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08/22/2012 07:00 PM

Abdelazim outlines economic plan

By: Web Staff

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BROOME COUNTY, N.Y. -- One thing both candidates for Broome County Executive can agree on is that economic development is a key issue facing the community.

Tuesday, Democratic candidate Tarik Abdelazim unveiled his plan to bolster the local economy. His platform consists of four parts, the first: reallocating up to $2 million of sales tax revenue every year to a fund to be used for business development.

Abdelazim wants to focus on renewable energy, as well as make the county more energy efficient and provide more opportunities in the agricultural field. He says the current administration has done little to better the local economy and calls County Executive Debbie Preston's policies 'smoke and mirror politics.'

"A reliance on quick political fixes, regardless of the consequences, a pattern of saying one thing and doing another and making backroom deals that benefit a few at the expense of many. There has been no vision, no focus, no progress," Abdelazim said.

Preston declined requests for comment, but did release a statement in which she says, "Debbie Preston is actually getting things done to create jobs and promote economic development. She led the charge with Binghamton University to develop our new 20 million dollar Job Creation Incubator. She pushed on-the-job training to help more than 70 local businesses find skilled employees. And Debbie scored a new grant through our office of Employment and Training to provide online training for one thousand local residents. Tarik talks. Debbie gets things done."