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Earlier today, the House of Representatives passed the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009. The vote was mostly along party lines, with 227 Democrats and seven Republicans voting in favor of the legislation.
 But there was one notable vote among New York's representatives. That vote came from Congressman Eric Massa, who was one of 24 Democrats to oppose the legislation.
Massa didn't oppose it because, like most of the other Democrats who opposed it, he was a Blue Dog. Massa opposed it because of the minimal impact it would have on his district.
"I campaigned on a platform of standing as an independent voice and voting in the interests of my constituents, not a political party. Today I did just that because I didn't think the Housing bill delivered a proportionally fair amount of relief to the families of my district," said Congressman Massa moments after the vote. "With this in mind, I could not rationalize further deficit spending in the face of minimal assistance to the working families in our district. While there are a number of things that I did like in this bill, the projections in it demonstrated that it was largely targeted to States like California, Nevada and Florida where the housing crisis has hit the hardest, not Western New York. I support helping families refinance their adjustable rate mortgages to stay in their homes, but compared to many other states, Western New Yorkers would not benefit enough to warrant my vote."
The Olean Times-Herald also discussed Massa's independence on this issue in a piece this morning. As they reported, Massa discussed the housing bill during his weekly press call. During that call, he made it clear that he would oppose the legislation because it did not benefit Western New York and did not go far enough and helping homeowners in his district.
Massa has argued that this vote shows his independence and that, as he said in the Olean Times-Herald piece, he isn't "married to the Democratic leadership." But his vote is much more than that.
I know that many constituents in every congressional district in the country feel that their opinions don't matter. They feel that their representative votes the party line or votes in their own best interest. In this case, Massa showed that his district is in his mind every time he votes. That means something.
Prior to being elected to Congress, we knew Massa was special. We knew that he was outspoken and that he wasn't afraid to stand up for what he believes in. That is what made him an appealing and excellent candidate. And that is what makes him an excellent congressman.
While there are things to like about the housing bill, if it's not going to do anything for your district, why vote for it? That question is one that every representative should ask themselves when they vote on important bills. Congressman Massa asked himself that question when the housing bill came across his desk and he didn't see the bill helping his district. So he voted against it.
This won't be the last time Massa does this. I have a feeling you will see plenty of this over the next 21 months and beyond.
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