Archive: Opinions

On May 3, the Lansing Star in an article by George Koustos, lauded Martha Robertson, Democrat candidate for Congress in the 23rd District, for her claimed contributions to the Tompkins County economy.

Let's be clear. The chair of the Tompkins County Legislature is only a first among equals and it is hubris for her to take credit for economic development in Tompkins County or low unemployment. As Tompkins residents know now and other 23rd district residents will know before the next congressional vote, Cornell University, Ithaca College, ICSD, and TC3 are the primary movers of our local economy and give us low unemployment and stability, Robertson or no Robertson.

Meanwhile, Robertson has been a leader in keeping energy development and its high paying jobs out of NY. Robertson was quoted in the Ithaca Journal on May 3 as supporting NY towns choosing to ban hydrofracking. To show how out of touch Robertson is with the bulk of the 23rd District, which covers ten other counties where fracking is more popular, Robertson also said that court decisions supporting local home rule "made it a good day for citizens to have their right to control their own land." Sadly, the court decisions she referred to give power over land use to local government, not to individual land owners. In fact, individual owners have now lost the right to determine how to use their own land to local government.

Robertson thinks of us not as individuals but as collective groups to be ruled by government. Congressman Tom Reed knows better and he knows better the people of the 23rd congressional district.

Henry S. Kramer
Ithaca, NY

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