Ed Rath

Long diatribe below about ErieNet:

Today, in committee the County Legislature is going to discuss a contract to connect ErieNet to 72 facilities across the County, most of which are county facilities.

I was a County Legislator 7yrs ago at the start of the conversation about ErieNet (which is now a non-for-profit local development corporation). ErieNet was sold to the public back then as a broadband solution for underserved and unserved residents.

To date we have invested over $44 million in public dollars to build the network (with still no results shown). Now the administration wants the Legislature to approve a contract paying ErieNet taxpayer dollars to provide internet service to county buildings.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐮𝐬 (𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫) 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲.

The administration calls this a savings compared to the current broadband provider. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐡, 𝐭𝐚𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝟏𝟓 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞.

The parameters of this project have changed dramatically, and taxpayers deserve a full accounting before Legislators commit to something like this.

ErieNet will be adding county-wide broadband service ....soon | WBEN

ICYMI: Here is my interview that aired last night on WBBZ TV | Buffalo's Buzz talking all things County related and about my race for County Legislature.

It also will air again June 6th at 11:30pm for those night owls out there!

Big Picture PRIME! with Ed Rath (R) Candidate for Erie County Legislature 2026 Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

Be sure to tune in tonight!

Over-The-Air (Antenna): Digital Channel 67.1
DirecTV: Channel 67
Dish Network & Verizon FiOS: Channel 5 (HD 505 for FiOS)
Spectrum Cable (Buffalo/Niagara): Channel 5 (HD 1230)

Tune in to WBBZ TV | Buffalo's Buzz, June 1st at 8pm and June 6th at 11:30pm. We talked roads, the affordability crisis, why people are leaving New York, and what it actually takes to fix it. Less emotion, more common sense in my opinion.

Great afternoon at Buffalo Rogue Field in East Amherst supporting the Buffalo Rogue Travel Baseball Organization! Beautiful weather, kids competing hard, and a great facility.

The Buffalo Rogue Travel Baseball Organization has built something special, including a partnership with the Getzville Fire Company that brings Safety Days, Responder Skills Clinics, and “Meet Your First Responders” family events right to the diamond.

Spring is here, and there’s no better way to celebrate than supporting the amazing local businesses right here in our community!

It’s been a wet start to spring, time for some sun ☀️

Spent some time recently visiting Lavocat's Family Greenhouse and Nursery, Bedford's Greenhouse, Niagara County Produce and Spoth's Farm Market, picking up some flowers for the yard and getting a preview of what a great season this is going to be.

Today I had the honor of marching in the Clarence Memorial Day Parade and visiting the Clarence Veterans Memorial.

600 names on the honor wall. 55 names on the fountain, each one a Clarence resident killed in action.

Grateful for this community and humbled by the sacrifices those names represent.

I was honored to serve as Guest Speaker at the Akron-Newstead Memorial Day Ceremony this morning.

Today is about the men and women who gave everything so we could have it all.

God Bless our veterans, God Bless their families. 🇺🇸

Today is the day we stop and say thank you to the men and women who gave their lives for this country.

Take a moment today, wherever you are, to remember them.

Tune in to WBBZ TV | Buffalo's Buzz, June 1st at 8pm and June 6th at 11:30pm. We talked roads, the affordability crisis, why people are leaving New York, and what it actually takes to fix it. Less emotion, more common sense in my opinion.