Daily Campaign Roundup: Independence Line in Doubt for Some GOP
By Mike Connery on 07/14/2010 @ 01:54 AM
TODAY'S CAMPAIGN ROUND-UP.... Today's installment of campaign-related news. Sen. Darrel Aubertine receives education award, called a "hero" by state's largest farmer advocacy organization. Democratic Candidate Regina Calcaterra slams her opponent for deceiving voters about his record. Republican Candidates Frank Padavan and Andrew Como to possibly lose important Independence Line ballot access.
- Independence Party divide threatens to boot Republican Candidates Frank Padavan and Andrew Como from ballot line – Dysfunction within the Independence Party could cost two Republican State Senate candidates the crucial Independence line this fall, according to State Independence Party chair Frank MacKay. 38-year Republican incumbent Frank Padavan, who is being challenged by former New York City Council Member Tony Avella, and Anthony Como, who is challenging Democratic Sen. Joe Addabbo, have been using signature gatherers from the State Independence Party’s rival New York City faction to help them petition onto the Independence line. “This certainly doesn’t help their cause with the executive committee,” said MacKay.
- Democratic Candidate Regina Calcaterra slams opponent for playing politics as usual and voting to kill small business fund he is now praising – Calcaterra criticized her opponent, 34-year Republican incumbent Ken LaValle, for knowingly deceiving voters on Eastern Long Island about his support for jobs creation, saying he supports a measure to fund small businesses even after he voted to kill the legislation. In a press release dated July 9, LaValle touted the recently funded Small Business Revolving Loan Fund as "a valuable resource for small businesses and entrepreneurs" that "encourages job creation." He boasts, “I have always supported creating and protecting jobs throughout the state and, more specifically, our local region." However, LaValle omitted the fact that he voted against that very program by voting against the 2010-11 state budget. “Newsflash for Mr. LaValle: press releases do not create jobs, actions do," said Calcaterra. "This is the worst kind of hypocrisy, taking credit for a program you voted against. Once again we see Republicans playing political games that are typical of an Albany insider. We need honest representatives in the Senate who vote their convictions, not try to score points by playing with people’s jobs.”
- Sen. Darrel Aubertine receives Rural Schools Association ‘Appreciation Award’, deemed a ‘hero’ by New York Farm Bureau – The New York State Rural Schools Association honored Sen. Aubertine with its annual Appreciation Award for his work on behalf of rural schools. “We’d like to acknowledge the contributions the Senator is making as chair of the Rural Resources Commission and his continued support for both the Center for Rural Schools at Cornell and the Rural Education Advisory Committee,” said Lawrence A. Kiley, executive director of the Rural Schools Association. “It’s all indicative of the support the Senator is showing the small and rural school districts of New York State. Particularly in times like these, our association is appreciative of the fact that we have someone who advocates for and understands rural New York.”
Sen. Aubertine also received strong backing from the New York Farm Bureau this week after his Republican challenger, Patricia Ritchie, attacked Democrats for cutting funds for agriculture programs over the past two years. The state's largest farmer advocacy organization came to Sen. Aubertine’s defense and consider him to be "a hero," said Peter Gregg, a New York Farm Bureau spokesman. "Agriculture was almost exclusively the only portion of the state budget that was able to restore at least partial funding," he continued. "We are extremely grateful for Sen. Aubertine. He worked miracles to get the funding restored at the levels at which he did. There was absolutely no money and he somehow found it… He worked really hard this spring and this early summer on this farm labor that would have really wiped us out if it passed," Mr. Gregg said. "He fought for us tooth and nail. And for that, we consider him a hero."
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