The litany of local Republican misdeeds reads like the script from a bad “B” movie; from the on-going trial concerning the biggest bid-rigging scandal in county history, to workers fixing up Republican bosses’ houses on county time, to drunk driving in county-owned take home cars, to the consistent “coincidental” awarding of county contracts to big campaign donors. This script, however, is all too real and it’s wrong. When the focus of government is to reward family, friends and donors, the public’s welfare is lost in the shuffle, as is the public’s faith in government and public officials.

Cheryl Dinolfo promises to restore integrity to county government, but she has no credibility on this issue. For twelve years as a key member of the Republican management team, she has sat silently by while the Republican scandals have multiplied. Not once, until she became a candidate for County Executive, did she call her allies out, rock the boat or advocate for ethics reform. And, her husband was one of the original board members of the LDC at the heart of the bid-rigging scandal.

According to Sandy Frankel, “Integrity is everything. Without it, nothing else matters.” Frankel had an unblemished record of integrity as Supervisor of Brighton – twenty years of scandal-free government. She will bring that same high standard to county government. “It’s not enough to talk about integrity,” said Frankel. “It has to be put into practice every day by establishing clear rules and strong management. Monroe County cannot move in a more ethical direction with the same managers in control. Monroe County needs a new County Executive who views ethics as a necessity, not a campaign talking point. ”

Frankel pledges to:

• Create an independent Office of Public Integrity whose Director will be subject to confirmation by a two-thirds vote of the County Legislature to encourage a bi-partisan approach to re- establishing integrity in county government. The Office will have the authority to investigate and refer ethics complaints to law enforcement and the District Attorney. A similar measure has been previously proposed by the Democrats in the County Legislature, but repeatedly shot down by Cheryl Dinolfo’s legislative allies;

• Neither solicit nor accept campaign contributions from county employees to prevent the perception of political pressure related to their jobs. Sandy put this same policy in place in Brighton;

• Neither solicit nor accept campaign contributions from individuals or businesses with applications pending before the county;

• Cap at $2,000 donations to Countywide candidates from individuals, businesses and PACs;

• Prohibit any entity that assists in writing county bid specifications from bidding on the project involved, unless all prospective bidders have had an opportunity to contribute to the development of the specifications prior to issuance;

• Prevent nepotism by making the family members of county department heads and senior county officials, including the County Executive, ineligible for appointment to county jobs, including at authorities and LDCs; and

• Eliminate automatic lease and contract renewals by requiring all leases and contracts to be rebid or requalified at the conclusion of their original term. Leases over $10,000 will be submitted to the County Legislature for approval.

“My plan will move this County in a new scandal-free direction,” stated Frankel. “Those who serve need to be held to the highest standard. The taxpayers deserve nothing less.”