Commissioner Candidates Answer Variety of Questions During Candidates' Forum
The six candidates for McKean County commissioner participated in a forum Monday night at the Bradford Senior Center, hosted by the McKean County Chapter of Tea Party.
You can hear it here
One of the issues discussed was the Bradford Regional Airport and the federal Essential Air Service Program, which some lawmakers in Washington are trying to cut out of the budget.
Current commissioner, and Bradford Airport Authority Chairman Joe DeMott, said, “Without the EAS program we would not have commercial air service (and) commercial air service is vital to our economic future.”
“People who come here to buy lumber, to buy the products that our local manufactures make – those people fly in here,” he said. “When you’re bringing somebody in with a new industry, they’re flying in to Bradford. It’s very important that we have that service. It’s a long way to Buffalo, particularly in the winter.”
Without the $1.3 million subsidy, the airport would lose commercial air service, he added.
“People look at it as a lot of money, but if you look at it as total transportation dollars, and what we get from transportation money compared to the money that’s used to subsidize the cities and their mass transit program, what we’re getting is a drop in the bucket.”
“Peanuts,” said former commissioner and current candidate John Egbert, in a rare instance of the two men agreeing on an issue.
“I’ll be glad to drop the EAS program, when they triple the rates for the trains in Philadelphia,” DeMott said.
Later, Egbert said losing EAS would be a disaster, and the commissioners must fight as hard as they can to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Commissioner Judy Church said the increased Marcellus Shale activity is another reason to fight for the EAS program.
“We want to keep those people flying in from Texas and Oklahoma,” she said.
“It’s vital,” Church said, “The airport is vital to us.”
You can hear it here
One of the issues discussed was the Bradford Regional Airport and the federal Essential Air Service Program, which some lawmakers in Washington are trying to cut out of the budget.
Current commissioner, and Bradford Airport Authority Chairman Joe DeMott, said, “Without the EAS program we would not have commercial air service (and) commercial air service is vital to our economic future.”
“People who come here to buy lumber, to buy the products that our local manufactures make – those people fly in here,” he said. “When you’re bringing somebody in with a new industry, they’re flying in to Bradford. It’s very important that we have that service. It’s a long way to Buffalo, particularly in the winter.”
Without the $1.3 million subsidy, the airport would lose commercial air service, he added.
“People look at it as a lot of money, but if you look at it as total transportation dollars, and what we get from transportation money compared to the money that’s used to subsidize the cities and their mass transit program, what we’re getting is a drop in the bucket.”
“Peanuts,” said former commissioner and current candidate John Egbert, in a rare instance of the two men agreeing on an issue.
“I’ll be glad to drop the EAS program, when they triple the rates for the trains in Philadelphia,” DeMott said.
Later, Egbert said losing EAS would be a disaster, and the commissioners must fight as hard as they can to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Commissioner Judy Church said the increased Marcellus Shale activity is another reason to fight for the EAS program.
“We want to keep those people flying in from Texas and Oklahoma,” she said.
“It’s vital,” Church said, “The airport is vital to us.”
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