This week... News Director Terry Frank continues our two-part look at the candidates for Chautauqua County Executive with an interview with Democratic challenger Tom Carle of Fredonia. Carle is a Binghampton, NY native, who moved to the area with his wife in 2018 because she is a native of Chautauqua County. Carle says... at his wife's prompting... he decided he wanted to use his talents to run for the county's top-elected office. Carle says he had labor, human resources, and business restructuring experience in the private sector. He says he's been brought into companies to help them save millions of dollars by help to reduce expenses. Carle believes county government has grown too much, having added 200 employees the past several years... while the county's population has been cut by about 14,000 the past two decades or so. Carle adds that he believes cutting all taxes... not just the property tax rate... is needed to bring more people and jobs to the county. He says that's why he supported lowering both the tax levy -- or amount to be raised by taxes, along with the sales tax from 8% to 7.5%. He adds the county needs to do a better evaluation of the need to have two airports, and, more common sense in dealing with the weed and algal bloom issues on Chautauqua Lake.
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