Willa Powell is challenging incumbent Joe Robach in the 56th Senate district.

A reader (hi Lisa!) writes to ask:

Can you explain why Powell is not endorsed by Planned Parenthood? I got a notice yesterday.

I can only assume the notice Lisa, a city resident, got is the result of the microtargeting Robach’s campaign is doing after his recent “voter ID” polling efforts. (Lisa, if you got a call asking about Powell and Robach, let us know in the comments.)

Well, first off, Powell’s been endorsed Pro-choice by NOW and NARAL.Â

More on this and a conversation I had with a South Wedge friend about the Powell-Robach race, below the fold…

I asked Willa if she could shed any more light on your question, and this is what she had to add:

I’ve also received a campaign grant from the Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy Foundation, which is only available to pro-choice candidates. I did complete the candidate questionnaire, and responded 100% pro-choice. (I also give 100% of my United Way contributions to Planned Parenthold.)

I don’t know why PPANY did not endorse either candidate in the 56th District race. I can only assume that if I had a bigger, more sophisticated campaign, we could have done the appropriate follow-through on the questionnaire, to ensure that I was being considered.

One aspect to consider with regard to PPANY, is that in 2003, many incumbent senators voted for a bill that would require access to emergency contraception in Emergency Rooms, earning some lawmakers who had anti-choice ratings a 100%. The bill was vetoed, and no override attempt was made, so it is hard to determine who cast a cynical vote in favor, knowing it would be vetoed. This is most certainly a consideration, because if all an observer did was count the “yes” votes, it is clear that the bill could have survived in a veto override, had it been brought back to the floor for a vote.

For what it’s worth, Dan West also told me he filled out Planned Parenthood’s questionnaire, 100% pro-choice (he’s in the “safe, legal, and rare” camp), sent it in, and never heard from them again. He suspects there’s “a big green monster there eating their mail”.Â

Willa is hard at work going door-to-door, and she could use a little help dropping some lit in the next few days. It sounds like this race is tied up, and given that Robach is outspending her $1,000,000 to $5,000, that means voter discontent and people-power can make the difference.   That means, YOU can make the difference. One. Single. Person.

You.

Talk to your friends in Brighton and the South Wedge. I spoke with my South Wedge friend who works in a city school, a bright guy who’s familiar with local politics. The conversation went a little like this.

“So, you voting for Robach or Powell for State Senate?”Â

“Robach. He’s been good to schools.”

“Do you know how he’s able to bring in those funds to schools? Pataki cuts the education budget with the understanding that Senators will make up the difference using their “Member Items”. It’s essentially a vote-buying program.”

“Well, if he wants to buy votes by funding schools and libraries, that’s fine by me.”

“Three problems with that– one, it’s a non-transparent process– it’s hard to see how the money’s coming and going. Second, it allows him to vote way more conservatively than the people in the district. DMI rated all the state senators and assy on middle class issues.”

“How’d Robach do?”

“He was tied for last. Even Bruno was better at 50%.”

“Whoa.”

“And he’s gotten more conservative– the Conservative party rated him at 72% last year.”

“Hmmm.”

“But that’s not all– the Senate is 4 seats away from having a Democratic majority. And member items for the minority party is a pittance compared to what Robach gets now. ”

At that point one of his kids started freaking out so he had to go, but he said I’d given him a lot to think about, and that he was open minded about it. He looked forward to picking up the discussion where we left off when we get together this weekend.

Even if I don’t convince him completely, he is at least aware of what lies beneath Robach’s shiny exterior. Baby steps. stlo7 would be proud.

Oh, and check out this fake Duffy endorsement:

Duffy hasn’t endorsed either Robach or Powell in this race. Faking an endorsement shows how close he knows this is.

Give Willa a hand, and help her nail this thing.