Buffalo Rising Online

HAHA Dubai.. are you kidding me, they are a whore when it comes to business and development ALL of it is at the EXPENSE of their natural environment... but business is green right? sigh. He is such a contradiction at times.

He keeps jobs here, right maybe some, but he does it at the expense of those who work there currently cutting vacation and pay while the top people still have huge homes and extravagant lifestyles in the exurbs. The rich get richer but we should hail him for his success.

He loves historic architecture? Well if it wasn't for preservationists he would have torn down the Hoyt mansion 5-6 years ago when they first proposed taking over the site. God knows we need parking. Only after they were not allowed to tear it down did he and Zepto decide to "save" it. It is so quick how we forget things around here.

Also if you go to his personal site you notice that it isn't Zepto that is renovating that building but some other name but it is the company right? wrong? separate ownership why? Screw the man and pay less taxes that way? http://www.collinsforourfuture.com/meet-chris-collins/chris-creates-jobs/buckler-biodefense/ Well sorry buddy but you are trying to BE the MAN.

He did say a lot of things I support, accountability and only business style practices will actually get you that. Also I hope he does push for more service unions but unless we actually chop out some of those local politicians you will never be able to see savings. Because be default when you combine areas of service you re going to increase the costs because you are covering more land. we need to hack overhead (which puts people out of a job) to see cost savings. Since personal costs are the majority of any departments costs.

pro-regional planning = good idea!!! but i don't like it apathy towards the city. Well you guys need to clean up your act then we can talk. But the whole time we are going to plow and maintain suburban roads but not yours, We are going to police their streets, but not yours. We are going to help subsidize their governments but you need to be self sufficient. what happened to all in this together, we are a region. Sounds like a lot of the same old crap we been getting from (republican) politicians for the last 20 years. More double standards!! The suburbs are only "good" while they are growing.. well once they run out of land they realize they can't sustain themselves. Look at the plight of Cheektowaga, Tonawanda, West Seneca, Sloan, The city of Tonawanda. They are built out, not room for expand but they developed in such a way they can't keep jobs, population or pay their bills either. But THEY are somehow fiscally superior to the city.. Sorry I don't buy it. Growth unless it is smart, doesn't solve the problem.

What the hell was that sprawl ordeal. Sprawl isn't bad if you are growing.. HAHA cause Atlanta is just the perfect place. Those 2 hours commutes he loves not having are because of our population loss while sprawling, we grow in population, and in sprawl you can say good bye to all those perks that he likes about this area. Remember kids that "expanding infrastructure has no effect on the taxpayer" (or something like that) haha what a joke all those new sewer lines and roads just maintain themselves forever at no cost... idiot.

I look forward to hearing the other side of the story. The truth is even with all these issues he might be the better candidate. I do find it hard to trust someone (K-man) who has been in politics for more than my entire lifetime.

If it were 1955, Keane would be a great candidate.

Why doesn't he run as an independent then if he needs no money from the party? Does he espouse traditional core Republican values? What are those values?

Good story, So... Is BUFFALORISING going to give KEANE a chance to speak?

oops skipped right to the podcast and didnt see it was offered to both.. I wonder did KEANE decline? that would be stupid

any politician that is for lowering taxes and against unions gets my vote! then buffalo would REALLY see some change

apparently only pro Collins comments are highly rated here. No one is perfect, sorry for pointing out his flaws. I noticed how no one refuted what I said. If I was wrong somewhere let me know. I am a big boy I can take it. But giving me a crappy rating for looking deeper into what he says without reason is annoying. I am used to getting low ratings because of differences of opinion but everyone here sounds like a bunch of yes men.

How is he going to lower taxes? by consolidating services like he said. Giambra has been trying to do that for 8 years with little to no success. why is he going to succeed at it where others have failed? Because he has never been in politics before? Maybe, maybe not. I just want action plans not rhetoric. Especially from someone that has been has a track record of changing sides.

not everyone.. got a little overzealous.

I usually vote Dem, and as a member of the gay community it takes ALOT for me to consider voting for ANY Republican in today's climate. But Collins has good business sense and that is what the county requires right now. Just because Giambra failed to consolidate and improve, the plan should not be thrown out. Giambra can't find his way out of a paper bag. I find it quite irking that career politicians such as Mr. Keane boast about years of "public service" because they work at government jobs. Here in Erie County and the City of Buffalo, aren't these jobs people are on waiting lists for or that require apponments? I am not sure how this is represented as public service ? Is this not public EMPLOYMENT? Isn't public service volunteering or doing something no one else wants to do? Try getting that kind of pension in the private sector. Collins taking time ot of a successful high paying career and stepping down his potential earning to clean up this wreck of an administration seems more like a real service to me. When Mayor Brown took over city hall, he talked about reviewing peoples credentials. And then it just sort of faded away. I'd love for government employees credentials to be posted, public information.

Does anyone else find it weird that some of the very people who have a problem with Collins accepting government subsidies, are the very same ones who don't seem to have a problem with civil servants getting taxpayer-funded plastic surgery?? I mean, if you're so concerned with the tax dollar, that's fine. But, don't be a hypocrite about it.

the problem with Loon's thinking which I agree with about 95% of, is there are always going to be jobs that people can't even make or afford a living from. Picking crops, changing oil, are we supposed to just admit to the capitalistic inevitability that some people will never be able to afford a non draft house or to send their kids to college. I am all for hard work but capitalism requires and perpetuates an upper and middle class. Hence the constant Rich get richer, poor get poorer scenario we have in the US over the last 100 years.

Except this isn't true sbrof:

Hence the constant Rich get richer, poor get poorer scenario we have in the US over the last 100 years.

By any objective serious measurement, the poor in the U.S. today are much less poor than were the poor in the U.S. 100 years ago. The standard of living as well as the safety net welfare programs have been on an upward path throoughout that interval. The rich getting richer at an even faster rate than the poor getting richer does not mean the poor are getting poorer. In fact, the rich trying to get even richer is what creates private sector jobs and leads to innovations that over time raise everyone's standard of living. Now there are, unfortunately, some places in the world where the poor really do get poorer over time. One sad example is North Korea, which not coincidentally has laws against anybody getting rich.

are we supposed to just admit to the capitalistic inevitability that some people will never be able to afford a non draft house or to send their kids to college

I don't know what a non draft house is, but college aid programs for the poor are plentiful in the U.S. Poor familites are not expected to "afford" college - they are provided many form of financial aid. College attendance in the U.S. reached an all time high of 69% of graduation H.S. seniors in 2005. In 1972 that rate was much lower: 49%. Sounds like things have been getting a lot better over the past few decades - not worse.

http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=51

But why is he running as a Republican? He doesn't need to if his ideas stand for themselves. Does he support the Republican party statewide and nationally? If he does, how can I vote for him?

Yes, you are getting a fresh new face by voting for Collins!

That is a great thing! But, there is also a flip side. There is not as much public record to go by as to where he has stood on issues in the past. He may have "saved" some local companies in the past. After taking over Buffalo China, he cut jobs, cut benefits, cut wages to 10 dollars an hour on average, and accepted government money to do it. At the Nuttall Division of Westing house he cut 100 workers, cut the remaining worker's salaries, then moved it to Niagara County, all with the help of government money. One of his cost saving ideas, I believe, is to get rid of health care of county employees. Sound good? It looks like he WILL be running Erie County like a business, if his past business practices are any indication. Have we not heard from Republicans on every level that government should be run like a business. What do they do? Cut our taxes, spend what's left, get us into deficit, and cut services by outsourcing these services to connected friends who cannot be held accountable. It has been happening on a national level and on a local level.Tthe past TWO Republican County Executives have left us in deficit, and it took a Democrat (Gorski) to get us out. He (Collins) is a big supporter of NAFTA and thinks outsourcing is a good thing. Fudgeworth, how do you think that the more jobs there are here will lead to higher wages for the worker? What is your rationale? By supporting someone who has made alot of money helping companies set up shop in China and Mexico?

Crazed_da_Loon, you ask why a self made millionaire would run for office? On the same token, why would a life long public servant come out of a comfortable retirement to run for office? You will probably say something to the effect (however uninformed) of "keeping all his family with jobs". There is your answer about Collins, also. To keep all his family (corporate) with jobs. Jim Keane is by no means perfect, but Collins is definately NOT the be all to end all. I may be wrong, but I believe that he announced his salary of a dollar a month only after Keane said he would forgo his retirement while in office. This is a hard decision for everyone, I know, but it is also a decision that requires more thought that to just say "I WANT SOMEONE NEW!" and be done with it without looking a bit deeper. If current corporate business practices (to which Collins subscribes) are any indication, the majority of us are not going to reap any of the benefits. Personally, I would rather see the county run like any responsible person's household budget; RESPONSIBLY and with RESTRAINT, and taking into consideration the REAL people that are involved.

I can't believe how many people parrot the "career politician Jim Keane" line. Just because it was on TV doesn't mean it's a real criticism of the man.

Keane already had his chance with Gorski and our taxes went through the roof and they did nothing good with the money except build up the County coffers with bags of money. Lets give Collins his chance to right the ship by reducing spending and taxes and producing new money by making the area more friendly for business and creating new jobs.

It's truly entertaining to watch the Jim Keane campaign ads where he defines himself--without the help of Mr. Collins--as a 'career politician' who's only credential is that he's a Democrat! That's right...listen to the ads: "Jim Keane...Democrat...Because Results Matter!". So let me ask this: What has Democratic leadership on a local level delivered to this City and the WNY Region over the last 40 years? Fiscal control boards?...economic chaos?...poor urban planning?...a mass exodus of top, educated talent?...what results? Mr. Keane doesn't know what it's like to be an entrepreneur where 'results' and careers are dictated soley by performance. He's been on the proverbial 'public tit' for his whole career. Yes--he was a firefighter and that's admirable--but enough is enough. He's simply riding the the coat tails of the Party. It's about cutting the 'fat'--and political patronage jobs to build a stronger economic model. Thats sends shivers down the spines of those that want more of the same with Keane....those that are hiding in these types of jobs. You want someone who's going to be the 'lap dog' of Byron Brown and the politicos in Albany? Keane delivers just and that will result in leadership as follows: More of 'Old Buffalo' that has always moved us 'three steps back' for the last 40 years. What do I see that Collins is prepared to do? Let's start with delivering more efficient government, real leadership, and real results.

The overriding premise of this website is that our area is staging at least a bit of a comeback. If we come to realize on election day that our community is so beholden to special interests/lifelong public servants/people dependent upon government that Keane is elected, it would seem a serious misstep on whatever minimal path to improvement we seem to be on. As the world 'flattens', we all must compete to survive. Continuing to think otherwise will only lessen the tax base further, and make those willing to work think long and hard about why they remain in Erie County.

What happens when a household doesn't have enough money? It cuts back or goes bankrupt.. What do buisnesses do? They cut back or go bankrupt. What does gov't do? Taxes us more. Its a shame gov't can't go out of buisness and has its forced customers (unless they do what many did and move away) because then almost every politician would have a worse "buisness" record than thier buisness counterparts.

Think you can run a buisness with no gov't help (in an over taxed state) paying everyone $25/hr with full medical go right ahead and show us how it is done.

The area gov't needs to step back benefits, positions etc to correct taxation rates. Maybe then we can once again have solid ground to work from in building our economy back up and hence our standard of living in the long run. But no, we expect to keep holding on to our little fiefdoms and operations that we have used for the last 70 years to only end up further and further in the hole. All while waiting for someone to pull a magic want out of their ass and fix magincally fix everything. Fixing things around here and getting healthy again will be painful. We just choose to remain obese and die a slow death while bitching the whole time that nothing changes.

Will Collins fix everything? Probably not. He has the rest of the public sector and legacy contracts to deal with. But to me he is the better choice of the two. What does Keane have on his resume to show that he can (or even will try) to start the changes that are necessary to turn this area around?

This is an interesting discussion. People seem to be buying the idea that someone in business can do what government needs. Not sure about that given the lobbying that needs to be done and the "relationships" that need to be there to get things done.

If you were able to do these things with the background Collins has, assuming it is what it really seems, why aren't there more like him involved? Even at the local level, very, very few people are involved from the Executive level of business.

Ideas? Well, his website is bereft of news or information or ideas.

The mortgage story in the buffalo news is very, very disturbing. Given he lost money, he cut and ran. I see no evidence he did the right thing. How can we elect him to run a government when he cuts and runs on investments the taxpayers are responsible for cleaning up?

...Does he support the Republican party statewide and nationally? If he does, how can I vote for him?

Eric, the answer to your first question is “yes” he generally supports his party statewide and nationally. He’s not a Mike Bloomberg style Republican who only registered as a Republican to get ballot access then walked away when he no longer needed it.

And your second question is something only you can answer.

Statewide, leading NY Republican politicials of recent times (Pataki, Bruno, etc.) are actually relatively liberal on many policy matters - tending to favor our high taxes and spending. Compared to the rest of the U.S., most NY Republican politicians are fiscal liberals and social liberals. However, most NY Dem politicians are even further to the left.

It sounds to me like Collins might be to the right of the Pataki/Bruno philosophy on taxing and spending matters – maybe closer in views to John Faso who Spitzer defeated last year.

Nationally, it really depends what issues you’re talking about. In general, I think if Collins was in Congress he’d be considered a mainstream Republican – pro-business, pro free trade (similar to Bill Clinton on that), fiscal conservative on spending, pro tax cuts, a practical moderate on social issues (just a guess), and probably not extreme on anything. Certainly not as pro-union as say Jack Quinn was, and not as pro-pork spending as Tom Reynolds is. I think there's no doubt he'll support the Republican presidential candidate in 08 and the Republican running vs Spitzer for gov in 2010.

Is any of that bad? And is any of that relevant to the County Executive election?

No right or wrong answer to those questions. Everyone needs to decide for themselves. Based on your questions, sounds like it is important to you.

Why doesn't Bashar Issa run for office? Then he would have no problem building whatever he wanted without needing union workers or politicians to sign off. He could lure other businesses in by guaranteeing tax breaks. It would be win win for him and us

Big D, you seem to bring a different perspective to this. Maybe I'm wrong, but my feeling is that local government is a bit like an over grown garden that needs to be cut back. I'm not interested in any more planting or watering, just someone to come in and bring some order. Not sure that lobbying/relationships play much of a role in that, actually, they may be a hinderance.

From what I know of the 'mortagage' story, he was lending money. I don't know of any bank that get's involved in a property that goes south. He lost tens of thousands of dollars. I'm not sure how he cut and ran, he did not own the property.

As to why executives don't get more involved, I think the Keane attack ads prove it. Why take a huge pay cut, just to have the long established politicos trot out everything they can find that has a hint of being dirty laundry. If in your heart you believe capitalism is a bad thing, and those that practice it are dirty, then these Keane attacks will ring true with you. Hopefully they don't resonate with more than 49% of the voters.

benfranklin, check out the Snooze article (http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/188814.html). I'll give you the relevant quotes.

"Mortgage lenders are being pressured to do more than just write off bad loans. Many now try to sell or rehabilitate properties they foreclose on as way of maintaining neighborhood stability."

"Neighborhood advocates point to Housing Court Judge Henry J. Nowak’s recent crackdown on mortgage lenders and suggest that, like them, Collins had a responsibility to the community he invested in."

Also, Collins sounds pretty stupid defending Steube. “I can promise you this, he was no slumlord." If you have no idea what he is actually doing with your money, like you claim, then maybe you should take the word of the community members who say he dragged their neighborhoods down.

The city only drives down the value of property by putting more artificial 'laws' in effect regarding investing in the city. On the upside, no flipping. On the downside, we'll send you the bill to tear it down, even if you're not the owner. Adding complications may soothe the simple minded, but for those with real money to lend, it just increases the interest rate that needs to be charged (if the money is made available at all). Mr. Collins made a mistake in lending to this person. But spun another way, what more can you ask of a guy than to dump money into east side real estate?

OK, it is quite evident that everyone is passionate about the race coming up, but current business models do not show businesses being run like households. They do not always cut back or go bankrupt like you would like to think, MJWorthington. They cut back the wages and benefits of their workers, outsource the jobs, go bankrupt, use government dollars to use this, THEN give the executives big time raises. Some 30 years ago, top executives made roughly 50 times their highest paid employee, now they make ten times that of their highest paid.

Fudgeworth, maybe you should know that on October 10, 2006, Mr. Collins wrote an editorial to the Buffalo News stating that:

"Free trade is good, not bad."

Just so you don't think I am taking it out of context to just make a point, he also states:

"Americans do not have the unilateral right to prosperity while the rest of the world lives in poverty....Prosperity in the rest ofthe world is good, not bad. Competition is good, not bad."

I agree with him wholeheartedly on that, and I am sure that you can too. The problem is that NAFTA, which Collins is an outspoken supporter of, has not given us a level playing feild. I am sure that you are aware that many good manufacturing jobs have been outsourced from the area since its enactment. Now, contrary to what you may believe, I AM realistic, and I know that jobs like these are not coming back and that we need to start a new economy. But I do knot know if YOU are aware that NAFTA, that was supposed to raise the standard of living in Mexico to create a market for our products has actually done the reverse. Before NAFTA, the average wage in Mexico $1.00, since then it has decreased to $.70. According to Mexican law, after a certain amount of time passes, employers have to offer healthcare to their workers. To avoid this, many companies hire their workers on 3 month renewable contracts so that in the event that a worker gets sick or hurt or may just get too old, the company does not have to renew. They ignore environmental laws so that pollutants in the Rio Brande are thousands (yes thousands) of times higher than their permissible limits by law. This is the philosophy that Mr. Collins subscribes to. That is why the companies he "saves" outsource most of the jobs and cut the wages and benefits of those left AND he uses our, yes yours and my, tax dollars to do it. About thirteen million of them, actually. Now of course I want to area to thrive as much (and probably more) than anyone else, but to give out public dollars to companies (like his) who do not pay enough to their workers to have a decent standard of living or decent benefits is a waste of our money. You can bring as many jobs in the area as you want, but if they do not pay a decent wage, does that really help the area? Alot of you people seem to be grabbing at air, no offense, but just be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.

Just remember folks, "Christopher C. Collins of Clarence, views free trade as a positive outcome".

The question is, do you?