Constituents rap Rep. Brandon Williams on shutdown pay, electricity, fossil fuels (Your Letters) – syracuse.com

Flip flop on paycheck during shutdown was ‘tone-deaf’

To the Editor:

Rep Brandon Williams (NY-22) originally stated that he would not give up his salary if the government shut down because “his job doesn’t end in a shutdown, and he is not independently wealthy.” (The Post-Standard, Oct. 1, 2023). How callous can one get? How tone-deaf? Many people would lose their paychecks if the government shut down, even those required to work. Many live paycheck to paycheck. They would struggle to put food on the table, pay the mortgage or get their medications.

Williams would not likely struggle as he has a net worth of at least $3 million, possibly much more. The greater than $3 million figure puts Williams in the top 2% of wealthiest Americans (a net worth of at least $2,472,000).

Williams has no significant accomplishments in his nine months on the job, other than moving from a moderate during his campaigning toward the radical right of the Republican Party. Williams appears not to understand what a shutdown (still possible next month) could mean to many Americans but is not hesitant to preserve his own paycheck. Can a wealthy individual who doesn’t appreciate what each paycheck means to working families adequately represent us? Is this what Central New York signed up for with Brandon Williams?

Eric Holmes

Liverpool

Taxpayer-funded mailing on power costs misled

To the Editor:

The latest misleading message from extremist Rep. Brandon Williams is more irritating than surprising. In his latest taxpayer-funded constituent mailing, Willams gave a completely fabricated single reason for increased electricity and natural gas costs in New York since 2020. Truthfully, there are several causes for the increases, none of which result from the Biden administration’s policies.

Responding to rising foreign demand, natural gas exports — primarily as propane — increased and reached their peak in 2022. Meanwhile, domestic electricity producers placed greater reliance on natural gas to generate power, driving up the cost of both natural gas and electricity.

Under deregulation, utilities are responsible for the transmission but not production of power. They often purchase power from producers located a considerable distance from them, necessitating construction of expensive new transmission lines. Deregulation also means less official oversight of utilities’ rates and expenditures. Not unexpectedly, residents in New York (and the other 34 states that deregulated their power system) pay an average of $40 more per month for electricity than those in regulated states.

Most annoying is Williams’ intentionally misleading statement “44.7% higher electricity costs in NY area than U.S. average.” Note the word “area.” That’s not us. It’s New York City and adjoining parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania! That’s outright duplicity. Additionally, that 44.7% goes back to the Trump administration (2019).

We should expect better from “the only trained nuclear engineer in Congress.”

Richard Meili

Waterville

Williams’ support for fossil fuel companies is out of step

To the Editor:

Re: “Rep. Brandon Williams flip flops within hours about taking pay during government shutdown” (Sept. 28, 2023.

Williams is now contrite after going viral on social media for saying he’s “not independently wealthy,” despite a net worth of at least $3 million, and for having little sympathy for those who will suffer financial hardship during the shutdown. What’s getting less coverage is his craven disregard for the most vulnerable in his district as he defends the rights of fossil fuel companies to pollute local communities.

He called anti-pollution regulations and investment in renewable energy “extremist environmental policies.” (Check his Twitter thread and see his tweet bragging about protecting fossil fuel companies, who by the way, are raking in the profits at the expense of consumers.)

Having moved to New York state from California, I am familiar with the extreme danger that climate change presents. I know what it’s like to watch multiple fires and have a go-bag ready for evacuation.

Maybe Brandon Williams will flip-flop on this, too. But I doubt it. Until he feels social pressure, he will see his cozy relationship with fossil fuel companies as a political win and he will fight against any regulation that might keep the air cleaner and protect the planet. After all, he’s independently wealthy and his mansion is not built near a gas well.

As a constituent and a parent, I want a representative who cares more about people and the planet.

Sari Fordham

Manlius

Related: Rep. Brandon Williams moves toward far right with new staff rooted in Trump’s MAGA campaign