Was there any thing of any substance in this speech? Hardly, just more and more of government spending and involvements where they don’t belong. I can see the local politicians drooling as they wait for more government handouts. Where will the money go? God only knows but putting any more money in the hands of any politician is wasteful spending.

Sure roads, bridges, parks and eliminating vacant, dilapidated crack houses is long overdue. But what needs to be done is lowering taxes, utility rates, insurance, liability, workers compensation and all the other rules, regulations that flow out of Albany. Eliminate the tolls that kill us commuters. Do something substantial, stop the pandering please.

Spitzer’s speech here embraced as symbol of hope

If one facet of the first State of Upstate speech in New York history impressed those who heard it Wednesday, it was the mere fact that Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer came to the beleaguered region for its delivery.

Spitzer outlined a sweeping economic redevelopment plan to about 800 people in Rockwell Hall at Buffalo State College, promising to pump $1 billion into various economic stimulus plans aiming to “overcome this storm and return growth and prosperity to upstate New York.”

“We can make upstate open for business; we can attract young people and keep them here; and we can truly become the best place in the world to live, work, raise a family and start a business,” he said. “That is our vision.”

The hour long address featured much of the pomp and circumstance of a traditional State of the State speech in the Assembly Chamber, with Lt. Gov. David A. Paterson and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver attending, along with all of the Western New York delegation to the State Legislature.

But few downstate legislators made the trip, and critics are already panning his ideas as warmed-over proposals or as too little and too late.

Nevertheless, the governor’s choice of Buffalo to launch the effort struck a symbolic chord with most of those at Buffalo State.

“This is historic — the first time in history there’s been an upstate State of the State,” said Mayor Byron W. Brown. “And the difference is there is accountability, a commitment, a presence and $1 billion the governor has announced.” The $1 billion pot of money, to be called the Upstate Revitalization Fund, aims to invest in infrastructure, expand economic development plans “city by city,” establish a housing and community renewal fund, stimulate agribusiness, achieve universal broadband access, improve parks and expand international marketing.

The entire plan will be accomplished, Spitzer said, without raising taxes. “While I realize that this is a large amount of money in tough fiscal times,” he said, “I also know that it’s at these very moments when investment matters most — when the urgency is so great that we simply cannot afford to wait.”

Included in the proposal are a $4.5 million plan to help establish a third University at Buffalo facility at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. The resulting influx of people and programs into the downtown core will be most welcomed, Brown said.

“UB should pump $100 million into this region’s economy,” the mayor said. “That’s an incredible figure.”

Also included is $80 million to restore the region’s state parks, with $5.5 million earmarked for the Niagara Reservation. Parks Commissioner Carol Ash said the proposal recognizes that state parks mean jobs, especially to serve tourists who will not come without major infrastructure upgrades. “It will be a wonderful legacy, and none of this has been done in years, years and years,” she said.

But Niagara County Legislator Renae Kimble, a Niagara Falls Democrat, said she would prefer the money be invested in tangible projects that create jobs — such as more improvements at Niagara Falls International Airport. “Putting money into parks, to me, is not getting it,” she said.

Allies like Silver praised the governor’s plans to more diligently link top research universities to incubator facilities that create jobs.

“We’re with him 100 percent,” Silver said. “We recognize we have to invest in the universities. That’s the future economy. That’s the production that we’re going to be doing here.”

And new Erie County Executive Chris Collins said he heard in the speech many of the pro business themes of his campaign. “The governor’s job is now to carry the ball across the finish line,” Collins said. “I’m certainly supportive of everything I heard today.”

Still, economic development experts like Andrew J. Rudnick, president of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, graded the overall effort only a “B or B-minus.”

“It’s a necessary but certainly not sufficient step toward getting all this stuff done,” he said. “And as we do in New York, we’re better at throwing money at symptoms than dealing with causes.”

Erie County Republican Chairman James P. Domagalski was even more direct. “The investments he talked about desperately need to be made,” he said. “But the costs of government have to be reduced. Otherwise, it’s just a nice speech.”

Back in Albany, the speech was panned for lacking a dramatic overhaul in the way the government treats upstate and for relying more on government grants than tax breaks and a loosening of regulations.

Critics said the speech lacked important details, such as how the governor — during a year in which the state budget is facing at least a $4.3 billion deficit — will pay for the various funding ideas. Without providing details, aides would only say a mix of borrowing and cash would fund the proposals. And according to an internal memo from the GOP-led State Senate, a number of the ideas were borrowed from former Gov. George E. Pataki or previous Senate proposals — though with smaller funding.

rmccarthy@buffnews.com and tprecious@buffnews.com

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