Once again are we being dissed? All the promises of doing things to help us here upstate and WNY appears to be going by the wayside. Why? We are the stepchild apparently and it gets proven more and more everyday. Where is our representation?

Don’t forget upstate

What is Governor Paterson thinking? He is apparently ready to follow the advice of downstate business leaders and abandon the concept of a separate economic development czar for upstate. That would be devastating.

Mr. Paterson’s predecessor, Eliot Spitzer, once depicted upstate as New York’s Appalachia. Sadly, Mr. Spitzer wasn’t quite accurate. Compared with the laggard pace of upstate development, Appalachia has been doing better economically. But Mr. Spitzer was right on the mark about what to do to turn things around: He appointed someone to specifically encourage upstate growth. More recently, he unveiled a $1 billion economic development package to help foster that growth.

But that was then. Now some downstate business leaders have objected to Mr. Spitzer’s concept of having two heads of the Empire State Development Corp., one for downstate, one for upstate. Instead, they suggest a single head for the entire state program.

That might make sense if economic development could be tracked at the same, or similar, rate statewide. But that’s not the case. Compared with upstate, downstate has enjoyed boom times. Meanwhile, upstate cities like Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo continue to lose jobs as companies leave town in search of greener pastures. Upstate is its own challenge, then, and it needs someone to focus solely on its specific needs.

True, an argument can be made that a single economic leader could eliminate delays and save money by streamlining services. But that’s not what the downstate advisers have in mind. They want to add a new layer of bureaucracy, not streamline it, by creating a new top position to oversee the downstate and upstate chairmen. How can that be justified at the very time Mr. Paterson is looking to save money in the face of looming state budget deficits?

At the moment, Daniel Gundersen is the chairman charged with encouraging upstate growth. But he would lose some of his autonomy if the downstate plan is adopted and he is placed under a single czar. That would also be counterproductive. Instead of serving as a single voice speaking out on behalf of upstate needs, he would be a top lieutenant who must answer to a new boss.

That’s no way to help upstate. And that’s no way to fulfill the vision articulated by Mr. Spitzer who, despite his failings, was quick to realize the importance of a vibrant upstate to New York’s overall economy. Indeed, Mr. Paterson, in his first address as governor, also stressed the need for upstate vitality. He can best achieve that goal by ignoring those who would once again make the upstate economy an afterthought.

THE ISSUE: A downstate group

wants a single leader for economic growth.

THE STAKES: Upstate’s needs are urgent and require special attention.