STATEMENT FROM FORMER SENATOR  MIKE MARTUCCI

The Orange County Partnership is setting its sights in the new year on attracting advanced manufacturing semiconductor and supply chain businesses which has the potential to bring a large number of high-paying jobs to the county. As a member of the State Senate, I served as the Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business, Economic Development, and Commerce Committee and my work there provided me the opportunity to travel the state and see first-hand the impact strategic economic development can have on a community.  In recent years, led by the United States Senate Majority Leader, New York has made a push to be the semiconductor capital of the nation as manufacturers work to onshore semiconductor production.  The push to attract these companies:  the potential for many high-paying jobs. The fruits of this effort are in full display in Syracuse where Micron has committed to creating nearly 50,000 new jobs over more than 20 years.  The project will be transformative to the Syracuse region with total investment by Micron topping $100 billion.  More important than the total number of jobs and capital investment is the type of jobs, the majority of which are anticipated to pay more than $100,000 per year. Closer to home in Fishkill’s Westgate Business Park, California-based semiconductor manufacturer, AMD, has established a research and design center.  The company has created more than 150 new jobs at the Fishkill location. To that end, Orange County Partnership President Maureen Halahan recently attended a symposium in San Francisco to meet with executives from similar companies and discuss the possibility of those companies locating in Orange County. “We have fabulous relationships with site selectors all over the country but we don’t yet have a bonded relationship with companies in advanced manufacturing and supply chain, and that’s what we are going after in 2024,” she said.  “We have some sites that can accommodate it.  We don’t know exactly what we are going to expect but we know the guest list, we know our targets and we know what we plan on doing when we get out there.”