Joanne Yepsen: Where Was Roy McDonald on NYRA?
By Mike Connery on 05/17/2010 @ 06:26 PM
This afternoon, Saratoga Supervisor and Democratic challenger to incumbent Roy McDonald held a press conference demanding that McDonald stop playing partisan games and get to work saving the jobs of 40,000 residents of Saratoga county who will be unemployed if a solution is not found to NYRA's funding troubles.
McDonald has twiddled his thumbs on this issue, pointing fingers at others instead of taking a leadership role to protect jobs in his own district. Yepsen perhaps best summed up the situation in her press conference when she said:
“Roy McDonald has clearly failed to lead on this issue. Instead he shifts the blame on the Senate floor, as he did last week, saying that someone should have addressed this issue years ago. I’m pretty sure that someone was supposed to be him.”
Here is the full text of a release put out by the Yepsen campaign:
JOANNE YEPSEN, WE DESERVE ANSWERS SAVE 40,000 JOBS (Saratoga Springs, NY) –Joanne Yepsen, candidate for the 43rd state senate district seat, today called on Sen. Roy McDonald to stop partisan game playing and get to work on saving jobs for Saratoga and Rensselaer counties.
This morning, the media reported that the New York Racing Association indicated today they are working very hard with the state to secure the loan needed. However, to date, no funding has been found which may put the race season at risk for Saratoga 2010. Where is our voice in Albany? This will cost New York State another 40,000 jobs amidst the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
“Roy McDonald has clearly failed to lead on this issue. Instead he shifts the blame on the Senate floor, as he did last week, saying that someone should have addressed this issue years ago.” said Yepsen. “I’m pretty sure that someone was supposed to be him.”
Indeed, the problems with the New York Racing Association and the Aqueduct Video Lottery Terminals are not new. The VLT proposal has been around since 2001, when Roy McDonald’s predecessor Joe Bruno led the Senate. It is now 2010 and the state still hasn’t selected an operator.
“McDonald is just now getting involved, but where has he been for the past two years?” said Yepsen, “Our elected officials should be leading this fight to save our district’s jobs, not getting involved at the last moment.”
Not only does Yepsen take offense at McDonald’s last minute interest in the most important issue for this region, but she also criticizes his methods. McDonald has teamed with the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce in preparing to sue New York State for failure to subsidized NYRA. “Partisan bickering and political grandstanding is not the answer,” Yespsen continues, “A law suit will only cost us more money in the end.”
Yepsen added, “Cessation of New York State racing will hurt all of us, Republicans and Democrats. Therefore, we all need to work together to help our Upstate economy and refrain ourselves from partisan cheap shots.”
As Saratoga Supervisor, Yepsen led the fight for preservation of the historic Saratoga Flat Track. She has been a staunch advocate for nonpartisan cooperation and governmental transparency.
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