Recently, Gov. Cuomo joked that towns would have to compete in a Downtown Revitalization Contest and place in the top four to win money. Only to mince words and admit he was skewing the truth, making light of the hard-working civil servants who keep our towns, villages and cities ticking.

Local governments are the foundation of our communities. They work hard for residents making sure local issues are taken care of as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, they suffer from unfunded mandates, such as Medicaid, from Albany, which stifle their budgets and make it harder to respond to local issues in a timely manner. Decisions are being made with no regards to how it will affect local, rural communities which are left to deal with rising property and school taxes.

Joking that towns are going to have to compete to win money is just downright disrespectful. The governor may think it is fine to joke about competition between local governments for these funds, but to the people who work hard for their counties and to which this money is crucial for revitalization, it is no laughing matter. This is real life, where real people in real communities have real issues that need to be fixed.

Additionally, he is flaunting around taxpayer money as if it were his own, telling local governments they will have impress him enough to win money that was really theirs to begin with. He shouldn’t be disrespecting the hard work people put into earning that money by waving it in their faces, telling them if they want it back they have to fight for it.

The governor should be cutting back New York’s bloated Medicaid budget to pay for revitalization. Instead, he is touring the state, handing out money to towns acting as if he is some savior to New Yorkers, when this is simply his way of pushing his political agenda yet again. We deserve better.

I want to know what you think about this or any other legislative matter. Please contact me by emailing blankenbushk@nyassembly.gov or by calling my office at 315-493-3909