SHERBURNE – Mid York Press in Sherburne played host to two political candidates Wednesday, seeing visits from Congressional candidate for the 24th district, Michael Arcuri (D-Utica) and candidate for New York State Supreme Court Justice, Judge Elizabeth Garry.
President and CEO of Mid York Press Robert Tenney took the candidates on a tour of the facility and then had all the employees congregate out front to listen to what the politicians had to say. He took a brief moment to remind everyone that the company is apolitical before he turned the stage over to Arcuri.
Arcuri began by complimenting the facilities at Mid York Press, and the employees who run it. Arcuri said that the 80 workers at the company represent one of the great strengths of this area – the work force.
Arcuri spoke mainly about the loss of jobs in Chenango County and what can be done to replace them. “On this Congress’ watch, Chenango County has lost over 700 manufacturing jobs in the last six years,” Arcuri said. He pointed out local businesses, like Union Tools, that had to close their doors. “Restoring these jobs and creating new ones in central New York is essential to get our local economy back on track.”
Arcuri has a six-part plan to restore jobs in this region. First he believes that the trade agreements are unfair and need to be changed. “There’s nothing wrong with trade agreements, but they need to be fair trade, not free trade,” Arcuri said. He pointed out that manufacturing jobs are moving to other countries that pay workers substandard rates, while American workers pay the price. “We have the skills and determination to compete with anyone, we just need a level playing field,” Arcuri said.
His second step is to end our dependence on foreign oil. “We need an energy plan that puts the interests of consumers before the interests of the big energy companies,” Arcuri said. According to him, we should invest in the development of ethanol. “Ethanol development could be a big source of business in this region,” Arcuri said.
Third, Arcuri believes we need more tax cuts for the middle class and the small businesses. “Working families struggle to make ends meet, and the federal government does nothing to keep them afloat,” he said.
Arcuri said he also has a problem with the health care system. He claims a system that leaves 46 million people uninsured needs to be overhauled.
To help bring industry to the area, Arcuri says we need to improve our infrastructure. “This is a priority for me, if I am elected to Congress,” he said. Arcuri pointed to the often slow-moving traffic on state Route 12 as a problem. He claims we need to improve the roads, the rail accessibility, the air service and the technological infrastructure as well.
Arcuri’s last step is to balance the budget. “We went from having the largest surplus in our nation’s history, to having one of the largest deficits,” Arcuri said. He claims we need to reestablish the pay-as-you-go system.