“The recent report by Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli showed that three out of every four new statewide jobs over the past five years have been created in New York City. The Legislature and this governor have repeatedly made promises to bring new jobs to Western New York and to the rest of upstate, and they have repeatedly failed to do so. They know that their powerbrokers are stationed in the city and they act like it. START-UP NY has failed to bring in the jobs that were promised, and the continued tax first, regulate second, tax third mindset has stifled any momentum upstate may have had.

“The way to economic prosperity is simple, and it is easy. You must tax less, regulate more efficiently, and take government off the backs of the hardworking men and women trying to achieve the American Dream through small-business ownership. Our communities need jobs. This governor and the downstate politicians controlling government don’t get that.”

Assemblyman David DiPietro is the Ranking Minority Member of the Assembly Committee on Small Business and has owned and operated his own small business for nearly 25 years.