Sweeney and Donaldson on WNBZ

Go here to listen to a radio interview of John Sweeney and Cliff Donaldson concerning the Wal-Mart issue.

Donaldson was just following directions given to him by the Essex County Board of Supervisors several years ago. He had no contact with the Village Board of SL but did inform Ed Randig that a major retailer was interested in locating in the village. When asked if leaving the village officials out of the loop was 'right', Donaldson replied, "Well it's in Essex County." But was there big box interest in a downtown site that is located in Franklin County also? I wonder why building in that location wasn't further pursued by Mr. Donaldson?

Donaldson also said he has "no regrets" on how he handled the issue. It was interesting that he said 'lines of communication should now be kept opened'. However, it appears that he did not do a good job at keeping lines of communication open with his board members or the Village of SL board members.

Donaldson is convinced that "you're going to see business grow...". Where is the proof of that statement? Repeating it endlessly does not make it true. Published academic studies disagree.

John Sweeney, not being a professional politician, didn't have a lot of points to make although he attempted to come across even handed concerning the Wal-Mart issue. He said "This is an option. We still have lots of things to do."

Concerning the Essex County Board of Supervisors 'resolution of support' for Wal-Mart that was tabled last week, Donaldson said it will come up for a vote next Monday and he believes it will pass.