Andrew Cuomo, attorney general and democratic gubernatorial candidate, made a stop in downtown Jamestown during his "Drive for a New New York" campaign Saturday.
Cuomo and his three daughters entered the Robert H. Jackson Center after arriving in an RV, which he is using to conduct his campaign tour. The campaign stop, which was the last in a four-day leg of his tour, drew a crowd outside of the Robert H. Jackson Center, where Cuomo spoke on the front steps.
Many current and former local politicians and civil servants were in the audience. Among those who introduced Cuomo were Mayor Sam Teresi, former lieutenant governor Stan Lundine and Cuomo's daughter Mariah Kennedy Cuomo.
Andrew Cuomo is, "a guy who has his priorities straight in life," said Teresi.
"He is fighting on behalf of the people," he said.
The state of New York is, "not as bad as you think, it's actually worse," said Lundine.
"We need reform in this state and we need it badly," Lundine said. "Andrew is the right person at the right time to provide that leadership."
Lundine also spoke about Cuomo's commitment to non-profit organizations.
"It's important we have a governor who understands the potential of not-for-profit organizations, and I believe Andrew Cuomo is the best hope for a brighter future," he said.
Mariah Cuomo spoke about her father being a "shining example" of the qualities needed to help the people of the state.
"My father has proven he can get things done for the people," she said.
Cuomo stood on the porch of the Jackson Center and explained his position to the audience.
"This state, frankly, is in serious trouble," he said. "Either we will get our act together or we will see other states pass us by."
Cuomo's campaign platform includes "cleaning up Albany," he said.
"I plan on fundamentally restoring trust in our government," he said. "The people have been disappointed, the people have been betrayed."
Cuomo said he plans on restoring this trust with full disclosure and transparency in the government. The second order of business is to balance the budget, he said.
"We have to start making these tough choices," he said. "The answer cannot be 'we are going to raise taxes.' We need to find the economies of scale."
Cuomo said he plans on keeping the property taxes down, which are "chasing people from their homes," he said. Cuomo said he also plans to overhaul the "too big, ineffective and expensive" government of the state by reducing the number of state agencies and sharing service among the more than 10,000 local governments, he said.
"I don't know that Albany has just forgotten Jamestown," he said. "I think that Albany has forgotten Jamestown, it's forgotten Buffalo, it's forgotten Syracuse, Rochester and New York City. My point is we have to bring ethics back, we have to bring integrity back and we have to bring confidence back."
He also said creating jobs and keeping students within the state is a main priority. He plans on creating a job development program.
"Just electing a new governor is not enough," he said. "To change that dynamic will not be easy."
Change can only come when the "people of the state stand up and demand," these changes, he said.
"These recent few years, this is not New York state government," he said. "The true story is that we have the finest state government in the United States of America. New York state has been the beacon of governments all across the nation. That is what it was and what it will be again. What this is all about at the end of the day is to leave this place a little bit better then we found it," he said. "We will bring New York to a level it's never been."
Cuomo chose Jamestown as his final stop in this leg of the tour because he said he wanted his daughters to see the town and had personal friends here.
"It is a special place in the state for me," he said.
