On a chilly and blustery afternoon nearly two weeks out from a historic primary to replace retiring Congressman Mike McNulty (D-Green Island), Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings welcomed an array of elected officials, campaign staffers, union members, and regular Democrats like myself to a Unity Rally to support Paul Tonko, Democratic nominee for Congress in New York's 21st Congressional District.
It was the closing moment of a long, hard-fought primary in which five Democrats, including Tracey Brooks, Phil Steck, Darius Shahinfar, and Joe Sullivan (who did not attend) emerged with fewer votes than Paul Tonko, a 23-year veteran of the New York State Assembly and former President and CEO of the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority. Tonko won the primary on Tuesday, Sept 9, with 39% of the vote, a full nine points ahead of his nearest rival.
Cameras were there, alright, but noon-time news reports gave only a few seconds of coverage to the rally. My tape recorder was running the entire time, and below the fold is full coverage of the unity rally for any Democrat who was unable to attend.
Paul Tonko Wins 5-Way Primary with Strong Base of Support
Last Tuesday, Paul Tonko won the five-way Democratic Primary to replace retiring Representative Mike McNulty with 39% of the vote in one of the most heavily contested campaigns in New York State. The final results for the entire district were as follows:
Tonko, Paul 14,827 39%
Brooks, Tracey 11,329 30%
Steck, Phillip 7,046 19%
Shahinfar, Darius 3,879 10%
Sullivan, Joseph 657 2%
But as in most elections, these numbers don't represent the full spread. A county-by-county analysis, as well as information from the largest township in the seven-county-district, reveals that Paul Tonko owes his victory to stronger-than-average support in the western portion of the district and a split vote in the county where over two-thirds of the votes were cast The end result produces a victory map for Tonko that looks like this:
UPDATE: Phil Steck's campaign just released his schedule for today, which included calls to seniors earlier today. Steck will also be traveling to polling locations and to thank elections inspectors for their work. Then Steck and his family will be voting at 3 p.m. today and then continuing going around to thank polling inspectors. He will conclude the night at the Steck for Congress headquarters in Albany.
As of 9:40 a.m. today, this is where the candidates will be today and this evening. Also, some of them have included when they are voting today. I have heard nothing yet from Phil Steck's campaign as to his whereabouts today. Maybe we will hear something in the next few hours. I'll keep you updated.
Tracey Brooks: Brooks rode CDTA Bus #55 this morning and will vote between noon and 12:30 p.m. today at Knights of Columbus, 95 Main Street in Ravena. This afternoon, Brooks will do some GOTV in Albany before riding CDTA Bus #8 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. From 5 to 9 p.m., Brooks will be touring polling locations and thank poll workers for their help. Then beginning at 9 p.m., the Brooks campaign will be at their Election Night headquarters in Albany at the Victory Cafe.
Darius Shahinfar: Shahinfar will be voting at noon today at the Sage College of Albany Gymnasium. Then tonight, Shahinfar's Election Night Event gets underway at 9:45 p.m. at the Darius for Congress headquarters in Albany. In between, Shahinfar will be working hard to get out the vote.
Paul Tonko: Tonko will also vote today at noon at the RJ McNulty Academy in Amsterdam. From 5 to 8 p.m. today Tonko will be walking door-to-door before his Election Night event begins at 9 p.m. at the Washington Tavern in Albany.
Eight months ago, I started to blog on DailyKos and The Albany Project on the Democratic Primary for Congress in New York's 21st Congressional District. It was set off by a November 2007 announcement that current Representative Mike McNulty would retire after 20 years of service.
I had a hunch instantly that Rep. McNulty's decision not to make any endorsement for a possible successor that a wide-open primary would ensue, and also figured it would be very heavily contested and highly competitive. Looking at the history of the district, I also realized that no primary campaign for Congress of the type that has indeed developed had taken place in at least half a century.
And I also figured that the mainstream media would be strapped or resources in covering the nuances that would appear between the many candidates, and I decided to start blogging because this is a historic race and I felt I could provide more information to voters than other outlets had space for.
Currently, the five Democratic candidates are Tracey Brooks, Darius Shahinfar, Phil Steck, Joseph P. Sullivan, and Paul Tonko. While the mainstream media has indeed covered the race and the candidates have sent out a slew of mailers and robocalls, the space devoted and the limited resources of both outlets have still left many voters undecided and unsure of what the differences between these five candidates are with only hours to go before polls open on Primary Day, September 9th.
Well, there are major differences between these candidates. And in order to make an informed choice, people need more information to supplement what has been available in the mainstream media and the paid communications of the campaigns. After spending the past eight months blogging, I have interviewed the four of the five major candidates and attended the most definitive debates between them. This also includes weekly news-wraps summarizing press releases sent to me by all the campaigns, most of which were not covered in manstream media outlets, as well as editorial pieces in support of one particular candidate.
For the purpose of providing that information as the polls get closer to opening, I link to the all the interviews and the major debates so that readers can learn more about the candidates in their own words, as well as make my own endorsements of candidates in the most historic primary ever to take place in the Capital Region in this final blog on New York's 21st Congressional District.
Just click "There's more..." for the most comprehensive and informative coverage of the race available.
Here is a round-up of news of goings on with the candidates in the 21st congressional district's Democratic primary.
Paul Tonko: Paul Tonko's campaign announced today that Tonko was endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign, the largest civil rights organization in the country fighting and working for GLBT equality.
HRC Political Action Director Mike Mings said: "Just a few votes separate New York from achieving marriage equality, and we value every fair-minded official who votes in favor of it. Paul Tonko not only supports marriage equality, but also has shown himself to be a leader on the issue in the State Assembly. On behalf of the Human Rights Campaign, I urge voters to reward him with a seat in Congress so he can continue to be not only a tireless advocate for the people of the Albany area, but an advocate for the ideals that make our country great-fairness, justice and opportunity."
Which one, as a freshman representative, could stand out in a system based heavily on seniority?
Ms. Brooks has that edge. She has worked for and clearly studied one of the Senate's masters of political fine arts, Hillary Rodham Clinton, who distinguished herself as a freshman senator for her ability to forge bipartisan alliances. She is also the face of a new breed in Congress: young, articulate, forceful, energetic and progressive. She would fit well with the previous crop of freshmen, which has quickly gained influence because the Democrats' narrow majority in the House hinges on them. And, as Sen. Clinton's former regional director, Ms. Brooks knows the district as well, if not better, than her opponents.
This is a very glowing endorsement of Brooks by the most important publication in this race. Also, Brooks has out-raised all of her opponents on ActBlue. As of this writing, Brooks has raised $170,589. That is more than the other three candidates combined.
Phil Steck: Phil Steck has supporters among students in NY-21. There is a video on YouTube in support of Steck:
There are only a few more days until the Democratic primary for Congress in New York's 21st Congressional District, and people's mailboxes are being stuffed with mailer after mailer from candidate after candidate. But the last two from Tracey Brooks, in which her faceless cardboard men appear again in mailers pandered to targeted to women voters make blatantly false accusations about her opponent Phil Steck in relation to the issue of gun control.
The basic gist of the mailers is that, as an attorney, Phil Steck has represented illegal arms dealers, as well as that Paul Tonko and Darius Shahinfar either have a terrible record or no record on standing up to the gun lobby. The front of the mailers, one of which quotes former Albany County Sherrif Jack McNutly (the father of the current Congressman, Mike McNulty) framing Tracey as "the only one" who will stand up to the gun lobby.
But there's much more to the story that reveals that Tracey Brooks has been stuffing outright lies about her opponent in women's mailboxes below the fold...
When Congressman Mike McNulty announced that he would not seek re-election after twenty years of service in November of 2007, a short list of possible candidates was published in the local papers that included the names of local political heavyweights and insiders. A handful of these hopefuls made big news simply by announcing that they would not run for Congress, and a couple of those from the early short-list are still out there campaigning as a five-way Democratic primary enters a heavily competitive home stretch.
Absent from the early pundits' list of future representatives was Albany County Legislator Phil Steck, who actually became the first candidate to announce his bid to go to Washington in December of last year. At the time, I wondered whether someone holding such a small office could actually make it to the endgame. Nine months later, Phil Steck is still around and is on many a pundits list of most-likely-to-win, yet the primary is still five days out. When I first met Phil to volunteer for his unlikely campaign, he told me that he enjoyed being the underdog in a field of well-known opponents.
Below the fold, he tells much more about his life, his politics, the race he is running in, and the issues of the campaign in the final issue in a series of diaries interviewing the four major contenders for New York's 21st Congressional District in a year that has become synonymous with the word "change." Of that one little, powerful word, Phil Steck had this to say:
"You can't get change by going along and getting along simply with the accepted ways of doing business, and that's what I've always been doing."
--Phil Steck, candidate for Congress, 21st District of New York
Phil Steck: Steck announced yesterday his support for a middle class tax cut plan being pushed by Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. The plan includes the following:
Cuts taxes for 95% of workers and their families with a tax cut of $500 for workers or $1,000 for working couples.
A variety of targeted generous tax cuts -- for low- and middle-income seniors, homeowners, the uninsured, and families sending a child to college or looking to save for retirement.
Dramatically simplifies taxes by consolidating existing tax credits, eliminating the need for millions of senior citizens to file tax forms, and enabling as many as 40 million middle-class Americans to do their own taxes in less than five minutes without an accountant.
Cut corporate taxes for firms that invest and create jobs in the United States, because the current tax code actually provides reimbursement for the expense of moving jobs oversees.
Steck said of the plan, "The anxiety felt by many working families is real. We have just come off the first economic recovery on record where ordinary Americans saw their incomes decline by nearly $1,000, after inflation. We need to focus tax relief on the middle class."
Also, it was announced today that Steck was endorsed by former NBA player Sam Perkins.
Tracey Brooks: Brooks unveiled a new television ad today which calls Phil Steck's attacks "false." It also touts her work with Sen. Hillary Clinton to get more families health care.
Today, Brooks rode the morning CDTA bus between Albany and Schenectady to talk with voters and discuss what issues are important to them. Tonight Brooks will be on the campaign trail once again when she walks door-to-door in Troy with Troy Democratic chair Frank LaPosta and then meets with seniors at the Ogden Mills Senior Center.
I've spent the summer listening to all the candidates, and I am convinced that Paul Tonko is the best choice to serve the people of the 21st District.
Over the weekend, Tonko praised Barack Obama's Plan for America that was presented during Obama's acceptance speech on Thursday.
"My energy plan calls for this exact kind of investment, to provide the resources our scientists and engineers need to develop the renewable energy sources of tomorrow, which will allow us to break free from our dependence on foreign oil," Tonko said.
Tonko also touted his education plan, which he also aligned with Obama on.
Darius Shahinfar: Shahinfar is back on televisions in NY-21 with his third TV spot. As of Sunday, Shahinfar was the only candidate to sign on to the Ethics and Good Government Contract that Shahinfar created in early August. Shahinfar has also said that he will reject a congressional pay raise and reject the congressional health care plan should he be elected to serve.
Tracey Brooks, Darius Shahinfar, Phil Steck, and Paul Tonko Make Closing Statements
The full transcript of the final forum between the four serious contendors to replace retiring Rep. Mike McNulty, held Sunday August 24, concludes below the fold with their final case before a shared audience as to why Democratic primary voters in New York's 21st Congressional District should nominate them for the general election in November.
Tracey Brooks, Darius Shahinfar, Phil Steck, and Paul Tonko Debate Audience Questions
The full transcript of the final forum between the four serious contendors to replace retiring Rep. Mike McNulty, held Sunday August 24, continues below the fold...
Tracey Brooks, Darius Shahinfar, Phil Steck, and Paul Tonko Debate Energy Policy
The full transcript of the final forum between the four serious contendors to replace retiring Rep. Mike McNulty, held Sunday August 24, continues below the fold with the candidates' answers to questions on energy policy.
Tracey Brooks, Darius Shahinfar, Phil Steck, and Paul Tonko Debate Each Other
The full transcript of the final forum between the four serious contendors to replace retiring Rep. Mike McNulty, held Sunday August 24, continues below the fold with the candidates' answers to questions they ask of each other.
Tracey Brooks, Darius Shahinfar, Phil Steck, and Paul Tonko Debate Domestic Policy
The full transcript of the final forum between the four serious contendors to replace retiring Rep. Mike McNulty, held Sunday August 24, continues below the fold with the candidates' answers to questions on domestic policy
Tracey Brooks, Darius Shahinfar, Phil Steck, and Paul Tonko Debate Foreign Policy
The full transcript of the final forum between the four serious contendors to replace retiring Rep. Mike McNulty, held Sunday August 24, continues below the fold with the candidates' answers to questions on foreign policy.
Tracey Brooks, Darius Shahinfar, Phil Steck, and Paul Tonko Make Opening Statements
After eight months of campaigning and several previous debates, and with less than three weeks before primary day, the four serious contenders for retiring Representative Mike McNulty's seat converged upon the Bethlehem Town Hall for the last candidates' debate.
The "Final Forum" as I like to call it was sponsored by Democracy for the Hudson Mohawk Region and the Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace. It appeared to be the most heavily attended debate, and by my reckoning the most comprehensive as far as the issues and differences between the candidates are concerned.
As such, over the past week since the debate took place, I have compiled a full transcript that is far too long for one diary. In Part I of the Final Forum, the candidates give opening statements below the fold.
One of the big issues that is being discussed in the 21st congressional district Democratic primary is health care. Two weeks ago, the candidates in this race debated about health care and discussed solutions to our health care problem. Phil Steck supports a single payer health care system. Today Steck held a single payer health care event in Troy to discuss his health care plan.
(Pictured from left: Dr. Paul Sorum (Chairman of the Capital District Chapter of Physicians for a National Health Plan), Troy City Councilman Ken Zalewski and Steck.)
Steck said that a national single-payer health care insurance program will eliminate that unfunded mandate. Single-payer, also called "Medicare for all," will eliminate the need for the Medicaid program and result in immediate property tax relief. The single-payer legislation currently in Congress, H.R. 676, includes a 7% payroll tax and a 1% income tax to pay for the program. The payroll tax would be far less expensive for most businesses than what they currently pay for employee insurance.
Steck said that single-payer is an efficient program because it works just like Medicare, which is a single-payer program for the elderly. Medicare spends $0.03 per dollar on administrative costs, while private HMOs might spend an overwhelming $0.40 per dollar on administration.
"We have a system just like this in the United States that has worked very well; it's called Medicare," added Steck. "Escalating health care costs are crippling our local economy, and are disastrous to small businesses and American companies competing globally. If we enact a single-payer system, the local property tax burden could be eliminated, or local governments could use that revenue for other pressing local needs."
This is a big issue for Steck and I know from talking with him last month that he is really focusing on this issue and pushing for single payer health care.
Phil Steck released his second advertisement hit the airwaves during the Friday news cycle dominated by allegations of sign theft by Tracey Brooks' boyfriend. The ad addresses both Tracey Brooks and Paul Tonko directly and builds on his theme of "Your Interests, Not Special Interests."
You could easily call it the first negative ad of the cycle, and it debuted during the most negative news story of the cycle.
Below the fold is a few words from the Steck campaign to supporters encouraging them to keep the ad on the air via donations, on the web, to Phil Steck's ActBlue Page.
The individual recently reported to have close ties to Tracey Brooks and accused of stealing the signs of one of her opponents, Phil Steck, has turned himself in tonight according to a late Times Union web-post:
Brooks supporter charged with taking opponent's signs
Last updated: 9:02 p.m., Friday, August 22, 2008
COLONIE - A friend of congressional candidate Tracey Brooks was charged today with stealing four of her primary opponent's campaign signs, town police said.
Griffith Eric Lewis, 45, of Loudonville faces a misdemeanor petit larceny charge for swiping Democrat Phil Steck's signs from the lawn of a home on Route 9 in Loudonville, police said.
A little bit more on G. Eric Lewis and brief reaction from Tracey Brooks below the fold...
(Another great snapshot post. - promoted by phillip anderson)
Steck vs. Brooks in Sign-Stealing Media Frenzy New Tonko, Steck Advertisements Hit Airwaves Debates, Endorsements, and Issues Continue
While it started out as another week on the campaign trail, at some point things turned early to endgame-style movement in the Democratic primary in New York's 21's Congressional District. Endorsements continued, mailboxes kept on getting campaign literature, and candidates continued to debate issues and get their message out to the voters.
Five Democrats - Tracey Brooks, Darius Shahinfar, Phil Steck, Joseph Sullivan, and Paul Tonko - have all be running since between January and June at a very steadily increasing pace as we inch closer to primary day in about three weeks.
In the last 24 hours, however, things have intensified and the campaign has become the hotly contested primary as predicted. The phrase "the gloves have come off" may be appropriate given the most recent and still developing news. That, everything else that's happened on the campaign trail, and a little bit more than your average news story below the fold...
