Opinion and Commentary since 2003
I do not run the @NeverNateinErie account. I do not know who runs it (although I have my suspicions). I reckon Nate and his duo of henchpeople think it’s mine but I swear and aver that it isn’t me and I don’t have time for it. But I follow and like that person’s very spot-on replies.
You should follow it, too, if for no other reason than Nate tried to get me canceled assuming it was me.
The population of people who know why I stopped tweeting in May 2020 is pretty small. Nate McMurray is one of them, and he is so low and dishonorable that he used it against me in an effort to silence me, this blog, my voice, and any scrutiny of his foundering campaign.
Congratulations, Nate or whoever made up that account. Consider me silenced.
But I don’t use Twitter. and Mark Poloncarz isn’t a client.
Not much just a nominal Democrat hobnobbing with MAGA.
And if you want to know about hysterics just wait until you see the last text exchange I had with him. This guy is a massive hypocrite and he makes Trump look calm and collected by comparison.
McMurray expends a tremendous amount of time viciously attacking Democrats, and has done so quite regularly since his last failed campaign for Congress. This time last year he was absolutely beside himself that Brian Higgins wouldn’t demand that Chris Jacobs resign over his vote against certifying the 2020 election. He was angry that Higgins wouldn’t do some pointless performative thing – as if that would give Jacobs pause and really allow him to reflect on his ways.
In the end, the only thing that got Jacobs to effectively quit is his reaction to the Tops massacre and his sudden support of an assault weapons ban. A step to far for the “pro-life” party.
Anyway, Nate is totally on top of things, like this, which he figures supports his plan to – as County Executive – execute a treaty with Canada that would facilitate the movement of people, things, jobs, and money.
The only problem is that the story in the News is about the Canadian housing crisis and how the federal government has imposed a tax on foreign-owned properties and banned the further sale of Canadian properties to foreigners. Oops! I guess this doesn’t make the point he thought it did.
The New York State Health Act would create a single payer health insurance scheme in New York State. That might be a good idea, but the goal is universal coverage. How you get there doesn’t really matter, and each method has its pros and cons. I don’t know if I would want a future Republican governor or legislature in charge of a single-payer state-run program.
I don’t know what it means that he “bows to billionaires and developers” and frankly it’s pretty rich coming from a guy who is suing his billionaire former employer. I don’t know what it means to say that Mark “rejected bail reform” or “never focused on rail”. The former is just a lie, and the latter is also just a lie. Whether Mark Poloncarz told Nate McMurray to shut up about Trump, I have no idea, but as others have pointed out, it is a bad idea for a candidate ever to insult voters.
Mark is a “tyrant” because he’s so good at his job that people won’t vote him out. That’s sort of like how in Nate’s lawsuit against Delaware North, he points out that he was a well-reviewed employee. By the way, Dennis Gorski served in public office from 1972 – 1999, the last 11 as County Executive before he lost to someone who came in as a former Democrat who was going to be a disruptor and shake things up – Joel Giambra.
It’s nice, however, of Nate to assume that Mark is going to win in order to make his math work.
There’s definitely a joke. Nothing says “trust me, I’m competent” like either lying or being wrong about so many easily researchable facts. A billion dollars? No. $130M of County money for stadium upgrades and $250M of County money towards a new stadium. State money doesn’t count in a criticism of the County Executive. Nate’s only off by only 2/3rds of a billion there. That’s the kind of fiscal know-how we really need!
Nate has no fundamental concept of how a municipal budget is developed. Instead claiming the guy who’s had 12 consecutive balanced budgets with either year-end surpluses or minor easily bridged deficits is fiscally irresponsible and up to funny business.
That’s not how you spell “my ego demands it.”
Here comes Nate – the guy who politicized the Tops shooting – politicizing the blizzard. Hey, dummy, the County Executive asked for – and received – an emergency declaration for the December storm on or about December 26th.
What he asked Biden for yesterday is something completely different – a “major disaster” declaration, which frees up even more FEMA money for storm response and cleanup costs.
But this is what you can expect from Nate McMurray – barely informed accusations and a fountain of grievance. I don’t think Erie County deserves being stuck with a faux-leftist mini-Trump.
Nothing like a 22-Tweet thread to show everyone how not mad you are.
Never let it be said that Out-of-Date Nate doesn’t have a vision. He has ideas. You can MOCK THEM IF YOU WISH, but he really has these visions and ideas. Visideas. Ideisions.
Whether those ideas actually comport with reality, or fall under the job description of “County Executive” or can be done by such an executive pursuant to the County Charter – that doesn’t matter.
What matters is that you SAY THINGS.
What are you SCARED OF?
We can DO IT.
Let’s sample.
There exists no political will to move the convention center closer to Canalside, much less moving the Bills stadium downtown. We come down to that old tug-of-war between “would be nice” and “must”. (For examples on this theme, see here and here and here.) We must have a new stadium. It would be nice if it was downtown, but this is not of critical importance to the city’s future or the Bills’. Suffice it to say that if the Bills thought it was of existential importance, it would be happening.
The problems plaguing the East Side of Buffalo are many and complex, but in one breath to demand redevelopment of the Central Terminal as a train station and then in the next to decry “hail Mary schemes for big developers” strikes me as a bit rich. As for “micro loans”, there are already programs that offer these, including WEDI and the ECIDA. You would think that an informed candidate would promote that, rather than pretend nothing of the sort exists.
In any event, you cannot have a “Lake Ontario regional economic zone” with free movement of people and products without there being a Schengen-style binational agreement, something that is not only outside of a County Executive’s remit, but frankly unlikely for the foreseeable future, given the political situations on both sides of the northern border.
But Nate seems to think the border is closed. For God’s sake, get a NEXUS and you can go back and forth to shop at the Niagara-on-the-Lake outlets or the Walden Galleria to your heart’s content. That way we can have government invest in roofing companies and auto repair shops some more.
An “ecotourism hub.” With “camping and glamping” because evidently that doesn’t exist in WNY.
As for Scajaquada Creek, that work is already underway, my guy. I don’t know how we become the “Yosemite of the East” without a National Park or a big mountain, but someone remind him that Niagara Falls isn’t in Erie County, and there is very little in Niagara Falls, NY that would compel a visitor to stick around this side of the river in any event. I guess that’s why the rest area on Grand Island that isn’t visible to traffic from Canada until you’ve already passed the exit exists.
Nate doesn’t know his Buffalo from his Erie County.
It was only the City’s water supply that was not fluoridated. The Erie County Water Authority, which has not been contracted out to a private company, never stopped the fluoride. Municipal broadband is actually a Poloncarz initiative.
Nate has a plan for poverty, he says, because no one else cares and just points fingers. He sees people for their economic activity (or lack thereof). Imagine he presumes that he is the only person to “encourage new immigration to Buffalo” as if somehow Poloncarz or anyone else in County government has discouraged it. The delusion is just so insulting to everyone who’s been doing this stuff already. I mean, apart from spending trillions to force utilities to put all the electric lines underground, what has he suggested that isn’t already being done or is in the process of being done?
Yes, Mark Poloncarz – famously stingy with culturals. The balls on McMurray. When’s the last time he attended a play at a local theater or a concert at Kleinhans? A gallery opening? He’s going to, what? Fund culturals more? How much more? How much is missing? Which culturals have approached him to complain that Poloncarz is too stingy? And what makes him think Canadians are clamoring to come here to work?
What does that mean – a “County Executive who eats, sleeps, and lives progressive values?” I mean, in what way is Poloncarz not progressive, exactly? Because he lives in reality and not cloud-cuckoo land? Because he doesn’t make a sport of burning bridges and then demanding fealty and attention?
Not sure how Poloncarz has dropped the ball on “urging” others to do progressive things, but the only way you think that is if you haven’t been paying attention.
But regionalism to include Ontario, Canada? So, would we be implementing the EU’s Four Freedoms to accomplish that?
But his biggest hit against Poloncarz is that he’s been CE for 11 years and was Comptroller for five before that. OK, so Mark’s been in countywide office for about 16 years. He’s been pretty good at it, too. He’s competent, he’s a policy wonk, he’s detailed, he’s diligent, but he also has plenty of time for big-picture advocacy, such as what Nate accuses him of never doing.
But he’s been in “office longer than any County Executive ever, longer than any President ever?” I dunno, FDR was President for 12 years, and before that he was Governor of New York from 1929 – 1933, and before that he served in the State Senate from 1911 – 1913. I make that out to be about 18 or 19 years in office. JFK was only President for 3 years, but before that he was a Senator and before that he was in the House. He held public office from 1947 – 1963, which is hey look at that 16 years.
Nate has campaigned for office longer than he ever held one.
All of this is a rehash of things that have already happened, have been discussed, are in the process of happening, or are absolutely and completely outside of the wheelhouse of a County Executive. But more to the point, what the hell is stopping McMurray from advocating for all of these things all at once and altogether for the last 16 years?
But good luck with North American Schengen, there. I think I saw it in the County Charter somewhere about international treaties.
One more thing. In the time that this “elderly blogger” has been blogging – since 2003, if we’re counting – I have been insulted by a lot of people. Only a small handful of them insulted my appearance, and now being attacked for my age is a new one. I’m 54. If that makes me “elderly” so be it, but when someone uses a term like that as an insult, how do I reconcile that with their professions of peace, love, and inclusivity? One of the things that actually exists in the County Charter is a Department of Senior Services, which is run by the Erie County Executive. If using “elderly” as an adjective negatively to describe my age and relevance, I shudder to think how this individual would deal with actual seniors.
McMurray attacks Poloncarz because the trains stop at Exchange Street and not at the Central Terminal.
There was a vote in 2017, and the decision was made to do just that. Poloncarz voted against it.
McMurray did, indeed, prompt this “elderly blogger” out of semi-retirement. It was things like this that prompted it. I don’t remember Nate calling me “elderly” when I gave him free promotion over and over again during his campaigns, but I am just a thing – a piece of shit – just one of McMurray’s many burned bridges.
When I ceased to be useful to him, he lumped me in with all of the other people whom he blames for his failures. He thought he could bully me and repeatedly call me names – even after I politely asked him not to – and he figured that I would be ok with that. I found him to be little more than a manipulative, gaslighting POS. FWIW, I still have the receipts.
Remember early 2021 how you were going to have someone primary Higgins – was it Eddie Egriu? You were going to start a PAC. You were going to write a book – you know, that thing you just slammed Poloncarz for doing? I guess the difference is that Poloncarz’s book was about an accomplishment while yours would have been about failure.
But consider this,
What McMurray would like to change, if he can, is what he sees as conservative media’s wholesale demonization of Democrats.
“You hear people talking about Democrats in a way that sounds like they’re talking about Satan-worshippers,” he said. “I think we have to start to think on every level, the local level and the national level: How are we going to overcome this?”
Pot, kettle.
But what really sucks is that McMurray feeds his own poison to people. For instance, every Presidential election both parties enjoy a little burst of interest and activity from people who had formerly been on the sidelines. Do you think it helps or hurts Democratic recruitment to have a prominent but salty ex-candidate going around telling anyone who will listen how awful and corrupt it is?
When it comes to kneecapping Democrats, who needs Republicans?
If you are inclined to entertain him, ask Nate what this means:
The Democratic Party has had some form of national health insurance cover as part of its platform for probably 80 years. There is only one impediment to that happening, and that is the Republican Party. Leave it to Larry Scott of the Buffalo School Board to fact-check this blatant misinformation.
Fact Check pic.twitter.com/eLJ4o0xgJR
— Larry Scott (@Larry_Scott19) February 10, 2023
It is shockingly dumb and factually wrong and merely underscores the lack of any rationale for this campaign except to settle scores with perceived enemies who supposedly stabbed him in the back.