeks and rivers across this State, contaminating our beaches. It is 2018 and every community deserves clean water and modern municipal infrastructure,” Miner says. “Given the region’s economic stagnation and historic pension costs, that modernization can only be funded by the State.”

Miner’s plan might seem simple, but when you dig deeper you realize that she has much more than sewage in mind. If the State is going to spend money to dig up a roadway to lay new water mains, we should also deploy public fiber optics and provide broadband internet as a universal service.

Many of her supporters call it ‘visionary’ and ‘next generation good-government.’ On the campaign trail, Miner often explains how Upstate and Central New York’s longtime population decline and economic stagnation have created a crisis in municipal finance.

“Make no mistake about it – our most basic infrastructure is crumbling and our municipal governments can’t afford to fix it,” the two-term Mayor of Syracuse explains. “We don’t have the tax base, we don’t have the bonding capacity, and we don’t have the ability to do it ourselves in a fiscally prudent way.”

Her plan would use state money to modernize local systems while requiring the regionalization of local governance structures and the dissolution of local water authorities. Regional service delivery will allow the government to achieve lower per-household delivery costs by eliminating duplicative operations, streamlining unnecessary administrators, and integrating Balkanized infrastructure systems.

“We have procrastinated for too many years under the same tired, stale leadership. It’s time to make the bold, prudent, pressing investments that our children and grandchildren deserve. We will do so under my leadership,” Miner pledges.