Sept. 30, 2008

Tonello blasts Winner, Bacalles for playing partisan politics with taxpayer money

John Tonello, Democratic candidate for New York's 53rd district senate seat, today blasted Sen. George Winner and Assemblyman Jim Bacalles for using taxpayer dollars to promote their re-elections when they announced $500,000 in state funding for Corning's City Hall renovation.

At a press conference Tuesday, the Republican incumbents announced grant money for renovations that will help Corning accommodate its space requirements mandated by the New York State Office of Court Administration.

"Corning, like Elmira and other cities across the Southern Tier, face tough financial hardships meeting these space requirements, and I certainly don't deny Corning's need for financial assistance to keep the burden off local property taxpayers," Tonello said. "I feel for Mayor Tom Reed and Corning's pressing need for help."

"But in George Winner's own city, Elmira, where a 2006 partial collapse of the police station required officers to vacate the former Armory building, Elmira didn't receive a dime," Tonello continued. "Instead of helping the very police that protect his home and guard his streets, Sen. Winner instead chose to reward a Republican mayor and ignore a Democratic one."

The City of Elmira, like Corning, also must meet the court space requirements, and Elmira currently is about 1,700 square feet short of the NYS Office of Court Administration mandate, Tonello said.

"A state grant of any size would have helped us relocate police during our emergency and helped us renovate our century-old City Hall for our courts," Tonello said. "But Sen. Winner ignored us. He ignored the people of Elmira. He ignored our pressing need. He drives by the Armory each day on the way to his office a block away and somehow found it easy to look the other way. It's outrageous, and it's partisan politics at its worst."

Mayor Tonello said this is exactly what he meant when he said Elmira and the Southern Tier are being underserved by Sen. Winner. "For 30 years, he has helped his friends and ignored everyone else."

Tonello said Winner's action to announce a grant for Corning just five weeks ahead of the Nov. 4 election is pure politics.

"This is precisely why I've called for an end to member-item money -- the slush funds incumbents use to shower cash on their districts -- and to replace the money with competitive grants. If true need were the measure, Corning, Elmira and all other cities would have had an equal chance of getting state aid."