September 6 2017
HARTSVILLE, NY – This morning on the WLEA Newsmaker show, Hartsville Town Board candidates republicans Duane Howe and Larry Newhart, spoke about how they’re running for office in Hartsville. During the interview, both were vocal in their criticisms of Hartsville Town Supervisor John Bowles. At one point, Larry Newhart said that Supervisor Bowles had a wind contract and that Bowles lied about having worked out that deal with a wind company.
We contacted Supervisor Bowles who said responded with this statement:
“If I’m such a terrible person, why am I not in jail?”
Also, during the Newsmaker program, Duane Howe stated that Allegany County based attorney David Pullen, has resigned from being the Hartsville Town Attorney, and Supervisor Bowles confirmed that, saying that Pullen turned in his resignation yesterday.
Click here to hear this morning’s show with Newhart and Howe.
Update 2:09pm – Response From Hartsville Supervisor John Bowles, on the statements made on this morning’s Newsmaker by Howe and Newhart:
“Mr. Howe and Mr. Newhart make several uninformed statements in their Bowles bashing anti wind commentary.
After Attorney Pullen took nearly $90,000 from Hartsville taxpayers in the past nine years, Mr. Bowles and his supporters felt that was enough. They wanted Pullen off the Hartsville taxpayer dole. Pullen sent critical letters to County and NYS oversight agencies but none bought into his rhetoric. Now Pullen has formally resigned from a position he never had.
Duane Howe talks about his knowledge and budget experience as a Councilman for five years. Ask him why he signed a budget that hid $53,800 (a tax increase of 13%). His budget at the end of 2016 had to take $45,900 out of reserves to balance the 2016 budget he approved. I am sure I do not want him near my checkbook.
Mr. Newhart would have you believe there was something wrong with Mr. Bowles’ association with a wind company. Mr. Newhart should hire a lawyer to resolve his problem with understanding the terms of the long expired contract. Mr. Bowles has always been forthcoming about his wind company association, but Newhart insists something is out of place about it??? Newhart talks and talks, but we never see charges. I guess I do not want him near my checkbook either.
Mr. Newhart and Mr. Howe talk about how good the wind law is for the Town. They do not tell you how much the Town has lost in revenue in the past ten years. The Steuben County IDA will tell you $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. And the wind law does what? Newhart and Howe tell stories about how all these Towns with wind money are spending their money wrong. Unfortunately, a lot of this spending is NYS mandated. Howard does not have problems how the new blacktop and upgrades made their Town roads easier to maintain and more user-friendly without raising their taxes.
Newhart and Howe tell us that the wind is bad, but offer no solutions. They do not offer to pay what the Town is losing nor propose any new revenue.
A petition that was circulated in 2009 immediately after the wind law was signed indicated an overwhelming majority of taxpayers did not want the restrictive wind law. Why do Howe and Newhart ignore that? In 2016, another petition brought in 53% of taxpayers wanting the wind and wind revenue.
Seems so anyone interested in the interest of the people and their stated wishes would present something more than a NO. And, we cannot keep hiding $53,800 indebtedness from the Comptroller and taxpayers.
The only thing that Howe and Newhart seem to know is staying out of touch with the real problems and bashing their opponents.”
