Cuomo pits Upstate regions against each other in competition for economic development aid ~ O'Mara, others say much more needs to be done to turn around Upstate

In Rochester yesterday, Governor Cuomo announced an Upstate economic development competition that will pit seven Upstate regions against each other.  Under the governor's plan, three regions will ultimately share $1.5 billion in state assistance.

Senator O'Mara and other local and statewide leaders expressed some reservations in response to the Cuomo plan and pointed to the need to do much more to turn around the Upstate economy.

Senator O'Mara said, " "Governor Cuomo has announced yet another Upstate competition for economic development assistance from the state. While that's all well and good, and I have every confidence that the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions will be more than competitive, it can't be the end of the story for turning around the Upstate economy. It's even more critical for the governor and the Legislature to focus on overregulation, high taxes, unfunded state mandates and all of the other roadblocks standing in the way of Upstate, private-sector job growth in manufacturing, small business, agriculture, tourism, and so many other key Upstate businesses and industries. There's a lot of work left to do in these areas."

Read more in The Leader, "Cuomo: $1.5 billion for upstate New York"

And see Senator O'Mara's recent weekly column on the high cost of overrregulation, "Overregulation keeps Upstate economy a downer"