| Don Barber had the chance to take on his opponent, Republican Sen. Jim Seward, in a radio debate. Barber took advantage of the golden opportunity.
According to the campaign, the debate will rebroadcast at noon Sunday on WZOZ 103.1FM, WDOS 730AM and WSRK 103.9FM.
Here is the reaction from Barber and his campaign following the debate:
In comments after the debate, Barber said, "Look at the state of our economy even before the Wall Street meltdown. Manufacturing is disappearing, family farms are being sold, minimum wage jobs are multiplying. We have 2.6 million in New York State without health insurance, one in three are without coverage at any given time, and now my opponent is going around touting stripped-down policies that non-partisan groups like the American Cancer Society say won't even pay for life saving treatments. The time is long past for new leadership in our district."
During the debate Barber pressed one of the central points of his candidacy, the corrupting influence of big money in Albany politics. "My opponent has taken over $320,000 from insurance interests. He's the Chair of the Senate Insurance Committee. This creates the appearance of impropriety, and the public loses faith in its representatives."
In a recent report, "The High Cost of Pay to Play," Citizen Action pointed out that Sen. Seward was the New York State Senate's leading recipient of cash from health insurers. Don Barber hasn't received a single dollar from corporate interests in his run for the state Senate, but has instead relied on over 2,000 individual donors to fund his seven-county campaign.
"It's hard to see how Senator Seward can say he's proud of his record when all around us we see the evidence of an economy in deep, long-term decline," said Tarah Rowse, Barber's Campaign Manager. "Don Barber has a plan to build a new economy that will provide the kind of jobs that will attract young people to our area, not send them running off thousands of miles away to find decent employment."
The people of the 51st Senate District have a clear choice. You can go with the same incumbent senator who has catered to the special interests instead of your interests OR you can go with Don Barber, a champion of the middle class and a hardworking man who will take that approach and view to Albany.
The choice is a clear one to me. The people of the 51st Senate District are fortunate to have a candidate like Don Barber. This is a golden opportunity to bring real change to Albany.
ON THE WEB:
Don Barber's ActBlue Page |
