Assemblyman Jeff Gallahan[R-131] who took office at the start of 2021 says the the first several weeks of serving in the legislature have been among the most exciting in his life. “While the circumstances we all face have been challenging, it has been incredibly fulfilling to work with families, local governments, schools and small businesses in our region to help them make it through this pandemic in any way possible,” he said in an update to constituents on Tuesday. “While working with our neighbors in the district has been a joy, in Albany, things have started on a more disappointing note. We’ve worked long days for weeks now, and we have only begun to address the debt crisis our state is facing and the real needs of small-business owners and working families.”
He says that at a time when people need to know exactly how they’re going to meet their own personal obligations, the Cuomo Administration has only given vague details about how he plans to aid small businesses. “[He’s blamed] everyone but himself for our state’s financial woes. New York has needed focused leadership that can offer a clear path ahead for us all and, sadly, we have learned recently that the governor’s leadership has been more than just poor, it’s also been dishonest,” Gallahan added.
The recent developments associated with the state’s withholding of certain COVID-19 nursing home death data is a significant one, Gallahan noted. “We knew his decision to place patients who were positive with COVID-19 into nursing homes was a bad one, but only now are we realizing the magnitude of just how tragic this loss of life has really been,” he continued. “It is as sickening as it is saddening, and I am resolved to do everything I can to see his emergency powers rescinded so his poor decision-making won’t hurt anyone else. The simple fact of the matter is that thousands died, and the governor lied about it. At this point taking the emergency powers away from him is a moral issue, not a political one. For once, the people are looking to us to come together and do the right thing, and I’m hopeful in the face of this unfathomable crisis my colleagues in the Majority will join me in seeking justice for those who had their loved ones taken from them far too soon.”
Gallahan’s district includes all of Ontario County, as well as the northern part of Seneca County.
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