In the midst of his re-election campaign, Governor Andrew Cuomo appeared Tuesday at the groundbreaking for SolarCity, a project promising hundreds of jobs in return for millions in state subsidies. Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino is campaigning against such incentives, as Bob McCarthy notes in a conversation with WBFO News.
While Astorino's stance may produce negative reactions in Western New York, McCarthy says the Republican is trying to show the contrast between himself and the incumbent governor.
"His (Astorino's) whole approach is going to be we need to improve the business climate, the tax structure in this state, therefore you don't need a targeted program that costs a billion dollars for Buffalo," McCarthy explained.
McCarthy, the Buffalo News Political Reporter, offered some thoughts on the race in the 60th Senate District where incumbent Mark Grisanti is now running on the Independence Party line. It's possible former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg may lend financial support to Grisanti's effort as he did in past campaigns. Though a Republican, Grisanti has cast controversial votes supporting same-sex marriage and the SAFE Act, both issues championed by Bloomberg.
Though a two-time winner in the district, Grisanti lost in the Republican Primary to Kevin Stocker. Stocker, McCarthy says, "kind of marches to his own drummer."
According to McCarthy, Stocker could have easily had his name placed on the Conservative Party line on the November ballot, but never reached out to the party.
"He (Stocker) just kind of does his own thing and he did okay this time doing his own thing," McCarthy said.