Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino is expected to decide next week whether or not he will run for governor against Andrew Cuomo, sources tell NY1.
Astorino, a Republican, was solidly re-elected last November in the Democratic-leaning county.
He was in Westchester Friday morning where he spoke with NY1 exclusively about Startup New York, the signature economic development program being promoted by Governor Cuomo.
Astorino says Startup New York, which allows companies to operate in the state and pay no taxes, has been a failure with very few, if any, businesses taking advantage of those incentives.
“To say that we are open for businesses is actually a national joke because you have other states laughing at New York because of the people going to other states and not opening up here,” Astorino said.
Astorino went on to criticize the amount of money Cuomo is spending on the program, claiming the state is spending about $ 140 million overall, which includes $ 17 million in ads and $ 9 million of that ad buy in the expensive New York City market.
Astorino says they might as well be campaign ads for the governor.
“He can spend all the money he wants and he spent tens of millions of our tax dollars on this Start up New York campaign, which has started up nothing. In fact just the words Start up New York is an admission that New York is idle at best,” Astorino said.
The Cuomo administration counters that Startup New York was supported and passed last year by state lawmakers, including Republican Senate leader Dean Skelos.
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via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1
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