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Today's Poll: Who do you intend to vote for in the NY-27 in November?

By Howard B. Owens
mike nixon

You might be able to talk me into voting for that Larry guy, but for now its Chris Collins.

Nate McNuts could offer me 10 pounds of gold i would never vote for him.

Nate ran a failing county in a failing city and just like a typical liberal, he is running a campaign on bashing Collins and not on his own personal record. Which is raise taxes, stifle business with regulation and take failed ideals and make them bigger in the hopes it will somehow magically work.

Sep 18, 2018, 1:38pm Permalink
david spaulding

Depressing to me, usually whom ever I vote for fails to win the election, it feels like my vote and time were wasted. While I wish there were 3 more candidates to choose from, I may vote for Collins, who is going to win, and feel good that my vote counted.

Sep 18, 2018, 8:42pm Permalink
Ellen Smith

I was self-employed for 28 years and had to pay for my health care. Now, I am with a small employer and still don't have health care. Despite repeated requests and phone calls to Cong. Collin's office, asking to meet about health care, the request was refused. I was not seeking to disrupt anything, but to show that my payments for insurance are as much as a house payment. Needed eye drops, which cost $17 in Mexico and $40 in Canada, are almost $400 at my local pharmacy. The drops from Canada and Mexico are made at the exact same B&L address in Tampa, Fl, so no one can argue that I am somehow getting bogus drops when a friend picks them up over the San Diego border for me. And, there is actually a special line at the border for those Americans going over to Mexico to get medicines. For those of you who have had the luxury of employer-sponsored health care, you simply cannot understand the anguish of having to pay $1,067 every month, and knowing if for any reason you can't pay it, you are screwed. The kicker is I desperately need a surgery, but if I take leave from work, then I don't have money to pay my insurance, and then my insurance gets canceled for the rest of the year. The leading cause of bankruptcy in the U.S. are health care bills. Anyone of us is only one-sickness or one-accident away from a ruined life because of the lack of a health care system in the U.S., and leaving our health care to for-profit entities who will do anything to deny us coverage. So this is why I support Nate McMurray, and God bless him.

Sep 19, 2018, 9:42am Permalink
Howard B. Owens

If you search this site for "Chris Collins healthcare" you can find all of our past coverage of his views on health care, and it's pretty extensive.

I've talked with Chris about our own situation, which is very similar to yours and it goes in one ear and out the other. And I've never been able to get from him how he thinks health care should be fixed. He backed the GOP plan last year but that was just reshuffling the deck chairs of the ACA but without any of risk corridor protections.

One fact check: It's simply not true that health care bills are the leading cause of bankruptcies. In fact, only about 4 percent of bankruptcies can be directly linked to health care. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2018/03/26/the-tr…

Sep 19, 2018, 10:52am Permalink
Jean Orsini-Clabeaux

Mr (Mike) Nixon: Nate McMurray never ran a county. Actually, he is town supervsior here on Grand Island. He's been in office for nearly three years and has accomplished what many other political figures have tried to get done over the past 25 years. One example is the removal the toll booths at our bridges. Grand Island has a AA credit rating and balanced budgets under Mr. McMurray's watch. He's lived up to his campaign promises and has worked very hard for his constituents. If you happen to attend any of Mr. McMurray's rallies, you will not only learn about all of his accomplishments but what he will do for his constituents in the 27th. district.

Sep 19, 2018, 1:32pm Permalink
Mary Rzeszutek

Mr. Nixon, I am wondering if you are thinking of the right person? Nate McMurray doesn’t govern a city, he is the Supervisor of Grand Island, which is a Town. Grand Island is in Erie County, but McMurray is not a part of Erie County administration. Perhaps you are thinking of Mychajliw? He is the Erie County Comptroller. Also, ten months after McMurray was elected, Moody’s improved the debt rating of Grand Island from A2 to A1. This means that the Town finances are well run.

Sep 19, 2018, 1:48pm Permalink
Daniel Norstrand

McMurray must have done something rather spectacular to have influenced the rating agencies to bump up the rating after only 10 months in office. Could you give an example of such? Also regarding the "removal" of the toll booths you attribute to him. The booths are inactive, however every vehicle that passes them is charged exactly the same $$ as before the decommissioning of the booths. And there were many other people who were instrumental in the change. Including a fella who collected over 7000 signatures to that end. The efforts of the locals to make the changes was going on long before McMurray was in office. I remember my computer professor at Buff. State, Dr Stafford, who lived on Grand Island, speaking of such in 1995. The main concern and focus on the effort was to stop charging local residents to go back and forth to work every day. That hasn't happened.

Sep 20, 2018, 9:06am Permalink
Jean Orsini-Clabeaux

Daniel Norstrand, you are absolutely correct. Many, as far back as 1995, have tried to get the tolls removed. Nate McMurray got it done. And yes, this was a joint effort . However, if you go to Nate Mc Murray's videos on You Tube, you will see a video of Gov. Cuomo stating that the booths were being removed because Nate McMurray made a compeling argument. And, yes the original intent was to have toll costs removed altogether. That didn't happen and we took the next best thing and that was to have the toll booths removed. No more waiting for people to dig in their pockets for cash, no more out of towners, who needed directions, holding up traffic. No more sitting for long periods of time breathing toxic fumes. I've been a Grand Island resident for 25 years. I could care less about the 9 cents I pay. Those who complain about taking toll costs away altogether are mainly complaining that is the principal of still having to pay. It has nothing to do with the convenience. And to address your question about the town's credit rating. This can be verified by calling the town's accountant. .

Sep 26, 2018, 2:02pm Permalink

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