EC-10: Who Is The Real Career Politician?

by: robert.harding

Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 11:22:51 AM EDT

Republican candidate Kevin Hardwick gave his own definition of "career politician" while also targeting his opponent, Democratic incumbent Michele Iannello.

"Career politician Michele Iannello engaged in gutter politics," Kevin R. Hardwick, of the City of Tonawanda, said after Iannello tried to label him a career politician.

...

"When we talk about career politicians, we talk about people who have no other career, who have no other life outside of politics," said Hardwick, a political science professor at Canisius College. "As a result, we have people who sell their souls to the special interests because they have nothing else to fall back on."

In an interview with Iannello, she told me she was first elected to public office in 2003, when she was elected to serve the people of Kenmore on the Village Board. In 2005, she was elected to the Erie County Legislature, took her oath of office in 2006 and is now seeking her third term in office.

To recap, here is Iannello's political career:

- 2003: Elected to serve on Kenmore Village Board.

- 2005: Elected to Erie County Legislature, serving the 10th Legislative District

Now, here is Hardwick's political career taken right from his campaign website bio:

- Served a three-year term on the Susquehanna Valley Board of Education (was first elected as a senior in high school)

- Was elected to three terms as a Town of Binghamton councilman

- From 1986 to 1988, was administrative assistant to Senator Walter Anderson, the majority leader of the New York State Senate

- Received his Ph.D in Political Science from SUNY Binghamton and moved to Tonawanda in 1989

- Former member of the City of Tonawanda Charter Review Commission

- In 1995, was elected to serve as the First Ward Councilmember in the City of Tonawanda. He was re-elected twice to serve the First Ward

- Two unsuccessful campaigns for Erie County Legislature in 2001 and 2003

- Hosted "Hardline with Hardwick" on WBEN 930 AM

- Presently seeking to serve as an Erie County legislator representing the 10th Legislative District

Remember, this is what Hardwick said about career politicians:

"When we talk about career politicians, we talk about people who have no other career, who have no other life outside of politics," said Hardwick, a political science professor at Canisius College. "As a result, we have people who sell their souls to the special interests because they have nothing else to fall back on."

You might say Hardwick has made a career out of politics. If he's not running for office, he's teaching politics.

Michele Iannello was a paralegal before deciding to serve the people of Erie County full-time. She has been a small business owner and has been involved in many local community groups. Her record is not one of a career politician, but of someone who is dedicated to their community.

Hardwick's record is all politics, all the time. He has campaigned for a number of offices. He has served on city boards, school boards and town boards. He ran previously for Erie County Legislature and lost.

And he is calling Michele Iannello the career politician?

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.  

EC-Leg: Collins Recruits WGRZ's Lynne Dixon To Run Against Reynolds

by: robert.harding

Thu May 21, 2009 at 07:19:51 AM EDT

WBEN radio host and Canisius College professor Kevin Hardwick announced on Sunday that he would be running against Erie County Legislator Michele Iannello and now another local media personality will resign from her post and run for Erie County Legislature on the Republican line.

Lynne Dixon, who resigned from Buffalo's NBC affiliate WGRZ Channel 2, will run against Legislator Bob Reynolds, who represents the 12th Legislative District.

Here is more on the story from The Buffalo News:

Dixon, 43, is a registered member of the Independence Party, which is expected to give her a strong claim on that nomination. The sources say she also has submitted a letter to Conservative leaders declaring her intention to run. They have scheduled her for an interview on Tuesday.

The Channel 2 reporter marks the second, high-profile media figure selected by Republicans in recent days to run for the County Legislature. Kevin R. Hardwick, a Canisius College political science professor who hosted the "Hardline with Hardwick" government and politics show on WBEN Radio, said over the weekend he will challenge Legislator Michele M. Iannello, D-Kenmore.

When Collins started out, he was targeting three incumbents. Two of those incumbents were Iannello and Reynolds, both of whom he claimed are "obstructionists." The third target is Erie County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz, who will be a much more difficult candidate to find an opponent for. It is a countywide race and Poloncarz will be a very tough candidate to run against.

It is interesting that Collins has turned to the local media for his talent pool. Hardwick wasn't a huge shocker, given his past in politics and clearly the desire was there to get involved again. But getting Dixon to run is something that is a bit of a risk. She was referred to in the News piece as a "high-profile" pick, but it's hard to tell just how high her profile is. It would be another story if she was an anchor. They tend to be more recognized. But she was a reporter and got minimal face time.

Collins is trying to flex some political muscle here. In November, the test will take place to see if he has any political muscle. Hardwick will be a tough challenger, but Iannello is very popular in her district. Dixon might be a "high-profile" figure, but I don't see her beating Reynolds. And Collins will need to find someone with real credentials to run against Poloncarz, who is a very tough opponent and is already being considered a challenger for county executive in 2011.  

EC-Leg: Hardwick To Halt Show, Run Against Iannello For County Legislature

by: robert.harding

Mon May 18, 2009 at 08:21:24 AM EDT

For the past four years Dr. Kevin Hardwick has hosted "Hardline" on WBEN, examining the political issues on a local, state and national level. Today he stepped away from the microphone in order to enter the race for the 10th District of the Erie County Legislature. Hardwick says that he is doing so after County Executive, Chris Collins pleaded with him to do so and that Collins has "...certainly indicated that he will help me politically, financially. To what extent, we'll find out over the course of the next few months."

Hardwick's opponent in the race is Michele Ianello who has won re-election and thinks that Hardwick's candidacy is simply a move by Collins to get her out of office, "The county executive believes he can just have me fired...I have provided oversight of county finances and I represented the people of the tenth district in the way that they want to be represented." Ianello also labels Hardwick as a "rubber stamp" for Collins agenda.

Hardwick counters by noting his opposition to the Republican party in his previous runs for the same seat (2001 and 2003), "...any attempt to paint me as this puppet of the county executive, I think we can look at my history and know that I had no problem standing up to powerful people before and if the county executive crosses a line, certainly I'll be there to try and stop him."

It is rather difficult for Hardwick to make such an argument - that he isn't a puppet of Republican County Executive Chris Collins - when Collins has made it known that he wishes to target three individuals in county government. That list, which also includes County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz, has Iannello's name on it.

If Collins makes it possible for Hardwick to win, I can't imagine Hardwick fighting back too much. He might pick his battles to make it seem like he's a John McCain-type, but since Collins will make an investment in him "politically and financially," I can't see Hardwick questioning too much, if anything, that Collins will do should Hardwick be elected.

SD-61: Mesi Debates Ranzenhofer On WBEN

by: robert.harding

Sun Oct 19, 2008 at 17:30:50 PM EDT

Mesi had a strong debate and even faced a tough question about his connections to Tom Golisano and Steve Pigeon, which he weathered. Mesi labeled Ranzenhofer as a career politician and Ranzenhofer acted like it at times by trying to tell Mesi how he should act or how he should answer questions. Ranzenhofer patronized Mesi at multiple points throughout the debate and I don't think that did Ranzenhofer any favors.

There are plenty of differences between these two candidates. Ranzenhofer proposed 15 percent across-the-board spending cuts as his way of addressing out-of-control spending at the state level. Ranzenhofer argued that we need these cuts. The only programs he would exempt are monies for local governments and school districts. (Note: Hardwick pointed out that aid for schools and local governments make up a huge chunk of the budget. That didn't change Ranzenhofer's mind.) Mesi proposed a seven percent cut in capital spending and said he would target Medicaid fraud while protecting investments that we need to grow. Mesi also called for closing corporate loopholes and reforming Empire Zones and IDAs, which is something that wasn't addressed by Ranzenhofer.

Both candidates also differ on taxes. Ranzenhofer is pushing for a tax cap while Mesi is a supporter of the circuit breaker. Mesi said that a tax cap would be a good start, but in order to achieve the tax relief he wants, we need to implement a circuit breaker. Ranzenhofer dismissed the circuit breaker as a creation of the Assembly downstate Democrats that he would be a "killer" for upstate.

More analysis of the debate below the fold.

ON THE WEB:

Joe Mesi's ActBlue Page

NY-26: Jon Powers On Hardline With Hardwick

by: robert.harding

Mon Apr 07, 2008 at 10:31:25 AM EDT

Hardwick asked many tough questions, plenty of which were centered around national security, terrorism and the war in Iraq. Those questions tend to come Powers' way because Powers is an Iraq war veteran. Powers talked about his experiences in Iraq and how the reconstructions efforts left out money for children's programs and youth development programs. He also told the story about driving in sewage that was a humvee tire deep and on their side of things, how soldiers in Iraq had poor body armor so you would take out your back plate to share with a fellow soldier.

On immigration, Powers said that while he supported "secure borders," we also have to come to a solution that benefits the farmers of the 26th. He brought up the six million apples that weren't picked in Orleans County because there was a lack of laborers to pick these apples. In other words, we need to find a solution that keeps us safe but also protects employers like our farmers that depend on seasonal laborers.

Powers was asked an interesting question regarding the war. Essentially the question asked if he would have voted to authorize war in 2002. Powers responded by saying that there were a lot of questions to be asked but no one was asking them. Powers also said that there was no plan to address what we would do separate from the military part of the equation and what we do to address problems we would have as a result of this war, such as addressing our veterans issues.

Then came the lightning round of questions.

- On abortion, Powers said that he was pro-choice.
- On same-sex marriage, Powers told Hardwick, simply, that it was a "state issue."
- Hardwick asked Powers about education and No Child Left Behind. Powers responded that we might not need to increase or decrease our education monies, but we should find a way to spend it smarter and more effective. He also called NCLB an "unfunded federal mandate."
- On health care, Powers said he supported an "affordable and accessible" solution. He argued that some of the big problems right now involve the costs of everything like prescription drugs. Powers also said he would not mandate insurance, but he would support a plan that brings down the costs.

I was impressed with Powers' performance. He spent a whole hour on Hardwick's show and handled all the tough questions well. The military and national security topics were popular and he took them on with ease. Powers also talked about alternative energy, saying he supports biofuels and alternatives because if we are going to replace oil, we need many alternatives.

It was a great show by Powers and Hardwick asked all the right questions. I would have liked to have seen more questions about jobs and the economy. Those are questions that need to be asked more and more.

ON THE WEB:

Contribute to Jon Powers for Congress