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Paladino talks tough about Seneca issue

Written by Administrator

Saturday, 04 September 2010

Paladino talks tough about Seneca issue
By Thomas J. Prohaska

NIAGARA FALLS -- Gubernatorial candidate Carl P. Paladino said Wednesday that if he is elected, he would take a hard line against the Seneca Nation of Indians.

And he didn't stop there.

The Buffalo businessman, seeking the Republican Party line in his campaign for governor, railed against do-little developers who have locked up land in downtown Niagara Falls, several state authorities and his political opponents during a Niagara USA Chamber breakfast Wednesday in the Rapids Theater.

He left some of his harshest comments for the Senecas, at a time when tensions are high because of the state's interest in collecting tax on the sale of cigarettes to non-Indians on Native American territories.

"The fact that the past three governors have neglected to go up and enforce the law because they're afraid of somebody standing on top of a police car or they're afraid of somebody burning some tires in the street, that's not me," he said in response to an audience question.

"Let one of them stand on top of a police car in my administration; it would be the last time they stood on top of a police car."

In response to another question about the downtrodden state of the Niagara Falls economy, Paladino received a long round of applause when he said: "My goal is a skyline to match the skyline across the river [in Niagara Falls, Ont.]."

Paladino, whose Ellicott Development Co. owns the Giacomo, a boutique hotel in Niagara Falls, said he also would seek to reopen the agreement between the Senecas and the state that gave the nation 50 acres of land in downtown Niagara Falls.

"We gave them a franchise to operate their casino," he said. "That's good. Operate their casino. They've got a 600-some-room hotel over there. That's good. That's it. No more. No more hotels unless you're going to pay taxes. You can come out and compete with the private sector."

He also took a swipe at Niagara Falls Redevelopment, the private company that has bought up large tracts of land in downtown Niagara Falls without doing much with it.

"The character out of New York [Howard P. Milstein] who was brought in by the character out of Canada [Edwin A. Cogan, who died in 2003], it's time for them to go," Paladino said. "They've had their chance. They're what we call meddlers. They're not interested in development. They're interested in making money off of somebody else's efforts.

"The same with the people on the [Rainbow Centre] mall, the Maryland character [David S. Cordish]. They're not going to do anything; they're just sitting around."

On other issues, Paladino said he would abolish state control of the public school curriculum and turn the decision over to local boards of education.

He also called for abolishing the New York Power Authority as a stand-alone agency and moving its functions into the regular state government, and he suggested abolishing or severely cutting the Adirondack Park Agency, Lower Manhattan Development Corp. and the Division of Housing and Community Renewal.

"I can assure you, the Power Authority's days are numbered," Paladino told the audience.

Paladino said he would require fingerprinting and drug testing of all Medicaid applicants and would abolish telephone applications for Medicaid, saying the practice "reeks of fraud."

By cracking down on fraud and abuse and by dropping some optional Medicaid services, county property tax bills could be reduced by 25 to 30 percent, Paladino said.

He called for increasing State University of New York tuitions, but only for out-of-state students. He said the lower in-state tuition "is in recognition of the terrible economy we have right now, and I don't think it should be changed."

On the state of the race for the Sept. 14 primary, he told reporters that his GOP rival, Rick Lazio, should consent to debate him, adding, "He doesn't have the fortitude and the guts to take on the demons in Albany."

As for Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, the Democratic nominee, Paladino said, "He hasn't come out on any issues yet. ... All we've heard is he's [Assembly Speaker] Sheldon Silver's buddy and he can work things out with Sheldon Silver. I don't think he can."

Paladino called Cuomo "a self-absorbed human being" and said, "If he wants to be president, he should drop out now because by the time I get done with him, he will not be presidential material."

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/article179068.ece

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