It is a David and Goliath battle according to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon, in regards to her primary race against Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sept. 13. But Nixon said she would not be running if she could not win.
Nixon is reacting to the lack of questions about upstate and other topics in last week’s primary debate against Cuomo. When it comes to upstate jobs, Nixon said Cuomo’s economic development projects have been woefully mismanaged. She said the $15 million Dewitt film hub created no jobs, except the ones to build it. She called the $750 million SolarCity factory in Buffalo a disaster that was part of a bid rigging scheme, which created far less jobs than promised in a factory that is limping along.
"I think that this is at the core of the corruption and mismanagement of the Cuomo administration," Nixon said in an interview with WRVO Friday. "His decisions seemed to be based on who has given him money, and who is able to give him more money going forward. If you really are interested in creating jobs there are much more effective ways to do it.”
Nixon said by investing in infrastructure and transportation, every million dollars put in would create 36 jobs. She said she also wants more local minority and women-owned businesses to work on infrastructure projects.
On Friday, Nixon did not have an opinion on what should replace the aging Interstate-81 viaduct in Syracuse; a community grid, tunnel or larger elevated highway. She did say there should be hearings and an attempt to take all different points of view into consideration.
“But also, if you’re taking on such an enormous project in which so much state money is going to be spent, you need to be sure that it is distributed across all different communities and really, that people are being hired and contractors are being hired from the communities that need it most,” Nixon said.
While in Syracuse Saturday, Nixon said the community grid option should be looked at further. The state has spent almost a decade and millions of dollars studying how to replace I-81 in Syracuse as it has reached the end of its useful life.
