Niagara ReporterNiagara Falls NY – Carl Cain is running against Mayor Robert Restaino for mayor. Election is November 7. This is the second in a series of of interviews with Cain.
Carl Cain
Reporter
How would you rate the condition of the roads in the city?
Carl Cain
Bad. And it’s unfortunate because I haven’t had anyone say they feel the roads in the city are good. And I ask people. And no one has said, “Hey, I love how our streets are.”
Reporter
Is there rocket science involved in keeping roads smooth? Do you have a clue how to fix a pothole? What would you do? Do you go to the Department of Public Works? How do you get roads so they’re passable?
Carl Cain
The first thing we have to do is look at our equipment. We have to make sure that we have the proper equipment. Second, we go to public works and ensure we have the appropriate training. Once we have the equipment, training, and personnel in place, we have to do it and ensure that the Director of DPW holds the persons under him accountable for filling the potholes, etc.
Reporter
Why isn’t that being done now? Do you have any idea?
Carl Cain
No, I do not.
Reporter
There’s a city with money to spend on some things, but the roads are problematic. They can even be dangerous to the underbellies of cars.
Carl Cain
Roads take a low priority.
Reporter
But there’s a budget for it?
Carl Cain
You can’t have a functioning city without some budget for roads.
Reporter
How much money has Mayor Restaino invested in the law firm of Hodgson Russ?
Carl Cain
I don’t think anyone does because that’s a question that I’ve heard the council ask several times. It has yet to be answered, to my knowledge.
Reporter
If you were mayor, would you be transparent about your expenditures?
Carl Cain
Absolutely. I work for the people. And part of running for mayor is to give the government back to the people. The City Council represents the people who, every time they ask a question, it’s coming from the people. They absolutely should have every answer to every question that they ask. And it doesn’t take six months to answer a question about how much we’re paying a law firm.
Reporter
The former mayor made obtaining FOIA information difficult for reporters and the public. Would your policy make getting legally disclosable public information hard or easy?
Carl Cain
It should be easy. A reporter’s job is to hold the government accountable and allow the people to see what the government is doing. I have no problem with that.
Carl Cain is on the board of directors for Habitat for Humanity
Reporter
What do you think of the proposals for Centennial Park?
Carl Cain
Centennial Park is just a modern version of Urban Renewal. I am aware of Urban Renewal in the East Falls Street area. I was a kid at that time. And I’ve seen how it destroyed that community. So why would I want to implement a program that destroyed one community and use it to help destroy the city? Urban Renewal was wrong then. Urban Renewal, i.e., Centennial Park, is wrong now.
Reporter
Is NFR’s proposal to create a digital data center something you would consider a potential boon to the community?
Carl Cain
Absolutely. The mayor’s job is to consider any new business as a boon to the community and sit down and discuss with everyone. How could your idea of how your business could benefit the city? And then bring it back to the council, i.e., the people.
Reporter
Is anything fundamentally flawed with having a digital center in a community where NFR proposes to build it on their own land?
Carl Cain
No. They already own the land. I don’t see the negative behind it. Sometimes, people get digital data centers confused with digital mining, which is loud. Digital Data Centers are quiet.
