JAMESTOWN – A local candidate for the New York State Assembly is voicing her concern about the proposed reopening strategy announced by various officials calling for New York State to move away from the “economic zones” decision-making process for reopening.

Christina Cardinale (D) is running against Republican Incumbent NY-50 Assemblyman Andy Goodell this fall. Cardinale released the following statement on her official Facebook page following Tuesday’s press conference with Goodell, Congressman Tom Reed, State Senator George Borrello and other officials:

“The “separate Chautauqua County” agenda is still in full effect, as evidenced by this afternoon’s press conference at Crown Street Roasting Company in downtown Jamestown. Our county has a population of about 126,900. Currently, our county has reported 1451 (negative) and 44 (positive) COVID-19 test results. That’s 1.17% of the population. We need a sample size bigger than 1.17% to make educated decisions.”

“Our representatives continue to proudly announce our “low infection rate”. They need to remember these low numbers correlate with the low amount of testing. I’m not against reopening. I’m against reopening without being conscientious. I’m against a pandemic strategy that involves a “let the chips fall where they may” mentality.”

“Our elected officials are so quick to demand special treatment for Chautauqua County. How can they demand significant treatment for a county without significant metrics?”