Duffy visits Drum, plant

LYONS FALLS — The Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor concluded a three-day trek through the north country Wednesday with visits to Fort Drum and the Otis Technology Inc. plant.

"This is an absolute jewel," Rochester Mayor Robert J. Duffy said after spending more than an hour touring the Laura Street gun-cleaning kit manufacturing plant and its on-site child care facility, Caboodles.

Mr. Duffy, who has been mayor of the Western New York city for the past five years after serving in the police department since 1976 and as its chief since 1998, said he had used Otis products before but didn't realize they were manufactured in upstate New York.

He commended the 25-year-old company's growth from a kitchen-table operation to a 160-employee enterprise and sought input from Otis officials on ways the state could assist businesses.

Mr. Duffy, who was tapped in May by state attorney general and gubernatorial candidate Andrew M. Cuomo to be his running mate, also took a driving tour of Fort Drum on Wednesday morning.

The candidate for lieutenant governor was joined at Otis by fellow Democrat Brian S. McGrath, who is running for the 122nd Assembly District seat against Republican Kenneth D. Blankenbush.

Following the Otis tour, Mr. Duffy made a quick stop in Lowville to help Mr. McGrath open his campaign headquarters in the Lowville Commons, 7550 S. State St.

Or, as the Assembly candidate put it, "make the grand opening even grander."

During a brief speech in Lowville, Mr. Duffy said he had spoken with business and labor leaders and dairy farmers over the past few days and quickly determined that north country issues are similar to those in Rochester.

"It's about jobs," he said. "It's about really taking the burden off people's backs."

While the state should be a facilitator of business, high taxes and stringent regulations are hindering that, Mr. Duffy said.

"The state is more of an inhibitor of success," he said. "It's like a relationship where one doesn't feel valued. But you don't steamroll your way to change."

Mr. Cuomo, if elected governor, would use his connections to enact change through consensus, Mr. Duffy said.

"There is nobody that has relationships as deep as he does," he said. "This is the kind of person that brings about change."

Mr. Duffy also called for more consistent leadership in Albany, touted the state's "tremendous resources of higher education" and suggested the state should take a larger role in ensuring that farmers are adequately compensated for their labor.

Mr. Duffy said he was impressed with the north country and its people.

"It's tough to beat the sheer beauty of this region," he said.