The Andrew Cuomo campaign account is now up to an astonishing $33.3 million dollars. Cuomo has amassed the largest war chest among all Governor’s in the nation. After Cuomo Governor Brown in California is a distant second with $10 million in his campaign account. Cuomo likes to portray himself as the man of the peopleRead… Read more »
The book Reinventing Government by David Osborne and Ted Gaebler, released twenty years ago had a big impact on me. I created the non-profit Center For Reinventing Government due to the change in thinking the book brought about for me. Ted Gaebler has been the City Manager of Rancho Cordova for ten years. Rancho CordovaRead… Read more »
First term Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton (Democrat), is focusing his administration on streamlining government operations. A worthy cause in my opinion and one that can be done at all levels of government. Some of the items Dayton is looking at according to a StarTribune news article are: – eliminating wasteful, redundant or antiquated laws byRead… Read more »
Some cities like Oakland are committed to open government and some cities like Buffalo are not. In previous posts I have discussed the problem with obtaining information from the City of Buffalo. The City of Oakland working with Code For America has created a great app called RecordTrac. RecordTrac provides an easy on-line tool forRead… Read more »
Often times the biggest problem with government bureaucracy is the inability to keep things simple. Something as simple as a street sign can be made a nightmare by some bureaucrat. Check out this school zone traffic sign as an example, which I wrote about in a previous post. Try to make sense when the speedRead… Read more »
A recent analysis by Jim Heaney, documented the declining rate of voting taking place in Buffalo. Only 20% of registered Democrats voted in the Buffalo Mayor primary election. The number of people participating in school board elections is even worse at 7%. The state of New Hampshire ranks higher than the national average for voterRead… Read more »
When Andrew Cuomo ran to be the Governor of New York he promised that his administration would be the most open and transparent administration ever. Yet time after time he does not back up his talk on open government. The latest example involves a Freedom of Information request by the Buffalo News seeking copies ofRead… Read more »
I continue to be amazed by how wrong government attorneys are in the legal advice they provide regarding Freedom of Information laws (FOIL). The latest example of this is the opinion rendered by a Buffalo School District attorney. School board member Jason McCarthy recently asked at a board meeting whether several upper level district employeesRead… Read more »
Buffalo City Council members meet every two weeks to take actions on the many different issues and items that come before them. Councilmembers have the ability to raise any new ideas or concerns they have by filing a resolution, which will bring the item before the full Council. As I wrote about in a previousRead… Read more »
Study after study shows that tax breaks and other government incentives do not create the number of jobs that are promised in return for such funding. The latest study to prove this point is by the New York State Authorities Budget Office. As reported in the Buffalo News: “Back in 2008, the industrial development agenciesRead… Read more »