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Opponents were absent as Pomeroy spoke

By CHRIS CONROY

MONTICELLO — It was standing room only for Raymond "Rusty" Pomeroy's state of the county address Tuesday, except for some empty legislators seats.

Rusty Pomeroy

Missing from the evening address were Steve Kurlander, Richard Levine, and Chris Cunningham. The three legislators have staged an ongoing, very public feud with Pomeroy in recent months (see page 7).

When asked about the absences, Glenn Pontier, the county Public Information Director, said that Kurlander and Levine both had previous appointments that could not be broken.

Another official said that the appointment was at a teleconference presentation at Cornell Cooperative Extension and that "those are always videotaped anyway."

Cunningham was unavailable for comment.

Audience seats were packed with a mix of local business people, politicians, and concerned citizens listened raptly to Pomeroy's remarks. Many more found themselves standing around the chamber doing the same.

Responding to the address, Republican Minority Leader Rodney Gaebel offered general support for the planned programs and initiatives.

"I appreciate the majority's willingness to consider proposals on their merits and to set aside the partisan struggles which are too often part of government," he said in a prepared response.

Gaebel made it a point, however, to note that the proposed agenda "is easy to support in concept," raising the ever-present concern of the possible difference between concept and implementation.

Focusing in on the promised 3% tax cut, Gaebel promised commitment to the idea and wants to insure that it "is not diverted to some other purpose but actually puts money back into the pockets of taxpayers."

Joyce Salimeno, the president of the Board of Trustees at Community General Hospital, remarked "This is definitely a step in the right direction," in regards to the proposed plan that would provide $2.5 million for a "Sullivan Health Fund" over the next twenty-five years.

Of the gathered crowd, there was little other than positive feedback regarding the plans. Business leaders were happy to hear many developmental initiatives would remain in place or be improved upon. Those currently out of work or involved in county Workforce programs were elated to hear those programs were to be expanded.

The only questions raised were in regards to the implementation of the suggested programs, mainly whether the plans could actually be made a reality once the entire legislature begins work on the details.