Keane offers strategy for boosting tourism

Tourism is Erie County's "new economy," and government should boost its investment in the arts and cultural attractions that bring people here, Democrat James P. Keane said Thursday.

Keane, a candidate for county executive, stood on the steps of Albright-Knox Art Gallery to announce a strategy that would dramatically change the way the county funds and manages its tourism and convention efforts.

"We have presidential history, America's finest architecture, Olmsted parks and music, art and theater to fill our hearts and stir our souls," Keane said. "It will be my job to make sure the rest of the world has a chance to experience and delight in our wonderful treasures."

The centerpiece of Keane's strategy is a two-pronged change in how the county funds tourism.

First, he wants to give all of the county's hotel bed tax revenue to the Buffalo Niagara Convention and Visitors Bureau. The county currently uses a portion of the bed tax for other purposes.

Keane also wants to set aside up to 3 percent of the county's property tax revenue for local arts and cultural groups. Similar ideas have been proposed by County Executive Joel A. Giambra and Democratic county lawmakers.

But it's not just money that Keane wants to give to the tourism community. He also wants a plan for how to spend it wisely, and a big part of that is better marketing of all arts and cultural groups.

To accomplish that, Keane wants to create a tourism task force to develop and promote theme-based marketing. He also wants an audit of tourism groups and attractions to determine their needs.

In an unrelated campaign development, Republican Christopher Collins made public a letter criticizing Keane for his recent allegations about Collins' record as a manager at the Westinghouse Gear Division in Cheektowaga.

The letter, signed by nine former Westinghouse employees, lambastes Keane for his claim that Collins' 1983 purchase of the Gear Division led to the rest of the Westinghouse plant closing years later.

"It is sad to see Mr. Keane distort facts and try to rewrite history," the letter states, "but that can be expected from a professional politician."

The letter supports Collins' claim that he bought the Gear Division well before the rest of the plant closed and well after Westinghouse sold off several others units.

The nine employees who signed it currently work at Nuttall Gear, the company Collins formed when he and four others bought the Westinghouse unit.

Keane called the letter campaign propaganda.

"Chris Collins claimed he saved jobs," Keane said in a statement. "His governmentsupported purchase of the Gear Division and his relocation of those jobs to Niagara County had a harmful impact on the Erie County economy that lasts until this day."