There seems to be some very interesting internal politics going on with the I-98 project and it pseudo-front organization called the Northern Corridor Transportation Group. I say "pseudo-front" because there is no real organization. It's just Jason Clark and a few of his political cronies who claim to be a vast, far-reaching network of staunch supporters for the hopeful interstate project.
But the internal rift between Clark and big labor guru Ernie Labaff boiled over publicly last week when the former took a potshot at the latter during a press release in which the former was attacking Massena Village Mayor Jim Hidy.
Sounds confusing, I know, but it's just the latest shenanigans from Clark who has been not-so-adroitly mixing his titles of economic developer, interstate promoter, aspiring politician, good old boy Democrat and snake-oil salesman.
Amidst the huffing and puffing between Clark and Labaff steps up lame duck St. Lawrence County IDA director Ray Fountain, another frequent target of Clark's potshots. Fountain questions the NCTG spending practices and lack of documentation. Why does he get involved, you ask? Well, the IDA controls the NCTG purse strings.
Getting more confusing, right?
The next player to step into the box is St. Lawrence County Democratic Party Chairman Mark Bellardini. Don't question the expenditures and lack of documentation, he says, because "this is the closest the project has ever been to becoming a reality. We're very lucky to have Jason Clark championing this project. He's done a heck of a job."
Apparently Bellardini forgot to add, and "we're grooming Jason to run for office in the not too distance future so we've got to make him look good. Don't criticize his failure to keep proper books or disclose how he spends the NCTG money, for God's sake."
In fact, Clark has used the NCTG and I-98 to club non-Democrat politicians and candidates who are "slow to endorse the project" in Clark's eyes. Much like many leaders in the labor movement, there are really no good Republicans.
Clark even went so far as to testify in Albany that of all of the nicknames the project has had in the last 40 years the "moniker that we don't like at all; the Northern Tier Expressway" is the one devised by a Republican - former Gov. George Pataki.
Careful Jason, your partisan slip is showing!
The reality is, contrary to Bellardini's claims, I-98 is nowhere near reality. No politician has brought any significant funding for the project in a decade, New York is flat busted broke and the NYDOT and Gov. Cuomo have yet to sign on to the project. Even the folks in D.C. can't seem to find the $8-10 billion needed for the highway laying around anywhere.
So, it will be fun to watch the political machinations around I-98 in the coming months. Will Clark prevail" Will Labaff get his revenge or ultimately get kicked to the curb by the party elite? And will the party in control of the county legislature throw out another twenty-grand to fund the future of the NCTG with no accountability as has been the case for the past few years?
Stay tuned. This could get very interesting!
keep it up, it's always entertaining to watch you Massena Gov't types sticking each other in the back.
ReplyDeletewhile Drawing attention away from your own faults.
I'm not from Massena but if I were, I'd rather read about my governments results, than reading a back sticking blog, as entertaining as it may be.
It must kill you knowing deep down inside that Ernie Labaff has done more good for Massena and the north country than you could in 10 lifetimes.
Get rid of Jason Clark. I want his job. If I had his job he would have all of his time to devote to I-98 and other things. The Massena area deserves someone who will get things done and not just talk about it or hide behind a lame duck confidentiality statement just to get him off the hook for another month. The Town and Village boards together need to meet with the BDC board and quit sticking up for his shortcomings and fire him. Just fire him!. Massena taxpayers deserve better. Town and Village leaders have to do something about this. Take the bull by the horns and get rid of the dead weight. Get something done so we can move forward.
ReplyDeleteWhy do Massena's GOP leaders and their attack dogs (sorry Murph) attack Jason Clark so intensely? The kid is a hard worker and a tireless advocate for the North Country. He may ruffle some feathers, but his heart is in the right place. He has a vision and the I-98 Corridor is a critical p[art of it. But I feel that the GOPs would throw away everything he's done in order to get him out of office. When Clark ran for our Assembly seat in the 1990s against Chloe Ann O'Neil, he was endorsed by Ryne Martin. One prominent GOP leader called Martin everything short of a "Communist". The LTTE is probably in the Courier-Observer archives, but I thought we had gotten over it. In my opinion, Massena cannot afford to be throttled by partisan gridlock.
ReplyDeleteDroopy, your comment has no substance. Some hot air, maybe, but nothing concrete. Why would you think you can do a better job than Clark has? At least Clark has a strategy; what have you got? Can you tell me how we are going to attract Canadian businesses if they can't get materielle in and finished product out? How are you going to get our communication grid to compete with Plattsburg or Watertown? How will you get our streets fit for anything but a Hummer?
I wish I didn't hear all this naysaying. If we don't believe we can get the job done, we never will. A lot of work has gone into the I-98 initiative. Ed Russell was a big advocate for the plan, which we then called "St. Lawrence County Four Laned For Jobs". The plan has earned the respect of Rep. Owens, Sen. Griffo, and Assemblywoman Russell. If asked, I bet we would get the support of Sen. Gillibrand also. They don't need to see a splintered response from us.
Bruce why do you continue to perpetuate the myth that I, or any one else who dares ask questions about the four lane highway, am opposed to it??
ReplyDeleteIt's not a Republican thing, they just have the guts to ask the tough questions about the money spent (literally thousands on advertising inserts in local papers - for what?), the approach taken (will ads on NCN asking for sponsors really do anything to further I-98?).
Let's be honest, there is no I-98. That is a PR name devised by Mr. Clark.
You're right, he works his tail off.
The question is, how much is he doing to create jobs and further economic development IN MASSENA???!!!!
That's what local taxpayers' are paying him to do, not promote the highway that will run 30 miles south of our town - if the people in control in Washington ever decide to fund it. We've seen no evidence of that so far.
Have you or anybody else seen one accounting of how the I-98 money is being spent?
By his own admission, Jason uses Massena BDC money for I-98 purposes and then asks the county IDA for re-imbursement.
The BDC gets the money back IF the IDA approves it. That's what they've been fighting about lately.
So, Bruce, don't say I'm opposed to the project just because I dare to have the common sense to ask some questions.
As a Massena taxpayers, you should be asking them too, frankly.
Bruce, How do you figure it's hot air? First and foremost, before we think about cross border trade routes or airport expansions or I-98, Massena needs to be more self sufficient. I have discussed my visions with local leaders and believe me, my ideas are not far fetched and very doable. If there is noticeable progress, people will notice it and it will spawn growth in a lot of industries. Housing, Real Estate, Construction, Medical, Retail and transportation will all flourish if there is noticeable gradual growth. No political affiliation is required for Jason's position. If his performance level was higher, he would be noticed and respected more by all. I-98 would be great for the region however Jason is focusing more on that project than serving the needs of the people who pay his salary. Is his loyalty to the taxpayers of Massena? I think not. If someone questions his methods or motives, he throws a tantrum and strikes back. That clearly shows a lack of professionalism on his part. People are tired of stagnation and are starting to ask questions and wonder what he is up to. He get's angry. Part of his job is mediation. It takes a cool head to accept criticism and blowing up at people is not going to get him anything except a lack of respect from his peers and his employers . Everyone needs to work together for the greater good of the region as a whole. Tension will hold up progress. I am not blowing smoke up anyone's butt and I have vision that would benefit the local economy now, not 5-10 years from now. Jason's claiming 27,000 jobs after I-98 is complete is hot air. There is no factual evidence to support that number. It sounds like political pitch. I am pro I-98 however, I am more concerned with bringing blue collar jobs and industry to the area today. I have no political desires and would only focus on the job at hand. I am far from being full of hot air. I have a lot of ideas and a plan on how to create industry in Massena. I do not believe in waiting for something to fall in our laps, we cannot afford to wait another few years. Things need to happen now and Massena deserves to have someone who is loyal and devoted to the immediate needs of the taxpayers and the community as a whole and not afraid to make things happen. We cannot afford to take a chance on the "If we build it, they will come" mentality. It would be great if when our kids and grandchildren graduate from local colleges that they have an option of building their careers here and raise their families here. It's unfortunate that once the kids graduate now, they have to relocate in order to gain employment to pursue their careers. I am not an attack dog for anyone. I have been following this closely because I think it is important to the taxpayers to get their money's worth from the person in charge of creating economic growth in Massena. I would be interested in knowing if Jason is getting any sort of compensation for his I-98 efforts through money that has been donated to the cause. If he is, some may see that is a conflict of interest or double dipping.
ReplyDeleteJoe and Droopy,
ReplyDeleteI apologize if I implied that you oppose the I-98 initiative. More aptly, I believe that the GOP support is lukewarm. And the animosity towards Jason Clark seems to be motivated more by politics than by concerns over his job performance. Clark may plan to run for political office in the future. But I don't even know what office that may be if he seeks to do so. I do have sound reasons to believe that our highway system is an obstacle to our efforts to attract potential employers.
I did not refer to either of you as "attack dogs". In reality, I am supportive of your initiatives. I also support Jason Clark's efforts. My concern is that partisanship will hinder the effectiveness of our recruiting plans. If we don't succeed, Massena will continue to shrink. We will become less relevant to the state of New York, and we will continue to be semi-isolated economically. Have I helped to clarify my position?
Droopy,
ReplyDeleteIf you have a plan to create employment opportunities in Massena, I'd love to hear them. You're saying that you have one, but all I see is criticism of Jason Clark's plan. That's not very helpful. Clark seems to be a bit of a hothead, but that may not be all bad. It shows that he is committed to his job, and I can appreciate that. At the same time, he could be more diplomatic and needs to work on that. From my perspective, Clark's personality is insignificant. I am more interested in knowing that he will work hard to promote our town.
If you do not have vast amounts of resources to make things happen, what else is there except a persons personality? There is a great amount of salesmanship and creativity required for the BDC to be a success. There is a huge amount of responsibility to the people in your community who took a chance by hiring him in the first place. It's one thing to hash things out behind closed doors, but then to turn around and publicly blast those who you are supposed to be working with,and for, shows his lack of wisdom. The key part of sales is knowing when to shut up. Alienation of himself from other ED groups is not a wise idea either. The IDA and RVRDA and the BDC need to keep open lines of communications and be on good terms for all of them to succeed. Friction will only slow things down and although people may forgive Jason for his outbursts, they will never forget. I stress that Jason's job is not a political one. A person can be looked upon as a great developer and gain respect by all political and non political types by his or her performance level and accomplishments. Personality is key to being successful at any type of sales oriented work. He has shown he is a good salesman by convincing municipalities and local governments to hand him 10's of thousands of dollars for I-98 marketing. His plan, as you say, does not meet the immediate needs of today. People need jobs now. Even if I-98 was approved today, by the time it is finished, a whole new generation of workers will be seeking employment. I am critical of the BDC because I know for a fact that things can be happening now. Viable business that would offer jobs and help increase the population which in turn would boost morale in the community and also help other established business and industry grow. I have expressed my ideas and intentions with local leaders however I do not wish to make all of my ideas public at this time because I would like the opportunity to show that it can be done by making it happen, not to just talk about it. 5 of my immediate ideas are manufacturing related and all of them include using resources that are readily available to us. Namely materials and there is a use for the manufactured goods here and around the world. A 4 lane highway would be nice if it were available but since it is not an option right now, That would not stop us from exporting finished goods to other destinations. I believe that a person's personality and professionalism is very important for the Exec. Director of the BDC. The people who fund his position would like to trust the fact that he is doing everything possible to help bring jobs and stimulate growth and add to the population to lessen the tax burden so we don't have to scale back to bare minimums on services and keep vital roles such as teachers for our children's education. Everyone benefits from economic growth. My philosophy is, "Do the very best you can with what you have". If better things come along in the future, such as I-98, that will be even better. In the meantime, we have to move forward. We cannot afford to wait much longer without seeing positive economic growth.
ReplyDeleteSorry it took me so long to respond. Publicly, Jason Clark is no teddy bear. Neither is Joe Gray. Behind the scenes, I don't know how they operate. I do know that they have a rec ord of getting things done, and that's far more important than image to me.
ReplyDeleteThere is no magic elixir to create jobs overnight. We do have some pent-up demand for services; that will put some people back to work doing renovations, foofing, electrical modernization, etc. I don't see much construction going on. I don't see new houses being built or many new commercial buildings getting erected. These people will need to start spending more on maintenance and building repair, and we have contractors locally that would love the work. If (a big if) Alcoa decides to modernize the Reynolds plant, there would be a large infusion of corporate cash. That may be years away, if ever. If Jimmy Hidy's drive for a nuke plant succeeds, it would provide cash flow, especially during construction. That may be years away, if ever. We need to stay on top of these, and hope that one or both come through. The same is true for the I-98 proposal. More importantly, the Interstate connection has long-term potential.