Issues
Expanding Access to Senior and Social Services
Restoring Public Transit Service to North Tonawanda
Restoring Public Transit Service to North Tonawanda
Our seniors and families who rely on social services deserve a county government that makes those services easy to find and easy to use, not a maze of paperwork and phone calls. I'll work to expand the availability of senior and social services in North Tonawanda and improve how residents learn about and access them, whether that's transportation to appointments, in-home support, food assistance, or other resources our community needs.
This includes mental health and substance abuse services, which too many North Tonawanda residents don't know are available to them through the county. Niagara County's Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services offers:
- 24-hour crisis services, including a mobile crisis team that can respond in homes, schools, and the community to help prevent psychiatric hospitalization
- Participation in the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, so anyone in Niagara County who calls 988 is connected directly to local crisis support
- Outpatient counseling and wellness services, along with substance abuse treatment and trauma-specialty care
- Community education and training to help residents recognize and respond to mental health and substance use crises
These services exist, but access and awareness are inconsistent, especially for North Tonawanda residents who may not know where to turn. I'll push to make sure our community has real visibility into what the county already offers, and that residents aren't falling through the cracks simply because they didn't know help was available.
Restoring Public Transit Service to North Tonawanda
Restoring Public Transit Service to North Tonawanda
Restoring Public Transit Service to North Tonawanda
Reliable public transit isn't a luxury. It's how seniors get to appointments, how workers get to their jobs, and how people without a car stay connected to daily life. North Tonawanda has seen that service pulled back twice in recent years.
- 2020: During the pandemic, the NFTA discontinued five bus routes across the region, including the 79-Tonawanda route, citing a steep drop in regional ridership. Riders were told to use "back-up routes," but that meant longer trips and less convenient service for North Tonawanda residents.
- January 2026: The county's Connect Niagara service reorganized its routes, merging the red route into the purple route. In the process, service to North Tonawanda was eliminated entirely, along with Wheatfield and Youngstown.
Two rounds of cuts in just a few years, and each time North Tonawanda has been left with less than it had before. As County Legislator, I'll push the county and the NFTA to restore reliable routes to North Tonawanda and make sure our residents aren't an afterthought every time regional transit gets reorganized.
Smart Development & Infrastructure, and Reforming the IDA
Fair Return on Tax Dollars: Niagara County vs. North Tonawanda
Fair Return on Tax Dollars: Niagara County vs. North Tonawanda
North Tonawanda deserves development and infrastructure investment that actually makes sense for our neighborhoods, not projects driven by who can get the biggest tax break. I'll advocate for smarter planning around new development and infrastructure spending, and push to reform how the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) hands out tax breaks, so incentives are tied to real, measurable benefits for our city rather than being handed out with little accountability.
North Tonawanda itself has shown what good development can look like. Recent projects like the Erie Canal Bike Path Extension, the Memorial Pool replacement, walkability improvements through Smart Growth 2.0, and infrastructure investment on Tonawanda Island have brought real state and federal support to our city without dumping the cost on local taxpayers. That's the standard IDA deals should be held to as well.
In 2022, the Niagara County IDA approved roughly $124 million in tax incentives for Amazon's Town of Niagara distribution center. The project also received low-cost hydropower benefits through the New York Power Authority, one of the largest incentive packages Amazon has received anywhere in the country. Deals like this raise a basic question: when a company as large and profitable as Amazon can command a nine-figure local tax break, are our incentive dollars going where they're needed, or just to whoever asks? Across Western New York, IDAs handed out $91 million in tax breaks last year alone, and for most of those agencies, the fees they collect from the very companies they approve deals for cover 75% or more of their own operating budgets, a structure that gives IDAs a financial incentive to approve more deals, not to say no. I'll push for real reform: clearer standards for when a tax break is necessary, good paying union job and accountability requirements, and an end to the perverse incentive that lets IDAs fund themselves off the deals they approve.
Fair Return on Tax Dollars: Niagara County vs. North Tonawanda
Fair Return on Tax Dollars: Niagara County vs. North Tonawanda
Fair Return on Tax Dollars: Niagara County vs. North Tonawanda
North Tonawanda residents pay their fair share into Niagara County's budget, but too often the services and investment coming back to our city don't reflect that contribution. I'll push for a transparent accounting of what North Tonawanda sends to the County versus what we get back, and fight to make sure our tax dollars translate into real benefits for our streets, our services, and our residents, not just a line item somewhere else in the county.
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