Son Of A Gun–derson, Economic Development Czar Milks Taxpayers!
Dan Gunderson, Client Number 9’s personal pick for Upstate Economic Development Czar, has expensive tastes. The only reason this matters is because the taxpayers are picking up the bill. The Democrat and Chronicle had a piece that pointed out the following examples of Gunderson milking taxpayers:
The official, Daniel Gundersen, also spent $407 to lease a car from a limousine company to get from Manhattan to a meeting in Nassau County and back, and another $239 to leave his car parked in an airport garage for 11 days just a few miles from his Buffalo office, according to a review of travel records by Gannett News Service.
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$418 for a dinner, including $91 for wine and beer, in Watertown on Feb. 2, 2007, with 11 people, including the commander of Fort Drum, the head of three local companies and local economic-development officials.
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209 for a staff dinner at the upscale Cafi Cappricio restaurant in Albany on May 7, 2007. Zakowicz said they were prepping for a meeting the next day, and that since all of the staffers were from out of town, they were entitled to a taxpayer-paid meal.
She said other staff dinners that Gundersen charged taxpayers for, including $218 in Syracuse on July 2 and $116 for dinner for himself and one aide on June 8 in New York City, also fall into that category.
On April 4, 2007, Gundersen charged taxpayers $366 for dinners for the Empire State Development Corp. board members, who had traveled on their dime to Buffalo to attend the first-ever board meeting outside New York City.
“They’re not social dinners. These are working sessions,” Zakowicz said.
Ah yes, “working sessions.” If I made $187,500 I wouldn’t expect taxpayers to buy me dinner and drinks while I’m doing my job. This is an outrage and needs to be stopped!
3 Responses to “Son Of A Gun–derson, Economic Development Czar Milks Taxpayers!”
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Gundersen is typical of the Albany elitist we have in this state. Companies are leaving in droves because they are being taxed out of existence and our officials are wasting it on unnecessary expenses.
Dinner for 2, $218 in Syracuse on July 2 and $116 for himself? That’s not a very good business czar. Last week I closed a sale with a business lunch at Ruby Tuesdays. The tab for the 3 of us was $31, with a $6 tip. Maybe I should be economic czar!
Czar is a Russian term for king. Whenever I hear the word with a government figure I think of the Mel Brooks movie History of the World Part I. In it there is a scene with a King Louis XVI character, he has a boy named “Jacques le garçon de pisse” (the piss boy) following him around with a bucket whenever he wants to urinate. Our Czar Gunderson is using the constituents of NY as his garçon de pisse.