Robach and Powell meet the Messenger Post Editorial Board
Today, Sen. Joe Robach and I sat together in an Editorial Board interview for the Messenger Post papers.
During that interview, Joe described himself as “a raging moderate”. This phrase was coined by Al Gore, further evidence that my opponent is trying to pass himself off as far more centrist than he actually is. Look to my website, the Frequenly Asked Question “Your opponent used to be a Democrat. Surely his record is in line with Democratic values too?” Passing himself off as “more pragmatist than Democrat or Republican” he tried to convince the editorial board that he still is a Democrat, but that pragmatism in the service of his district was his motivation for changing parties. To this point, I invite you to review this FAQ, especially the quote from Molly Clifford: “he may try to convince Democrats that he’s ‘one of us,’ one look at his voting history - anti-choice, anti-gay, anti-gun control - demonstrates otherwise.”
The question of Member Item spending came up. Senator Robach defended the practice, while I pointed out that it has become a system for legislators to buy votes with taxpayer money. I noted that since Sen. Nick Spano (35th District) maintained his seat with a mere 18 vote margin in 2004, he has been able to secure $1000 per capita per year in member items for Westchester county, while districts with minority party representatives have been granted less than $100 per capita per year.
Shockingly, Robach disputed these numbers. I pointed the editorial board to the Center for Governmental Research report Capital Pork. I have a link to it on my website, within my answer to the Frequently Asked Question: What is your position on Campaign Finance Reform?” I offer it up to you as well, and hope that you are as concerned about this issue as I am.
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Dang. Sounds like you did pretty good. It’ll be interesting to see his claims being refuted in print (hopefully). Let us know when the article comes out!