CITIZENS UNION CALLS ON STATE COMPTROLLER ALAN HEVESI TO RESIGN

The chair of Citizens Union, Richard J. Davis, and executive director, Dick Dadey issued the following statement today.

Yesterday’s State Ethics Commission report involving State Comptroller Alan Hevesi confirmed concerns that Citizens Union recently expressed when it declined to support his re-election.

Unless the Comptroller can promptly present persuasive evidence demonstrating that the Ethics Commission’s factual conclusions are incorrect, Citizens Union believes his actions are so inconsistent with one of the fundamental responsibilities of the Comptroller – being the watchdog over the use of taxpayer dollars – that he should resign his position.

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Citizens Union today announced that it has endorsed Eliot Spitzer for Governor and Andrew Cuomo for Attorney General. It also announced that it would not be supporting Alan Hevesi in his bid for reelection as State Comptroller.

Richard J. Davis, chair of Citizens Union said, “Alan Hevesi would have easily earned Citizens Union’s support for reelection. However, we believe his credibility as the state’s chief fiscal officer - even though he has apologized – has been seriously damaged because of his failure to reimburse the state, and therefore Citizens Union cannot support his reelection.”

Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, commented, “It is hard to understand how he could have made such a mistake through simple omission given that he made the very same mistake as Comptroller of the City of New York. That this mistake was uncovered by his opponent raises concerns over whether Mr. Hevesi would ever have reimbursed the state had it not been for his opponent’s inquiry. His transgression calls into serious question his ability to be effective as the state’s fiscal watchdog.”

Buffalo and Western New York continues to rebound following the October 13th snow storm which landed more than 24" of wet snow on trees still full of green and fall-colored leaves.  Power has been out for more than 400,000 residences with some still without power as we head into the coming week.  The hardest hit areas included Buffalo and its northern suburbs of Amherst and Tonawanda.  Estimates are that 50-75% of the area's trees are down or damaged.  Weather forecasters and utility crews from outside the area say that the tree damage is worse than what they've seen in many hurricanes.  Crews from New England and throughout the eastcoast are assisting in the cleanup.  Schools have been closed for this past week and some in the hardest hit areas will remain closed as we head into the coming week.  Now in the second weekend after the storm, there remain many damaged trees which still have broken limbs high in the trees and many still piled along the streetways.  Known for its Frederick Law Olmstead park system, the Buffalo area and its many parks will take decades to return to its previous beauty and fullness - a real sadness as one surveys the largest park, Delaware Park, Forest Lawn Cemetery and others.

Politically, Congressman Tom Reynolds has gotten lucky as he has been able to grab the attention of those with power by appearing to be on top of the emergency situation, probably a welcome reprieve from being trounced by the Foley scandal before the storm.  FEMA continues to be the example of bureaucratic inaction and johnny-come-lately assistance.

For video on the storm and its effects, check out below.