In a surprising development, The Buffalo Newsreports today that the party Jack Davis created to assure himself a spot on the November ballot will not be on the November ballot after all.
The reason Davis' Save Jobs and Farms Party was kicked off the ballot was due to his failure to file paperwork accepting the party's nomination. Therefore, all of his signatures are void and the party was removed from the general election ballot.
"The state board commissioners voted today to determine that the . . . petitions of Mr. Davis are invalid," Brehm said. "The reason was the failure to timely file an acceptance by the candidate, which is required by state Election Law."
Davis, an Akron millionaire who has vowed to spend $3 million of his money on the race, has until next Wednesday to go to court to appeal the decision.
Brehm indicated, however, that the ruling was an easy one on the part of the board.
"I don't see how we can waive a statutory requirement," he said.
Davis' campaign manager, Luke Vaughn, attributed the problem to "a clerical error" and said the campaign is trying to find out how it happened.
"We'll be exploring all possible options" to try to get the Save Jobs and Farms Party back on the ballot, Vaughn said.
"Regardless of how many lines Jack has on the ballot, he's going to win, because he's the only candidate who will stand up to the special interests," Vaughn said.
The whole reason for the creation of this line was to assure Davis was on the November ballot. Davis provided the excuse before that you need a major party AND minor party line to win. Now Vaughn is saying that Jack is going to win anyway. I doubt it. The timing of this party being created (a day before the deadline) shows that they wanted something to make sure they were on the ballot in November.
Of course, if I was paying my TV/direct mail hitman hundreds of thousands of dollars, I'd want to make it to November too.
The Jon Powers campaign came out strong against Jack Davis today and provided several different sources showing Davis and his stance on issues that show up to me not-so much of a Democrat.
In today's Buffalo News, the profile article on Jack Davis is titled, "Davis not your ordinary Democrat," the Powers for Congress campaign goes one step further and suggests it should have been titled, "Davis not a Democrat at all."
"From social security where he wants to raise the retirement age, to agriculture where he wants to bus black people to work in the fields, to global warming which he believes is not man-made and we shouldn't waste money to alleviate, to his anticipated American civil war - Jack Davis is so out of touch with Western New Yorkers that he is the absolute last person we should send to represent us in Congress," said Powers for Congress campaign manager John Gerken. "With his own words, Jack Davis is his own worst enemy."
Davis has refused to show up for two debates in the past week. WBEN host and moderator of the first debate Kevin Hardwick told the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal, "If you're too afraid to go into a debate for fear of saying something stupid, how can we expect you to stand up to the special interests in Washington? If (Davis') handlers don't trust him ... perhaps they ought not run him for office."
Davis' campaign is currently under investigation by the Niagara County District Attorney for petition fraud in Niagara County. It was also widely reported that he was forced to apologize for bribing Independence Party officials in Erie and Monroe Counties which eventually lead to Chairman Rafael Colon's resignation.
"Jack Davis has a lot of reasons not to want to talk about issues," said Gerken. "He's flat out wrong on most of them."
I wouldn't say he's wrong on these issues. I would say he is a Republican on these issues. After all, what other political party would support raising the retirement age for Social Security, support the Bush tax cuts, fight against immigration and coming down hard on illegal immigrants?
The Powers campaign also gave another example of Republican Jack Davis' ignorance:
Jack Davis on global warming:
"I don't think man is making it and I don't think man has the capability and certainly can't afford the cost of trying to control it....The sun is on a heat streak." - Buffalo News, 09/04/08
And how could we forget his "Heritage of our fathers" spiel:
We have a huge unemployment problem with black youth in our cities. Put them on buses, take them out there and pay them a decent wage; they will work. Why can't we get those two together, people who need jobs and farmers? We shouldn't be bringing in illegal foreigners to do that work.
Given all of the past racial discrimination history in this country, and as a Southerner I saw a lot of it growing up, I am astonished that someone would say such a thing.
It had been rumored that crazy Jack Davis was a no show at the debate last night. This is obviously not true as you can see him quite clearly in the photo on the right standing right next to Jon Powers.
Just another vicious rumor spread by Davis' opponents, apparently.
NY-26: Jack Davis began airing two new attack ads this week against Jon Powers, Iraq War veteran and the endorsed Democratic candidate in the 26th Congressional District. As I was watching the ads I noticed that Davis' campaign had used my image that I took of Jon Powers this spring without my consent. Furthermore, the second ad used my colleague's image without his consent.
I contacted Joy Langley, Davis' Communications Director, Friday and notified her office that I did not give permission for the use of these images, they are mine and I want the ads taken down immediately or I will seek legal counsel. The person I spoke to asked "Are they copyrighted?" Yes, they are automatically copyrighted.
"Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is "created" when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time."
This morning I received a message from the creator of the misleading and factually incorrect ads informing me that he is aware of my complaint but that no copyright law in the U.S. has been broken.
I beg to differ.
I am no lawyer but I will be seeking legal counsel in the next few days.
In the interim, here is my complaint:
1) The TV ad using my image of Jon Powers is my original photograph and is automatically copyrighted. I created that image and posted it on the website I blogged for. All rights are reserved.
2) Davis' ad is misleading and not at all correct and therefore my work is being used to help propagate a misleading ad and without my consent.
3) The ad uses my image for a substantial portion of its content, thereby rendering its fair use provision void.
4) The so-called educational content of the erroneous ad is null because it is misleading and not at all correct. Furthermore, Mr. Davis' ad is not non-profit because he stands to profit from the ad.
5) The value of my image, my work product, has been diminished due to the use of it by the Davis campaign. Any value I could have had by publishing this original photo in a book or other media is now depleted because of the over-exposure the Davis campaign has caused with regard to my exclusive image of Jon Powers. The use of my work by Davis has had a deleterious effect upon the market value of my copyrighted image.
6) The image in question was culled illegally from a blog I previously wrote for. At the bottom of that blog is the copyright statement indicating all content is "Rights reserved." The site has a clear "C" with a circle around it indicating it is a copyrighted site and its contents fall under that copyright.
7) I want the ad taken down immediately and insist that no future use of my images be used without my consent.
I am not posting the ads here because I don't want to further spread the misleading and incorrect content of those ads. This is just one more example of a campaign that has shown itself to disregard the rules, whether it is bribery or, in this case, using copyrighted material without consent.
I work very hard covering local campaigns, especially Jon Powers' campaign, and it is my work product that millionaire Jack Davis has used without my consent. If he had the volunteers that Powers' has then he wouldn't have to resort to taking the work product of others without their consent.
Jack Davis is fond of saying that he will be beholden to no one. So true.
Note to Davis: the law still applies to you, no matter how rich you are. How can anyone want to elect someone who has such consistent disregard for the law?
We now have the reason why Davis is refusing to debate his Democratic opponents this Sunday on "Hardline with Hardwick" hosted by Kevin Hardwick (WBEN 930 AM) and Tuesday at SUNY Geneseo.
Davis' campaign spokesman, Joy Langley, said Davis decided this week that he will not take part in any group candidate functions unless Kryzan and Powers answer his prior challenges on campaign conduct.
The self-funded candidate, who committed $3 million of his own money to the race, earlier this year pledged not to accept campaign donations from political action committees, multinational corporations or lobbyists. He invited other contestants to join him in the pledge and none did.
Now Davis says he won't join them in joint campaign appearances unless they return the donations that they've received from those interest groups - as well as sign on with Davis' self-created "pledge to protect Social Security," and promise to run "clean" campaigns.
"Mr. Davis is taking his message to the voters directly door-to-door and on the air while the others have taken a decidedly negative turn with push polls and dark TV advertising," Langley said.
Sorry Jack, no one has to play by your rules. I believe Ms. Kryzan came up with her own pledge some time ago that would limit spending in this race. Clearly Jack Davis ignored that pledge and didn't sign on to it. So does that mean Ms. Kryzan is exempt from the debate because no one signed on to her pledge?
If we go by the rules Jack made for himself then Ms. Kryzan shouldn't have to debate either. But in reality, this is all a smokescreen for the real reason Jack won't be debating Powers and Kryzan.
The real reason is that Jack will say anything in public (see Jack on illegal immigration) and he is very unpredictable. He will say exactly what's on his mind instead of being intelligent about his thoughts and opinions. We saw this in 2004 and 2006.
The other reason that Jack won't debate is that he is scared. Kevin Hardwick hit the nail on the head with this quote in the article I linked to above:
"If you're too afraid to go into a debate for fear of saying something stupid, how can we expect you to stand up to the special interests in Washington?" Hardwick said. "If (Davis') handlers don't trust him ... perhaps they ought not run him for office."
Precisely. Remember: This is a guy (Jack Davis) who told a Democratic committee that he would go to Washington D.C. and take on Pelosi and all the leading Democrats. Notice he didn't say he would take on the Republicans. He wants to go there to create infighting within our own party.
It looks like the debates will go on without Jack Davis. That will give Jon Powers more air-time to talk with voters and it will give Alice Kryzan an opportunity to get more attention than she has garnered in this campaign.
Remember late last month when Monroe County Independence Chairman Rafael Colon resigned his post after it was revealed that his wife and Erie County Independence Party Chairman Tony Orsini's wife both received payments totaling $10,000 ($5,000 apiece)? According to Jack Davis' pre-primary filing, Coastal Consulting South (Mrs. Orsini's firm) received two payments of $1,250 for "consulting" and Blanca Semidey (now Blanca Colon) received the same payments on the same day as Mrs. Orsini. According to the disbursements, Orsini and Semidey both received $1,250 on July 7 and received another $1,250 on July 21. Both payments were after the filing deadline for the July quarterly filing, which originally revealed the payments to both women totaling $10,000.
This means that both women were paid $7,500 for "consulting," even though the new Monroe County Independence Party chairman called it "bribe money."
After the initial payments on April 30, the next payments came on the following dates: May 15, June 2, June 26, July 7 and July 21. Each payment was for $1,250.
But as of July 21, they have stopped. Earlier this month Davis apologized for the payments calling them a "mistake." However, Davis' campaign manager Luke Vaughn said this when Colon resigned his post:
"The goal of the payments was to help build relationships with Independence Party members, and that effort continues," he said.
The effort does not continue. It was wrong to make such payments. Clearly they know that. If they didn't, the payments would have continued as they said they would.
Jack Davis doesn't talk the talk or walk the walk. His money does that for him. That's why these bribes took place. That's why you see television ads, hear radio spots or get endless glossy mailers without ever seeing the candidate in person. Jack Davis' trademark is his money. Without it, he's nothing.
"I think they'll do it without a civil war," he said. "They'll take control of the state governments and start voting themselves anything they want."
So instead of a civil war, they will (according to Davis) take over the state governments and give themselves what they want.
What we also can't overlook is the response to these comments. Jon Powers' campaign manager John Gerken said, "This is probably why his handlers won't let him debate and hide him from the press." Alice Kryzan termed the remarks as "wrong and offensive."
But it was this comment that perhaps the best response to Davis' words:
Meanwhile, a top official at the National Council of La Raza, the nation's leading Hispanic organization, termed Davis' comments "extremely offensive."
"He's feeding an environment of intolerance that doesn't distinguish between legal and illegal immigrants," said Clarissa Martinez, director of immigration and national campaigns for the organization. "He's presenting our whole community as invaders - people who want to take over the country."
Agreed. The problem is that Davis is lumping all immigrants into one group. That is, I would contend, the problem with all of the anti-immigration people in this country, including one of Jack Davis' favorite TV personalities Lou Dobbs. Instead of separating legal from illegal, they just lump them all into one group: Illegal immigrants.
Many Western New York farmers rely on migrant workers from Mexico to bring in the crops.
After hearing quotes from Davis' speech, John Lincoln, the president of the New York Farm Bureau, said: "The farmers overall would be really concerned about his statement."
Told what Lincoln said, Davis replied: "He's not a regular farmer. He's one of these big guys . . . I'd call him a multinational farmer."
Lincoln, 70, is a dairy farmer with 200 head of cattle in Bloomfield, a village of 1,258 in Ontario County, southeast of Rochester. Asked if he had ever met Lincoln, Davis said he had not.
Because Lincoln didn't go along with Davis, that makes Lincoln a "multinational farmer" or "one of these big guys." Even Lincoln is a farmer.
Let's see: Owner of a factory or a farmer who just happens to head the New York Farm Bureau. Who would I talk to about farming, what's good for farmers and why migrant laborers are needed for farms?
I know the answer. So do the farmers.
Problem is that Jack Davis doesn't know the answer.
I have included the video of Davis' remarks from earlier this year below the fold for those who haven't heard them yet. If you want to see the REAL Jack Davis, he is in that video.
Congressional candidate Jack Davis, in a speech earlier this year, warned that increasing immigration from Mexico could lead to a new civil war between northern states and Mexican-influenced Southern states that may want to secede from the United States.
"In the latter part of this century or the next, Mexicans will be a majority in many of the states and could therefore take control of the state government using the democratic process," Davis said in the speech. "They could then secede from the United States, and then we might have another civil war."
[....]
The video of the Davis speech was posted to YouTube on April 14 by Robert Harding, a blogger at the Albany Project blog who supports Powers. He said the video was provided to him by someone who attended the speech.
Could Jack Davis be preparing for a primary loss? It sure looks the way.
Yesterday, Davis announced the creation of the "Save Jobs and Farms" Party - a guarantee (barring a challenge to the petitions) that Davis will be on the November ballot in NY-26.
Speaking at the Ridgeway Sunoco where - last month - he rolled the price of gas back to $1.50, Akron Industrialist Jack Davis announced the creation of the "Save Jobs and Farms" Party.
"I would like to thank all the people who carried this petition. They knocked on doors and met with people who are concerned about saving jobs and farms in Western New York. Thank you. I would like to thank all the people who signed this petition. Your signature is an endorsement of this campaign to save American jobs, farms, and industries. Thank you.
"We have a lot of work to do and I look forward to your support in September and in November."
"When working men and women go to the polls this November, they will be able to vote for me on the 'Save Jobs and Farms' party line."
The announcement also says that Davis received over 7,000 signatures to get this party on the ballot in November. WXXI covered the Davis announcement and had this quote from Davis:
"In this district you need two lines, a major party line and a minor party line to win. I've wanted to do the Save Jobs party since '04 when I first started running. That's really my line, and I know this will draw a lot of people to the line."
It's funny Jack should say because Jon Powers has the Working Families Party endorsement and will be on that line in November. Because of Davis' Independence Party shenanigans, I doubt you will see Davis on that line. So he was left with no other option. He said he has always wanted to do this but really, this gives him a chance to be in the thick of things come November.
How does this impact things? It's hard to say. In my travels, I know that Davis has very limited support. Davis was close to beating Reynolds last time because he could appeal to Republicans (being a former Republican himself) and he had the Independence Party line - the third largest party in the state. That support evaporated. People are sick of Jack. Too bad he doesn't realize that.
Kevin Hardwick, host of "Hardline with Hardwick" on WBEN in Buffalo, on the air today called out Davis for not willing to debate. One of the debates, at least if you go by what Powers and Kryzan have called for, was supposed to take place on the radio with Hardwick as the host. It appears that two of three candidates (Kryzan and Powers) are willing to appear, but Davis has said nothing.
Why wouldn't Jack want to debate? I can think of a few reasons:
(1) Jack is a three issue candidate. I didn't say it. He did.
(2) Remember when he debated Tom Reynolds in 2006? I hate to say, but Reynolds chewed him up and spit him out.
(3) Jack is not articulate. If he can't talk about what he wants to talk about, it will turn into a stuttering and stammering fest. He wants to talk about free trade and the negatives of free trade, illegal immigrants and his solution to Iraq: "Do it right and do it right now." Not really a solution, but hey, Jack thinks so.
We need at least one debate in NY-26. If Jack Davis isn't willing to debate, it will show voters in the district that if Jack can't buy it with his money, he's not going to touch it.
I call on all candidates in NY-26 to engage in a debate so that the citizens of NY-26 who are Democrats and who will be voting for Davis, Kryzan or Powers on Sept. 9 get to see their options right in front of them.
That image above is one that I have used in the past. It shows that Powers was paid $60,000 from Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (same thing as VFA) and that he also received $2,314.53 from the same organization in 2007. In all, he only received $15,000 directly from War Kids Relief. That money was paid to him in 2007. The claim in the past has been that all this money he made (all $77,314.53 of it) has been from War Kids and that because he raised around $150,000 or so, he robbed them for half their bankroll. Nothing could be further from the truth.
From The Buffalo News:
The War Kids effort, which Powers started as a Veterans for America project in 2005, was spun off as an independent charity in early 2007, a few months before Powers announced his race for the Democratic nomination to replace Reynolds.
The War Kids effort raised $68,336 while under the helm of Veterans for America, wrote Anita Keller, director of humanitarian affairs at Veterans for America, in her letter to Powers.
Approximately 80 percent of that, or about $54,669, went to programs to design a model for child care for children abandoned as a result of the Iraq War, as well as a work study program, a youth conference and research, the letter said.
That left approximately $13,667 for overhead. Gerken said overhead would have included office space and support costs for the War Kids effort, as well as the portion of Powers' Veterans for America salary connected to it.
That would mean the bulk of the $60,000 Powers earned from Veterans for America was in connection with his job as vice president for policy. The Powers campaign said he took that title in May 2006 and testified at government hearings, worked on legislation and served as a spokesman for the charity. Officials at Veterans for America could not be reached to comment further on Powers' duties there.
Veterans for America spun off the War Kids effort as a separate entity in early 2007, and Powers' $15,000 in pay from the organization was for his work there up until he left in late May of that year to start his run for Congress. War Kids Relief was later reorganized under a Minnesota charity called Children's Cultural Connection.
I will give credit where credit is due and send out my kudos to Jerry Zremski for following-up this story and making it right. I have been critical of The Buffalo News and their coverage of this race because on three occasions, they have been fed stories from the Davis campaign and ran with them. This time though, they did a great job at going back to one of those stories and putting all the facts on the table. This is what needed to be done before and now it is all out there for everyone to read.
One more thing (from The Buffalo News piece):
"Jon Powers has been running for Congress for over a year, marketing a success that doesn't exist," said Paul Rivera...
Isn't that the Davis campaign in a nutshell? They are trying to market a two-time loser who couldn't beat a weakened Tom Reynolds because he chose to sit in an office or at his cushy home rather than actually go out and do some work. He's doing the same thing this time around. Someone told me that Davis was "walking in Clarence Center." Clarence Center is not far from Davis' home or factory. When I see or hear of him in Warsaw, Dansville (or "Danville" to Jack) and places like Greece or Albion, then I will say, "Okay, Jack is really walking the district.
But he isn't. And he won't. Start packing your bags overpaid Davis staffers. It's time to head back to where you came from.
For our part: The Davis campaign offered this publication $3,000 to do hit pieces on Davis rival Jon Powers in lieu of an ad. We said, NO! A shouting match ensued between yours truly & Davis spokesman Luke Vaughan. Albeit, we believe Jon Powers is a bum!
Now there are reasons why Illuzzi thinks Jon Powers is a bum. The biggest reason is because Powers doesn't advertise with Illuzzi. As we have learned over time, if you don't advertise with Illuzzi he tends to be critical of you and your campaign.
But this new revelation is an interesting one. The Davis campaign apparently thought that for $3,000, they could get some attacks on Powers now and then send Illuzzi an ad later. Surprisingly, Illuzzi took the moral high ground on this one and told them "NO!" Even with $3,000 waving in front of his face (and Lord knows Davis is good for it) Illuzzi turned it down.
In other words, the Davis campaign tried to hire Illuzzi to be their online hitman. When he turned it down, according to Illuzzi, there was a shouting match between himself and Davis camapaign manager Luke Vaughan.
There are some serious ethical questions the Davis campaign should answer and I'm sure WNYDEM and IveGotJacksBack will do that for us. But stooping to such low levels to attack Powers is NOT Jack Davis' style. He has apparently lost control of his campaign staff and they are acting like a bunch of cowboys.
According to this report by Jill Terreri in today's Democrat & Chronicle, Steve Corryn, an Independence Party member, has requested an investigation by District Attorney Mike Green into payments made by Jack Davis to the wives of two former Independence Party chairmen.
From the report:
Corryn, who read a statement to the media on behalf of himself and the party, supplied the deposition to reporters laying out a case against Blanca Colon, who was paid $5,000 in consulting fees by the Davis campaign to build relationships with Independence Party members while Davis was seeking the party's endorsement.
"Mrs. Colon has had no contact with any member of the Monroe County Independence Party Committee and has offered no explanation for her actions, nor has she disclosed what 'consulting work' she did for Mr. Davis," Corryn's deposition states. "To date, I have seen no evidence and have no reason to believe that any services were delivered to Mr. Davis for his payments. Based on this, Mr. Davis received nothing from Mrs. Colon other than her vote for this $5,000 fee."
District Attorney Mike Green said that he would review the documents and decide how to proceed from there if this matter merits any further investigation.
This seems to be yet one more example of Jack Davis' campaign to "Buy the people." But when asked about these serious charges, Joy Langley, Communications Director for Mr. Davis, said:
"These are half-baked slanderous charges made at the height of the silly season,"
Somehow I don't think this is a laughing matter, nothing "silly" about it other than Davis' campaign thinking this issue will go away.
The next question is: Does this mean Mr. Davis will have a catchy new jingle coming out soon?
I was just talking to my good friend Buffalo Pundit who uttered the words, "he's out of ammo." That was a reference to Jack Davis and his smear campaign against the endorsed Democratic candidate AND front-runner in NY-26 Jon Powers.
According to an e-mail sent out five months ago from a person who received a Jack Davis polling call, Davis is indeed out of ammo.
In part, the e-mail read:
The polling person claimed that Jon's charity is not complying with certain non-profit laws. The implication was that something un-ethical was going on. They also said he had been arrested for disorderly conduct while he was in the service. They were also trying to down play his grass roots "cred" by saying only 7% of his campaign donations came from individuals and the rest came from special interests. They also brought up the fact that he is young, has no wife or children and does not own any property (he does not understand the issues real tax payers deal with).
The Jack Davis team of Erick Mullen and Company attacking Jon on War Kids? Check.
The Davis team criticizing where Powers gets his campaign contributions (or alleging where he gets them)? Check. (Note: Read comments where Mullen uses this as a talking point - that Jon Powers has allegedly received 93 percent of his money from outside the district.)
In the past, Jack Davis has referred to Powers' age as if it were a detriment. In fact, this was one of the first anti-Powers statements made that Powers was just a "kid." Check.
All of these things were test-driven in a polling call in NY-26. Now all of them have been made public by the Davis campaign.
And why would the Davis campaign stoop to such levels? Well, what does Jack Davis have left? He has his millions, but apparently left his dignity at the door before this race started. He can't talk about his wide-ranging platform because his platform has fewer issues than a school board candidate's platform. His idea of bringing the troops home from Iraq is "do it right and do it right now." I guess that is supposed to be some earth-shattering policy move, but all it is is more lip service from a Republican who had his lunch money stolen by Dick Cheney and decided, on a whim, he was a Democrat.
Unlike the Davis campaign regarding Powers, I will never, EVER be out of things to say about Jack Davis and why he would be a bad choice for our district. His stance on illegal immigration should turn off any Democrat thinking about voting for him. Davis also stood before the Genesee County Democratic Committee and told them that he would go to Washington D.C. and fight Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, etc. The problem with that? Davis would be a Democrat, not a Republican. The Republicans might want you to go and fight Pelosi and Co., but the Democrats want you to work with them. That's what Democrats do Jack.
I could go on, but you get my point. Jack Davis has never been a Democrat and will never be a Democrat. All he has is his money. Unfortunately for him and fortunately for the rest of us, money doesn't buy you a seat in Congress. Money could buy you the huge house Davis lives in, the Cadillac he used to drive around and still might drive around and many material things. But it can't buy you votes. You have to earn votes. Jack Davis has never earned a single vote. He tried to let his money do the talking with television spots, mailers and terrible radio jingles. That has failed twice.
I really can't wait for the primary in NY-26 to be over and to finally be rid of the hackneyed awfulness that is Jack Davis' "campaign" once and for all. Today we learn that soon to be three time loser Davis is spewing forth warnings about Powers because the guy once got a ticket for...wait for it...jaywalking. No, really. When the people of the 26th have been suffering under the piss poor leadership of Davis' former party for so long, when they have seen their jobs disappear or shipped overseas for decades, while they see the foreclosure signs pop up in their neighborhoods like so many toadstools and lay awake at night hoping they won't be next, when they send their children or their their spouses or their parents off to their third or fourth tour in Iraq or wince as they spend $100 bucks just to fill up their gas tanks, Jack Davis wants them to know that Jon Powers once got a jaywalking ticket. In college. In 2004. This kind of crap is insulting to the people of the 26th. It is simply beneath anyone worthy of representing them. They have real, genuine concerns and they have desperately needed quality representation for far too long. But, Davis can't, and apparently is unwilling, to run on issues and ideas. He even is trying to paint this jaywalking ticket, for which Powers paid a whopping $25 fine, as something more ominous. Why? Because he ain't got nothing else. From the Buffalo News:
The flurry of charges and countercharges began when the Davis campaign produced documents showing that Powers, a graduate of John Carroll University in Cleveland, was cited by a Cleveland Heights, Ohio, police officer on Oct. 23, 2004, for disorderly conduct. In his citation, the officer accused Powers of directing obscene comments at him.
"People need to know this is the real Jon Powers," Davis spokesman Luke Vaughn said. "He flagrantly disrespects a police officer, is found guilty of disorderly conduct and never tells anyone. After 10 years of scandal and embarrassing headlines, we don't need more of the same - we deserve a congressman who will tell the truth."
But Powers spokeswoman Victoria Dillon saw the incident differently. She said Powers was with college friends and fellow veterans in the area, and denied at the time and denies now that he ever used obscene language in addressing the officer. She also offered to produce witnesses to back up Powers.
"At a time when he's under investigation and running from revelations of election fraud and bribery, the Davis campaign is practicing the lowest form of politics by distorting simple facts," Dillon said. "Jon was written a ticket for jaywalking, never arrested and never showed any disrespect to law enforcement."
...
Powers was fined $25 and assessed $65 in court costs.
Nice one, Jack. Next up, Jack's old GOP compatriots revealed who they really don't want to run against in November by recycling Davis' BS about Jon's involvement in War Kids Relief.
The chairmen asked Powers to answer questions about how much money was raised for the organization, how much was spent in Iraq, what programs were established in Iraq, how much money was spent on administration, and if he was afforded benefits in connection with the salary he took running the program.
Erie County Democratic Chairman Leonard R. Lenihan issued his own response:
"I wonder how many people at that press conference put their lives on the line in Iraq. How can they criticize someone who braved the horrors of that war and then willingly returned to help the many children from families that were killed or displaced by the war?
"The fact that Republicans are intervening in a Democratic primary indicates their desire to avoid facing Jon Powers in November," he added. "Haven't we had enough of this swift boat sleaze?"
So Davis and his old GOP buddies are tag teaming Jon Powers over a freaking jaywalking ticket and over his efforts to help Iraqi war orphans.
That really tells you all you need to know about who Jack Davis really is and who the GOP fears most.
this is off topic but intersting, i think. i was served with a subpeona this morning by the state board of elections "commanding" me to turn over "all books, records, correspondence, pruchase orders, invoices, vouchers, checks and any and all business records and all political advertisement(s), notices, flyers inserts, literature, or any other materials of a political nature printed, produced and or copied, that were paid for by jack davis and/or state "paid for by jack davis", in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and calendar year 2008, to date."
The Genesee County Democratic Committee was the first county in the 26th congressional district to endorse Jon Powers. Charlie Mallow, chairman of the Genesee County Democrats, just sent out this statement that shows where he stands on the race in NY-26.
Is it any wonder that every Democratic county committee in the 26th District endorsed "the other guy"?
Let me try to give the Democrats out there a taste of why Jack Davis is not a good selection in this primary. The last thing I would want to do as Genesee Democrat Party Chair is to tell you not to vote for a Democrat, but in Jack's case, I feel a duty to do so.
Jack Davis came before the Genesee County Democratic Committee and told us his plans. Chief among them was a vow to go to Washington and fight with other Democrats. That stance might win a few votes during the general election, but you have to be a few cards shy of a full deck to say that at a Democratic Party meeting. If you're a Democrat, would that sort of thing convince you to vote for this guy in a primary? Jack Davis is NOT a Democrat, period.
Jack Davis thinks that money can buy you anything, even a seat in Congress. During that same party meeting, Jack Davis told us that he had $3 Million dollars and that was pretty much all the help he needed. He then dispatched his hired hands to the Supreme Court to overturn the millionaire's law, so he could limit what other people could spend to fight him. I don't know about you but, there is just something foul about all of this to me. I have heard all the arguments from the libertarians out there, that the man has every right to spend his own money and I still find it distasteful. Jack Davis is throwing his money around to buy this election. In the latest scandal, it's being reported that Jack paid "consultant" fees to the wives of the Independence Party Chairmen in Monroe and Erie Counties. At least one of the chairmen has already been forced to resign in disgrace. These types of things are something that we Genesee County Democrats can NOT just overlook. This is just unbelievable!
As many other letter writers have shown, Jack Davis doesn't know what issues matter to Democrats because....he doesn't care to know them. During the last two elections, Jack didn't go out and meet anyone because he wouldn't campaign. Jack is above all that. Jack thinks that he can just buy an election with fancy two sided color mailers. I already received five of them in the mail. Rip off musical ads and buying people off with cheap gas are more of his most recent techniques. Those things don't constitute reasons to vote for someone. Ideology and platform do.
It would be a travesty as County Democratic Chairman for me to stand behind Jack Davis when he claims he is a Democrat. I have tried to stay on the sidelines but, supporting Jack Davis would be irresponsible and a total abdication of my responsibility as county chairman. Win or lose, I will NOT support Jack Davis or anyone like him. In my America, people don't buy elections.
I know several people who would align themselves with such a statement. Many Democrats would find it very difficult to back Davis should he win the primary. However, those chances look slim - regardless of his wealth. Powers has backing from all sides - county Democratic committees and unions alike - that will prove to be the difference in September.
