SD-61: Baby Joe Acting Tough?
by Matt at Sep 13th, 2008
The Albany Project gleefully reports that Baby Joe Mesi has “challenged” Mike Ranzenhofer to three debates.
“We owe the voters of the 61st an opportunity to hear more than sound bites from radio and television ads for such an important election.” said Joe Mesi. ”I believe Albany is broken and I want to have a debate on how we’re going to fix it, and how we can make our economy work for us.”
Mesi proposes the following town hall debates, which will focus on challenges facing working families of the 61st Senate District:
Friday, October 10th 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Wednesday, October 15th 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Wednesday, October 22nd 6:00 pm -7:30 pm“I believe that voters want new energy, new leadership, and a real plan that focuses on the issues our working families are facing today,” Mesi added. ”For voters, the choice is clear: we can continue to elect career politicians who produce more of the same business-as-usual politics, or we can choose the change that we need, here at home and in Albany.”
This isn’t a bold move as Robert Harding suggests. This is an absolutely necessary thing for Baby Joe to do. Underdogs in campaigns are known to “challenge” their opponent to debate, because they have nothing to lose from the exposure. Baby Joe may have won the Democratic primary, but Mike Ranzenhofer is extremely popular in the district, and has an actual record to run on. All Baby Joe has to run on is his boxing career… and a charity that increased awareness about organ donation as much as it increased the bank accounts of Mesi’s family.
But, it’s obvious the kind of campaign Baby Joe is going run from now on. He’s clearly jumping on the whole anti-career politician B.S. line I’ve read too many times in various left-wing blogs that it’s as much a cliché as Baby Joe’s boxing metaphor for his campaign. But, Ranzenhofer is not an incumbent, and has actually proven himself to be agent of reform. As you may recall, it was Mike Ranzenhofer and Chris Collins who started the push for GPS systems in county vehicles, a proven method to save taxpayer dollars.
Albany does need a change. Despite the fact Republicans hold a razor thin majority in the State Senate, it’s undeniable that the Democrats are the ones who run the show in Albany and have for quite some time. If the Democrats gain control of the senate, they will have unchecked powers. And as someone who came to New York from a one party state, I can tell you with personal knowledge that a one-party state is is not one that puts the people first.
Baby Joe may talk the talk about reform, but he’s a member of the party that stands in the way of reform and progress. That last thing we need is another rubber stamp for the party that’s over-regulating ans over-taxing this state.
The choice for 61st Senate District is clear. We need to elect Mike Ranzenhofer… not just for the district, but for the integrity of the state government, which needs balance, not one-party rule.
Matt,
It’s a bold move because Mesi is not the greatest debater. He is going up against a career politician in Mike Ranzenhofer who is much more seasoned and experienced.
And it’s not necessary to challenge someone to a debate. It’s necessary to have debates, but usually a group (League of Women Voters or another nonpartisan organization) will host a debate and extend invitations to the candidates. Then they can accept or decline.
Does anybody ever watch debates - especially for something like State Senate. It seems like much ado about nothing.