Aren’t You Tired of Mediocrity?

Listen — win our lose, I’ve always fought hard for what I believe in, and I’ve always believed this region can do more.

When I was Town Supervisor in Grand Island, we didn’t just talk about what might be nice someday — we built things people said would never happen. The West River Trail. The Welcome Center. Stage One of the Scenic Woods Trail. And more.

If you’ve been there, you know how beautiful it is. Creating things like that with my friends and neighbors brought me real joy. That’s what public service is supposed to feel like — leaving something better behind than what you inherited.

Routine Isn’t Leadership

But over the years, I’ve met politicians who’ve been in office their entire lives, and when you ask them what they’re most proud of, the answer is simple: getting elected again.

That’s not a vision. That’s a routine.

And here’s the thing — if you’ve lived here, you know how much potential we have. You remember what this place felt like when we were kids. You can see that things haven’t moved forward the way they should have. But we’ve also quietly convinced ourselves that this is as good as it gets.

It isn’t.

We Have Everything We Need

Look at what we have. Eighty percent of the naiton’s fresh water flows right past us. One of the greatest hydroelectric plants on Earth — inspired by Nikola Tesla himself. An international border that supports over $40 billion in trade. Some of the best agricultural land anywhere, with generations of farmers who know how to work it. And the world’s greatest tourism destination — more people visit Niagara Falls than the Great Wall of China.

Places all over the world would kill to have what we have.

So why aren’t we thriving?

Because vision matters. And for too long, we’ve settled for too little — not because we had to, but because it was comfortable.

Change Happens When People Believe It Can

I want us to want more. To dream bigger. To expect better.

I’ve seen what’s possible. I grew up a poor kid from North Tonawanda. But education and opportunity let me see the world. I lived overseas. I watched cities change in real time. In China, the street where I lived once had mule carts selling vegetables. A short time later, it had ninety-story buildings. In South Korea, people once asked why anyone would go there. Today, it’s shaping global culture.

Change happens when people believe it can.

We don’t need to accept mediocrity. We don’t need to lower our expectations. We don’t need to wait our turn.

A Practical Vision for Niagara Falls

A century ago, people literally wrote books imagining Niagara Falls and Western New York as a future world capital because of its unmatched water, power, location, and border advantages. We don’t need to chase megacity fantasies — but we absolutely must stop getting comfortable with decline.

That means rebuilding Niagara Falls block by block: using publicly selected small-business grants to restore and reimagine abandoned buildings; applying proven placemaking models that create organic street life; working with the state to build safe, well-lit, policed pedestrian routes — including a possible pedestrian bridge near the Rainbow Bridge — that move visitors out of the State Park and into the city; encouraging exploration north to North Tonawanda, Lewiston, and Youngstown; and investing in local schools like NCCC and Niagara University so they become not just strong regional institutions, but true destination campuses anchored by programs like culinary, nursing, and advanced research that keep talent, visitors, and opportunity here.

We Can Do More

We can do more — and we should.

Let me help.