According to The Buffalo News, people in the Working Families Party are trying to replace Jon Powers’ name on the ballot with Democratic Primary winner Alice Kryzan’s name. This would be a huge boost to her chances, not so much because of the number of votes she would get on the Working Families line, but rather because of the number of votes that Jon Powers would likely receive if he was to remain on the ballot.
Apparently, the move is now possible because Powers has moved out of the state. I can’t find that from any other news source, but if it is true, it is very disappointing. That, combined with his continued inability to just endorse Kryzan, is the kind of thing I would have expected from the Jack Davis campaign. But it seems all too clear now: Powers was in the race mostly for personal ambition and he’s just too bitter about losing to campaign for Alice Kryzan, the only candidate left who shares our values of fairness and equality.
Quoting from The Buffalo News:
James A. Duncan, chairman of the Erie County Working Families Party, said today he expects Kryzan to take over the line because previous candidate Jon Powers has moved out of state. While the State Board of Elections in Albany has not yet received notification from Powers, Duncan said he expects it to arrive soon.
“This certainly is an additional plus for Alice,” he said. “We hope to have this wrapped up by the end of the day.”
He said he expects other Working Families officials in the district and the state party to approve the substitution.
Board of Elections officials said moving out of state is one of only three ways (along with death or election to higher office) in which a congressional candidate can be removed from the ballot.
I can’t figure out what Powers is doing. He doesn’t like the way people voted, so he’s leaving the state? This kind of chicanery should be reserved for Republicans. As a Powers supporter from a different congressional district, this entire post-primary period has been one disappointment after another. It’s just sad.
Today, Survey USA released a poll showing Chris Lee ahead of Alice Kryzan by 48-37 in the 26th congressional district. Jon Powers gets 5% on the WFP line.
A few days ago, a poll commissioned by the DCCC and EMILY’s List showed Kryzan ahead by 10 points.
This is a small sample poll so take it with a BIG grain of salt, but it shows, at the very least, that NY-26 should be a competitive race:
A Brilliant Corners Research & Strategies poll of 400 likely voters shows that Alice Kryzan holds a 10-point lead over Republican candidate for Congress Chris Lee with 39 percent to 29 percent and 32 percent undecided. The poll, which was commissioned by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and EMILY’s List, was conducted September 15-17 with a 4.9 percent margin of error.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the electoral and fund-raising arm of Democrats in the House of Representatives, released this ad attacking NY-26 Republican congressional candidate Chris Lee on labor issues:
The collapse of Bear Sterns, Lehman Brothers, AIG, and, well, the Dow over the past few weeks illustrates the dangers of privatizing Social Security. I don’t think that requires much explanation.
It will be interesting to see if the DCCC or the Massa campaign hits Kuhl with ads over this.
Social Security is an important issue. Voters deserve to know which candidates would privatize it and which would keep it the way it is now. That goes for candidates in all local Congressional races.
Obviously, the Kryzan upset is the big story in Monroe County, but a lot of other important races were taking place last night throughout New York.
The full AP results are here, but I’ll run through the big races.
State Assembly
AD-22: 1st term Assemblywoman Ellen Young of Flushing was defeated by Grace Meng by a margin of 59% (2733 votes) to 41% (1916). Earlier this summer, Young became embroiled in a conflict between the Chinese Communist Party and the Falun Gong.
AD-40: Inez Barron won the the primary for the seat left vacant by former Assemblywoman Diane Gordon, who was convicted in April of bribery and official misconduct. This Brooklyn district, like almost all of NYC, votes overwhelmingly Democratic.
AD-64: Speaker Sheldon Silver of the Lower East Side of Manhattan destroyed his two primary challengers, Paul Newell and Luke Henry, with 68% of the vote.
AD-86: Nelson Castro beat Mike Soto 63%-37% in this district in the Bronx where sitting Democratic Assemblyman Luis Diaz decided to retire.
AD-112: Republican Tony Jordan defeated Christopher Laing in this district which includes Saratoga where incumbent Assemblyman Roy McDonald is running for Joe Bruno’s Senate seat.
AD-142: 1st term Republican Assemblyman Mike Cole lost his seat- which includes Tonawanda, Lockport, and other suburbs of Buffalo- last night to Jane Corwin 45% to 35%, with two other challengers taking the remaining 20%. Cole was censured by the Assembly last year for going home with a 21 year old legislative intern.
State Senate
SD-21: Senator Kevin Parker survived a primary with two challengers in this Brooklyn district with just 49% of the vote to Simcha Felder’s 37%.
SD-25: Daniel Squadron (a longtime ally of US Senator Chuck Schumer) unseated the dean of the Democratic caucus, Sen. Marty Connor, in this district which includes lower Manhattan by a significant 54% (12,912) to 46% (10980). Connor was once the Democratic leader in the State Senate and has served there since 1978. David Paterson beat Connor in 2002 to become the Minority Leader.
SD-33: In this district in the Bronx, Pedro Espada defeated State Senator Efrain Gonzalez, who was indicted in 2006 on charges of mail fraud. Espada won by a large 20% margin: 60% (4,615) to 40% (3,128).
SD-43: Democrat Michael Russo will be facing off against Republican Assemblyman Roy McDonald to see who will replace Joe Bruno come November. Because of the registration numbers and demographics of this Saratoga-centered district, McDonald is definitely the favorite to win.
SD-59: Kathy Konst will be the Democratic challenger to Sen. Dale Volker in this district which includes Canandaigua and suburbs of Buffalo. Volker won the Republican primary last night with an underwhelming 58%.
SD-61: Joe Mesi knocked-out his two opponents in the Democratic primary for this seat left open by the retirement of Republican Sen. Mary Lou Rath. He won with 53% to Michele Ianello’s 35% and Dan Ward’s 12%. In the red corner is the GOP’s Mike Ranzenhofer.
Congress
NY-13: Mike McMahon beat Stephen Harrison by a 3 to 1 margin (75%-25%) for the Democratic nomination for this open seat in Staten Island currently held by retiring Rep. Vito Fossella. He will run against Republican primary winner Bob Straniere. McMahon is heavily favored to take this seat from the Republicans in the fall.
NY-21: Rep. Michael McNulty is retiring from this solidly Democratic seat around Albany and the capital region. Paul Tonko came out on top of this crowded Democratic primary with 39% to his closest opponent, Tracey Brooks, with 30%. He will have no trouble winning this seat, so get used to hearing about Albany Congressman Paul Tonko.
NY-26: The crown jewel of the 2008 primary night in New York, Alice Kryzan pulled off the big upset and will face off against Republican Chris Lee.
Last night truly was one for the history books.
Update: I color coded the various races because I think I left out the party affiliation for some of them.
From a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee release:
Following her victory in the Democratic Primary in New York’s 26th Congressional District, Alice Kryzan has immediately been added to the DCCC’s Red to Blue program for open seats. Alice Kryzan earned a spot in the competitive program by establishing significant local support and skillfully showing New York’s voters that she stands for change and will represent new priorities.
“Congratulations to Alice Kryzan on her primary victory,” said DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen. “Alice Kryzan is a strong leader who will fight to make college and health care more affordable, and lower gas prices. Alice Kryzan will be a formidable candidate in the general election. With 55 days left to make her case to the voters of the 26th district, the Red to Blue program will give Alice the financial and structural edge to be even more competitive.”
The Red to Blue program highlights top Democratic campaigns across the country, and offers them financial, communications, and strategic support. The program introduces Democratic supporters to new, competitive candidates in order to help expand the fundraising base for their campaigns.
The big question is if the DCCC will spend money on this race now.
Tomorrow is primary day and the most important primary, in many ways, is the one in NY-26. We welcome supporters of all the candidates to contact us with messages explaining why they think their candidate is the best choice. Today, we received this from Jon Powers
Some thoughts on tomorrow’s primary from Jon Powers
For more than a year, I have had the opportunity to meet thousands of Western New Yorkers who represent the best of our community as I have campaigned for the 26th Congressional district. This campaign has been invigorating, encouraging, at times ugly, but always worthwhile. It has always been a great honor to listen to so many hard-working and dedicated Western New Yorkers as they tell me their stories.
Running for Congress is never something I expected to do, but when I returned to Western New York after serving nearly 15 months in Iraq, I was disheartened and frustrated.
I saw a Congressman who claimed to be one of the most powerful men in Washington stand by and watch our manufacturing jobs leave and plants close while my fellow soldiers in Iraq lacked the necessary body armor and equipment. I looked toward Washington and wondered what happened to the greatest generation of leadership that mobilized our nation.
I quickly learned that few people in Washington were interested in real solutions and that was unacceptable.
The America you and I grew up believing in and the America I went to war for had lost its voice in Washington. The America we believe in would not have sent my fellow soldiers and me to war without a plan or the proper equipment, the America we believe in would not allow gas to reach $4 a gallon without a path to secure our energy independence, the America we believe in would not let our best and brightest leave Western New York because of a lack of opportunity.
So my family and I decided to run for Congress to change that, and built a grassroots campaign that is based on the voices of our friends and neighbors. We started this year holding 30 house parties in 30 days and spent last week visiting all 7 counties in 7 days. Anyone from Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming or Livingston Counties will tell you that they see me more than anyone else asking for their vote.
We have hosted roundtables talking with teachers about education, farmers about agriculture, small business owners about the rising cost of health care and students about the rising costs of education.
Our conversation earned us the endorsements of every single county party, the working men and women represented by organized labor and turned enough heads on the national stage that the National Democratic Party endorsed our race placing us in their Red to Blue program. So did Senator John Kerry, former Senator Bob Kerrey, Generals Wesley Clark and Paul Eaton, along with the only other Iraq veteran in Congress, Rep. Patrick Murphy.
But our support does not stop there; the Netroots community has been pivotal. You allow America to have a conversation about the issues even when the media is not interested, and your financial support helps our campaign compete against millionaires.
The article criticizes ads from all three candidates but singles Davis out as the worst offender:
No candidate in the race has taken the truth to more undisclosed locations than Davis, who has run three attack ads against Powers that dramatically distort his record.
[....]
Davis, a Newstead industrialist who vowed to spend $3 million of his money to win a seat in Congress, has spent plenty of that money taking aim at Powers, the Iraq War veteran who’s backed by the party establishment and organized labor.
Yet to hear Davis tell it, you would think that corporate America is Powers’ best friend.
Take, for example, the Davis ad called “Bad Medicine.”
“The health care system is broken because special interests give millions in campaign contributions to politicians like Jon Powers,” the ad says, as the words “Pfizer,” “GE,” “Wyeth” and “Johnson & Johnson” appear on the screen.
The problems start right there.
Powers took no money directly from the Pfizer, GE or Wyeth political action committees, federal records show.
Jill Terreri has a brief summary piece on the local primaries that take place on Tuesday. There aren’t a lot of races There are primaries in SD-59 (both parties), a Republican primary in SD-62, a Town Board Republican primary in Riga, and the big one: the Democratic primary in NY-26.
The primary in NY-26 may as well be a general election. Jack Davis is farther to the right than most Republicans in Congress. His backwards-looking, xenophobic approach to immigration would decimate our nation’s economy. I cannot say that strongly enough. When you add to that his comments about a second Civil War you’re got a recipe for craziness with a side of nutty.
By contrast, Jon Powers is a mainstream Democrat.
The choice is simple if you’re a Democrat: sane, hardworking candidate who agrees with you on most issues in Powers, or a crazy millionaire in Davis.
“We have a huge unemployment problem with black youth in our cities,” Davis told the Tonawanda News recently. “Put them on buses, take them out there [to the farms] and pay them a decent wage; they will work.”
[....]
Asked what is causing global warming, Davis noted that the polar ice caps on Mars are melting, too, and said: “The sun is on a heat streak.”
Something unfortunate has happened: the two Democratic frontrunners to be the candidate for the 26th congressional district (Jon Powers and Jack Davis) have succeeded in beating up each other rather than beating up the Republican candidate, Chris Lee. I am afraid- and this is my own personal opinion, so take it for what it’s worth- that the primary campaign has gotten so negative, that neither of them will be able to win the district this November.
In particular, Jack Davis has not only smeared Jon Powers zealously and with passion. He has been able to smear himself beyond repair. He has single-handedly ruined any chance for the Democrats to retake this seat from the Republicans. It’s sad, but I feel that the only outcome now for either candidate is defeat as a result of the campaign that Davis has run. He has made a fool of himself many times over while completely alienating the people who were his strongest supporters in 2004 and 2006. The incessant negative campaign ads have seriously damaged Powers’ image as a fresh outsider similar to what Hillary Clinton did to Barack Obama. But in this case, we don’t have six months to unite the two campaigns and backtrack on all of the attacks so that we can create a united Democratic front for the fall campaign in the way that Hillary succeeded in convincing many of her strongest supporters to get behind Obama at the convention last week.
Most importantly, it appears likely that Davis will be running all the way even if he loses the Democratic primary. He bribed his way onto the Independence Party line and he created his very own “Save Jobs and Farms Party.” It is “Connecticut for Joe Lieberman” all over again, except this time, the possible loser of the Democratic primary can’t count on the support of a majority of Republicans simply because he is in favor of their foreign policies as Lieberman did in 2006.
I hope Jack Davis loses the primary next Tuesday and supports Jon Powers in the general election. I hope that with his support, residents of the 26th district send Jon Powers to Congress this November. But the actions of Jack Davis’s campaign these last few weeks have made that scenario very improbable, if not impossible. Thus, I personally have concluded that the campaign to replace Tom Reynolds in New York’s 26th district is over before it began.
Our featured Progressive Partner is Joseph Sorrentino. Joseph got his start in photography by humanizing Philadelphia's homeless, and currently lives in Rochester. In addition to his gallery, you can see his work on display at his exhibition at the Genesee Center for the Arts. He's also available for portraits or events (weddings, etc.)
Rochester City Paper Critics Choice: "Best local political blog"
You are currently browsing the archives for the NY-26 category.
Quote
I strongly urge all Americans to become informed and come Election Day, vote. America needs its best and brightest in Washington, D.C., and we all have a responsibility in a free society to participate in the process. We must hold our leaders accountable.
