We must invest in communities, not corporations

NEW YORK, NY — Today, Cynthia Nixon unveiled her economic development platform, A Fair Economy For All. As Governor, Cynthia would hold Wall Street and corporations accountable, correct the racial and economic inequity in the state’s economic development programs, invest in our crumbling infrastructure, and create a real $15 minimum wage statewide. She would also make a major investment in one of our state’s fastest growing industries, the ‘caring economy,’ to finally provide home care workers with the wages and working conditions they deserve.

Cynthia unveiled the plan with supporters and community leaders outside of the Tesla Gigafactory 2 in Buffalo. The new factory was a signature part of Andrew Cuomo’s “Buffalo Billion,” an economic development initiative that has been engulfed in corruption and ultimately resulted in the conviction of the Governor’s top economic development aide and several of his donors last month. The Buffalo Billion has also largely been an economic failure, resulting in nowhere near the number of jobs promised. Yet even today, Governor Cuomo still continued to defend his administration’s habit of handing corporations billions in tax breaks and incentives, with no strings attached.

“New York is the most unequal state in the country. To understand why, you have to look no farther than Governor Cuomo’s economic development strategy. Cuomo has cut taxes for the wealthy, and his economic development programs produce more corruption scandals than jobs,” said Cynthia. “As Governor, I will take a different approach by investing in our communities, not corporate executives.”

Supporters from the Buffalo area also applauded Cynthia’s economic development plan.

“The compassionate care plank of this platform – from the perspective of persons with disability – is the first clear acknowledgement of the crisis in home health care that affect people with disabilities and senior citizens daily,” said Todd Vaarwerk, disability rights activist and Director of Advocacy and Public Policy for the Western New York Independent Living Center. “These services are critical to the full inclusion of all of our services and we are pleased to see this plank promoted.”

“As a proud parent of two Buffalo public school students and proud union members in education, I stand here today in support of Cynthia Nixon’s candidacy for Governor,” said Buffalo public school parent Larry Scott. “Unlike the current Governor, Cynthia will stand up for the working people, for our low-income communities, and for people of color. Cynthia will stand up for organized labor and collective bargaining rights, and truly resist the attacks on labor from Washington.”

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