| The Soundpolitic Interviews
Interview with Tracey Brooks
Interview with Darius Shahinfar
Interview with Phil Steck
Interview with Paul Tonko
Blogger's Note: No interview was conducted for Joseph P. Sullivan, who entered the race as a "conservative" Democrat and vowed to spend less than $1,000 on the race. I give him credit for making the ballot, but this is a progressive blog dedicated to covering progressive Democrats who take the campaign seriously. Sullivan's behavior in the following debates, as well as his insistence on referring to himself in super-hero terms has lead to me to conclude that he is not a serious candidate, and even bloggers have limited time and space to spend on candidates.
The Soundpolitic Debates
The final forum between these four major candidates occurred August 24, 2008, and instead of simply providing snapshot covered, I determined that the questions and answers were so throrough and comprehensive that a full trasncript was warranted. Here it is in it's entirety in seven parts:
Final Forum, Part I: Candidates' Opening Statements
Final Forum, Part II: Foreign Policy Debate
Final Forum, Part III: Domestic Policy Debate
Final Forum, Part IV: Candidates' Questions to One Another
Final Forum, Part V: Energy Policy Debate
Final Forum, Part VI: Miscellaneous Issues Debate
Final Forum, Part VII: Candidates' Closing Statements
In addition, I attended three other debates, some of which include a Republican Primary candidate here and there, some candidates that have since withdrawn form the race, and one of which dealt entirely with health care.
Democratic Candidates' Heatlh Care Debate
Five Democratic and Two Republican Candidates Debate
Eight Democrats Debate
Soundpolitic's Candidate Endorsements
If you search back through my own diary page by clicking Soundpolitic wherever it apears in blue, you can sift through my previous blogs in which I offer up my opinions on the race, as well as several weekly wraps in my "State of the Race" series. There, it will become clear as to which candidate I support, which candidates I respect, and which candidates I am opposed to. To summarize, here are my endorsements of each candidate:
Endorsed Candidate: Phil Steck
I have spent several days on the ground in support of Phil Steck's campaign for Congress between the months of March and July. He was the first candidate to get back to me, and I didn't know much about it; at first, his candidacy seemed unlikely to me, as he is currently an Albany County Legislator, and most members of the New York Congressional delegation are former members of the state legislature.
But Phil Steck's adamant progressivism on issues like the War in Iraq (he spoke out against it on day one) universal single-payer health care (he's been working on it for years) and his success as an attorney (he has won many a civil rights case with a strong sense of justice) attracted me to volunteer for his underdog campaign. He also has far more extensive plans to stimuatle the economy and save the environment with an green jobs and alternative energy program, has a much more reasoned and thorough foreign policy than his opponents, and was the only candidate to announce a plan to address urban blight. He also comes from the suburbs, making him uniquely qualified to address the probelm of suburan sprawl, as well as confirming the shift in Democratic power from the cities to the suburbs, as well as rural areas. And his run quickly showed itself to be a strong one, and he has knocked on more doors than any other candidate in the race, as well as sent out the strongest mailers and advertisements. And his strong ties to the community shows in the speed in which he obtained the largest number of endorsements from local elected officials, those who are closest to our communities, and showed that he could stand up to the notorious Albany County Democratic machine, a holdover from the conservative Corning Era, by winning the Albany County Democratic Committee's endorsement, a testament to his coalition building skills.
He has joined Barack Obama, who inspired to me to become involved in politics this year in the first place, in rejecting donations from lobbyists and PACs, and like Obama, has the highest percentage of donations from regular individuals from within the district, showing himself to be the change that we wish to see in Washington. And he has shown clearly his knack for not backing down on his positions, as well as his "I won't think twice" attitude about standing up to members of his own party.
Phil Steck is exactly the kind of candidate that every Congressional District needs, and he is poised to win after being virtually shunned in the beginning by the mainstream media, proving that if you work hard and stand firm in your principles, you can bring about change in a big way. I proudly endorse Phil Steck for Congress and encourage you to pull the lever for him on September 9th and November 4th.
Respected Candidates: Darius Shahinfar and Paul Tonko
In order of preference, I highly respect candidates Darius Shahinfar and Paul Tonko. Should either one win on Tuesday's primary, I will gladly switch from being a Steck volunteer to being a Darius or Tonko volunteer, and would gladly vote for them in the General Election.
Darius Shahinfar is my second choice because of my affinity for underdogs who raise themselves to the top tier against all odds. Many assumed he would not even make the ballot. But he made it, and he has plenty of experience in all three branches of government, most recently and notably as a regional representative in Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand's office. With that experience, he would slide into his own Congressional office ready to get to work, and he'd do the job well. He has demonstrated sincerity in his words, has surrounded himself with staff and volunteers that are every bit as respectful and talented as the Steck campaign, and is even talking about a few issues that other candidates haven't really touched on, most notably federal funding for public schools as opposed to local property taxes, which is a big issue for me personally. Yet Darius is a new name in the district, so I don't believe his chances of winning are too great. In the event he does not win, I sincerely hope we see his signs again for another office and makes it that time around. In the event that he does, my respect for him will have grown exponentially and an dark horse will have set off a major upset, and while I still like Phil Steck better, that would be rather exciting indeed.
Paul Tonko is my middle-of-the-road candidate. He has a long career in public service, including 23 years in the Assembly. He talks about energy, energy, and energy, and I believe one of the biggest issues that we need to solve in this country is our looming energy crisis. Because if you think things are bad now, just wait another couple of years if changes are not made. However, the State Assembly experience is a double-edged sword. As a former Assembly intern, I know how things work in there, and they do not work for the benefit of the constituents in New York State. While Paul Tonko casts himself as the exception to the rule, I'm nonetheless skeptical that perhaps a lot of experience in this realm is too much experience. Furthermore, his excuse for accepting money from lobbyists, special interests, and PACs (the worst of which is Alfonse D'Amato's AmericaPAC) of having to play with the system in order to keep up the good work he claims to have accomplished, even if he has accomplished much, just doesn't fit my attitude that people can be the change they wish to be. I will vote for Paul Tonko if he wins the Primary so I can keep the 21st represented by a Democrat, but I honestly prefer that he take second place, even if he has been the favorite to win since well before his announcement.
Opposed Candidates: Joseph P. Sullivan and Tracey Brooks
Joseph P. Sullivan is not a serious candidate whatsoever. Not only is he rude to voters, he is not competitive as far as grass roots efforts or funding goes, and I truly believe he has no chance at winning any election at any point. He is also the former chairman of the Albany Republicans and has conservative positions that are absolutely appalling: his catchphrase has been "The troops aren't coming home..get over it!" and at one of the debates, his obvious racisim and bigotry was clear and present. He's also very old and crotchety, and that is not the type of person who is fit to govern. It's impossible for me as a progressive Democrat to vote for him. But if for some strange reason all the voting machine screw up beyond legal remedy and he does go to Congress, he'll at least be hilariously funny to the last drop of Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey, which he claims to drink an entire bottle of each week. And I wouldn't mind getting together for a drink with him after this whole joke candidacy of his is over.
Tracey Brooks has raised the most money in the race, is the only woman in the race, and most recently worked for failed Presidential candidate Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. But those are not the reasons she is on the bottom of my list of endorsements. From the very beginning, her candidacy has been gender-based and exploitative of women, and it's become more and more transparent ever since. Her faceless cardboard men in her television advertisements and mailers are not only insulting, but the sheer amount of paid advertising she's flooded voters with suggests that she believes she can buy her way into Congress and ride the wave of the Clinton name, which I don't hold very high in the first place.
Furthermore, she was registered Republican right up until the middle of George W. Bush's first term in office, yet claimed in her interview with me that it was the Newt Gingrich Congress that made her want to run for Congress as a progressive. To that I say: yeah right. Not only that, but she has consistently lied throughout her campaign, claiming the highest number of individual donors when in fact most of her money is bundled up in PACs. She also has very close connections to Republican lobbyists and special interests. One of her Republcian maxed-out donors was even arrested for stealing her opponents signs not off of rights-of-way, but off the private property of citizens in the 21st Congressional District. While she says, like any slick poltician would, that she didn't condone this, the action still reflects on her candidacy.
I also don't like the way she communicates like a transparent politician: after three debates and a long interview and the most mailers and poorly produced television advertisements, it's clear to me that she just says the same old stuff over and over and over again, and quite frankly, I'm sick of politicians like that, and I'm sick of hearing Tracey speak, getting her mailers, and seeing her ads. Finally, while all the other campaigns have expressed their gratitude for the work I've done on these blogs, her campaign spokesman, Kyle Kotary, has consistently sent me long e-mails criticizing my work, calling me names, and bullying me, even after assuring me he would not engage in comments on my postings here. As any person is judged by the company one keeps, that reflects upon Brooks as well.
These are the reasons why I can never in any way support a Tracey Brooks candidacy no matter what office she seeks or what political party she decides to re-register with in order to buy it to satisfy her quest for power at all costs. I believe we are in big trouble is she ends up going to Washington. If by some chance Brooks wins the primary election, the voters of the 21st District will be blessed that Phil Steck and Paul Tonko will be running on the Independence and Working Families Party lines so that they still have the opportunity to send a truthful, experienced, and hard-working progressive to Congress in 2008.
Soundolitic Blogger's Note
This concludes my coverage of the historic Democratic Primary for Congress in New York's 21st Congressional District. I thank everybody for reading through my work, the Albany Project for promoting so many of my diaries on the subject and granting me front-page status as a result. And I urge you all to not just take my word for it and visit the candidates websites up top, and maybe call up their campaign to ask any questions you may still have if you are still undecided....if they don't call you first, that is! I am currently focusing my increased volunteer and blogging efforts in support of another primary candidate in the district, David Weiss for State Senate 46th District, but I'll never forget the NY-21 primary campaign as I've learned so much from all the candidates and all the good readers and posters here on The Albany Project and DailyKos.
The primary is Tuesday, September 9th. Polls are open from 12:00 pm to 9:00 pm. May the best man win. Peace,
Colin Abele
Berne, NY |
