Greg Ball: "I Am The Malcolm X"
By Mike Connery on 10/28/2010 @ 04:34 PM
DAILY CAMPAIGN ROUNDUP … Our daily roundup of campaign news.- Fairness Panel Rules Ball Campaign Mailer Mostly Misleading - Once again the Fair Campaign Practices Committee has ruled against Greg Ball for lying in his campaign literature.
- I Am The Malcolm X - Greg Ball, the "Carl Paladino" of the Hudson Valley, can now boast a new name. Mike Kaplowitz's tracker caught the controversial assemblyman comparing himself to Malcolm X.
- Gillibrand for Kaplowitz - Senator Gillibrand endorses Mike Kaplowitz in his race against Greg Ball.
- Tony Avella Slams Frank Padavan on Women's Issues - Frank Padavan has been a disaster for women in Queens, and Tony Avella is bringing that issue to the fore of his campaign.
- Patty Ritchie Ignores AARP - In what has become standard procedure, Patty Ritchie is again ducking constituents - this time seniors.
- Candidates, Parties Pour $2million into 49th - The race between Dave Valesky and Andrew Russo is getting expensive.
- McDonald Takes Cash from Downstate Bosses He Rails Against - Joanne Yepsen's campaign is pointing out that Senator Roy McDonald has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from downstate bosses.
- An Interview with Jeff Klein - Our Deputy Majority Leader and DSCC Chair sits down for an interview with one of his local papers.
- Carlucci Pushes Strong Ethics Reform - In a new Op-Ed, David Carlucci pushes for strong ethics reform and property tax caps.
Joanne Yepsen: Where Was Roy McDonald on NYRA?
By Mike Connery on 05/17/2010 @ 06:26 PM
This afternoon, Saratoga Supervisor and Democratic challenger to incumbent Roy McDonald held a press conference demanding that McDonald stop playing partisan games and get to work saving the jobs of 40,000 residents of Saratoga county who will be unemployed if a solution is not found to NYRA's funding troubles.
McDonald has twiddled his thumbs on this issue, pointing fingers at others instead of taking a leadership role to protect jobs in his own district. Yepsen perhaps best summed up the situation in her press conference when she said:
“Roy McDonald has clearly failed to lead on this issue. Instead he shifts the blame on the Senate floor, as he did last week, saying that someone should have addressed this issue years ago. I’m pretty sure that someone was supposed to be him.”
Here is the full text of a release put out by the Yepsen campaign:
JOANNE YEPSEN, WE DESERVE ANSWERS SAVE 40,000 JOBS (Saratoga Springs, NY) –Joanne Yepsen, candidate for the 43rd state senate district seat, today called on Sen. Roy McDonald to stop partisan game playing and get to work on saving jobs for Saratoga and Rensselaer counties.
This morning, the media reported that the New York Racing Association indicated today they are working very hard with the state to secure the loan needed. However, to date, no funding has been found which may put the race season at risk for Saratoga 2010. Where is our voice in Albany? This will cost New York State another 40,000 jobs amidst the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
“Roy McDonald has clearly failed to lead on this issue. Instead he shifts the blame on the Senate floor, as he did last week, saying that someone should have addressed this issue years ago.” said Yepsen. “I’m pretty sure that someone was supposed to be him.”
Indeed, the problems with the New York Racing Association and the Aqueduct Video Lottery Terminals are not new. The VLT proposal has been around since 2001, when Roy McDonald’s predecessor Joe Bruno led the Senate. It is now 2010 and the state still hasn’t selected an operator.
“McDonald is just now getting involved, but where has he been for the past two years?” said Yepsen, “Our elected officials should be leading this fight to save our district’s jobs, not getting involved at the last moment.”
Not only does Yepsen take offense at McDonald’s last minute interest in the most important issue for this region, but she also criticizes his methods. McDonald has teamed with the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce in preparing to sue New York State for failure to subsidized NYRA. “Partisan bickering and political grandstanding is not the answer,” Yespsen continues, “A law suit will only cost us more money in the end.”
Yepsen added, “Cessation of New York State racing will hurt all of us, Republicans and Democrats. Therefore, we all need to work together to help our Upstate economy and refrain ourselves from partisan cheap shots.”
As Saratoga Supervisor, Yepsen led the fight for preservation of the historic Saratoga Flat Track. She has been a staunch advocate for nonpartisan cooperation and governmental transparency.
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Yepsen Hits the Trail: Notes from Troy
By Mike Connery on 05/03/2010 @ 10:09 AM
Fresh off her successful campaign launch, Joanne Yepsen attended the third annual stickball tournament and fundraiser for Rensselaer county food pantries. The event was in Troy's little Italy.
Yepsen, who once lived in Italy, spoke with many voters in their native italian.
Here are some photos from the event.
News from Joanne Yepsen's Campaign Launch
By Mike Connery on 04/30/2010 @ 11:01 AM
Yesterday Saratoga Supervisor Joanne Yepsen announced her candidacy against Republican incumbent (and Joe Bruno successor) Roy McDonald. So far her announcement is well-received in the local press:
- Saratoga Today: Yepsen Challenges McDonald
- News 10 has great video of Joanne from after the announcement.
- The Post-Star: Yepsen Plans Run for State Senate and Yepsen Announces Bid for Senate
- The Saratogian: Saratoga Springs Supervisor Joanne Yepsen Announces State Senate Run
- Troy Record: Yepsen Announces Senate Run
- Albany Times Union: Democrat to Test McDonald and Candidate: Work Together
Quick Hits from the Campaign Trail: Yepsen Announces, Arizona's Immigration Law Hits New Yorkers
By Mike Connery on 04/29/2010 @ 11:01 AM
The latest news from our conference, candidates, and campaigns.
- At 2pm today, Joanne Yepsen will announce her candidacy for the 43rd Senate District, challenging Joe Bruno heir Roy McDonald. The Troy Record and Albany Times Union have already covered the announcement.
- More information is coming out on Republican Sullivan County Legislator Dave Sager, who wants to switch his party affiliation to Democrat and challenge incumbent Republican John Bonacic.
- Local teacher Glenn Dannaham is also running to unseat Bonacic.
- Tom Libous took time out of his busy schedule to bash video games. Next week he'll be yelling at kids to get off his lawn.
- Two of the Republicans vying to replace Vincent Leibell - Mary Beth Murphy and Jim Borkowski - get profiled in the Lewisboro Ledger.
- Craig Johnson is calling on those disappointed with the Arizona law to not take out their anger on AriZona Iced Tea, which is actually a Long Island-based company.
- José Peralta, and José Serrano slammed Arizona's new immigration enforcement law:
New York Senate Dems Hits Republicans on Taxes and Budget
By Mike Connery on 04/16/2010 @ 05:26 PM
Yesterday was tax day, and once again hard-working New Yorkers sent too much of their tax dollars to Albany.
While New Yorkers continue to pay more than their fair share, Republicans are sitting on the sidelines, running from decades-long record of taxing, spending and borrowing away the financial stability of our state. To add insult to injury, they are refusing to participate constructively in the current budget process, and trying to blame Democrats for their own mess.
New York Senate Dems are determined to hold Republicans accountable for these actions.
Today we launched a series of robocalls into the districts of 14 Republicans who are ducking and dodging their record on taxes while the people of New York foot the bill. Calls were placed into the districts of Dean Skelos, Steve Saland, Hugh Farley, Roy McDonald, Owen Johnson, Kemp Hannon, John DeFrancisco, Tom Libous, Joe Robach, Michael Ranzenhofer, Ken LaValle, James Alesi, Frank Padavan and Joe Griffo.
Voters in each of those districts received a call informing them of their Senator's record on the budget and taxes, and asking them to call and ask their Senator to work with Democrats to resolve our state's budget crisis.
You can listen to a few of those calls below:
Dean Skelos
Kemp Hannon
Owen Johnson
Senate Republicans bear the brunt of responsibility for landing us in our current fiscal straits. They owe it to their constituents, and to all New Yorkers, to engage in good faith negotiations to help fix their mess.
We're not going to let them run from their record any longer.
Ed Note - We're still in beta and working out the hiccups, and this post was accidentally deleted from our system on Monday April 19th. A new copy was uploaded on Tuesday April 20.
