In his first campaign stop of his fledgling gubernatorial campaign, Rob Astorino appeared at Zeptometrix in Buffalo, the medical supplies company that is co-owned by Congressman Chris Collins.
The Thursday appearance in Buffalo came one day after Astorino officially announced that would seek the Republican nod to challenge Andrew Cuomo in November.
The boost from Collins breaks with some other local Republicans leaders who have are not enthused by Astorino's credentials. Most notably, Carl Paladino has been pushing for celebrity real estate mogul Donald Trump to run for governor.
Instead of party discord, Astorino focused on Governor Cuomo's record. He says New York spends too much, taxes too much and is losing too many of its young people and businesses to other states with better business climates.
Many considered Astorino a long shot in 2009 when he won the race for Westchester County Executive.
Property taxes were "out of control before I got there. And, I can only tell you what I have done for four years," Astorino said.
"We have cut the country property tax levy more than any county in New York. We have cut spending more than any county in New York. I walked in the door, it was a $1.8 billion budget. It's $1.7 billion today. So, I feel very strongly that it can be done, because we've done it in Westchester."
