I am writing with concern over the press release that was shared on both the Tap Into Greater Olean Olean and Catt County News and Photos facebook pages regarding Joe Sempolinski’s Town Hall meeting on February 27th. The press release cited lively conversation and a discussion about the HALT Act initiated by the attendees.
I was in attendance at this meeting. I recall a very different conversation that included a wide variety of topics. Several attendees arrived equipped with signs that were meant to draw attention to impending cuts to Medicaid. In fact, a substantial amount of time at this meeting was spent discussing the proposed medicaid cuts and the overarching topic of all of the proposed cuts coming from Elon Musk and his DOGE collaborators. Mr. Sempolinski explained that cuts need to be made because of the national deficit and that the country cannot continue functioning in this manner. Almost in unison the crowd clapped back that taxing billionaires would assist in cutting the national deficit. Mr. Sempolinski’s first response was that taxing billionaires would not even begin to address the deficit. Several in the crowd quickly responded that it would be a start. Mr. Sempolinski’s second response was that billionaires are taxed and that we have a scaled tax system in the United States.
A special education teacher from the Olean City School District asked to speak. She cited that 1 in 5 students in the Olean City School District receives some form of special education services and if the proposed Federal Cuts to Education were to be implemented the consequences would be disastrou to school districts like Olean. SHe asked what would be done to provide the special education services to all students who are currently receiving them if these cuts were to be made. Mr. Sempolisnki responded by saying that New York State pays out more per student than any other state on the country and gets mediocre results in return. He indicated that was true in higher education as well. He stated that he felt the tax dollars spent on education should garner a much higher return on investment. No specific answer was given regarding the students receiving special education services.
Another person in the crowd stated she was a librarian working within Mr. Sempolinski’s District. SHe cited a law passed in South Dakota recently that would call for a librarian that offered books to children /students depicting LGBTQ material could be imprisoned. She asked if Mr. Sempolinski would support a similar bill. His initial response was that pornographic materials should never be provided to children. THe librarian quickly responded that she agreed and that she was asking about a childrens’ picture book depicting a loving relationship between two men. Another rapid fire exchange ensued. It ended with silence from Mr. Sempolinski and the librarian stating “so you would have me thrown in jail”.
A concerned citizen from Salamanca asked what was being done to address the drug and gun violence stating that she did not feel it was safe to allow her grandchildren to play outside at her house. Mr. Sempolinski stated that he was aware of the issue in his district regarding guns and drug activity. He stated that this topic actually has bipartisan agreement in Albany. However, no specific plans or strategies were shared to address the issue.
Dr. Scott Medler, Associate Professor of Physician Studies in the DePerro School of Health Professions at St. Bonaventure University brought the topic back to the proposed Medicaid cuts and the consequences that would have in our region. Mr. Sempolinski stated that our region should not be so heavily reliant on programs like Medicaid and SNAP. He stated that he was aware of the implications these cuts would have.
An advocate for veterans ( I did not catch his name) initiated conversation regarding veterans losing their jobs during the mass federal lay-offs. Mr. Sempolinski stated that there was a difference between veterans losing their jobs and cuts to veteran’s programs. Another individual asked to speak on behalf of the National Guard presence in the NYS prison strike. He stated that two St. Bonaventure students had been deployed and were concerned about not knowing when they would return to school and possibly losing out on academic credit for the semester. THis is the point at which Mr Sempolinski initiated an in-depth explanation of the HALT Act and his disdain for Governor Hochul whom he referred to as “the Queen”. In no way was this the focal point of the entire town hall meeting.
One of the last questions taken from the crowd came from a union president from BOCES. She asked if Mr. Sempolinski was aware of the inequities involved with Tier 6 of the NYS retirement system. Mr. Semploinski stated that he was aware of that and he was a member of Tier 6 and that he was very eager to have Tier 6 renegotiated.
To issue a press release stating that this town hall meeting was a lively discussion about the HALT Act was deception by omission. If Mr. Sempolinski is trying to deceive the public about the content of his Town Hall meeting, how can we trust the accuracy of what he did say?
Julie Hall
