Chris Lee has given an update on his transition to Capitol Hill, including some appointments:

In one more bit of news, I announced the appointments of both my Chief of Staff and District Director. Brian Schubert will serve as Chief of Staff in my Washington office and my Campaign Manager, Nick Langworthy, will serve as my District Director. I am putting together a strong team whose number one priority will be to provide exemplary constituent services and help me push a strong agenda for Western New York in Congress.

Congrats to Brian and Nick!

With just over a month before being sworn in, Lee is keeping busy: 

This has been an exciting month and although I have not been sworn in yet, I have wasted no time in continuing to travel the district and hear your ideas so I can bring them to Washington. I was pleased to see JP Morgan Chase announce that they will keep open the former-Washington Mutual facility in Albion. This preserves more than 800 jobs for Western New Yorkers. Last week, I had the chance to tour the call center and visit with the workers there. I told them I would do everything I could as their representative in Washington to preserve and create good-paying jobs in our area. In addition, earlier this month I attended a news conference at the Peace Bridge to unveil new technology designed to protect our border.

Lee will be sworn in on January 6, 2009.

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Chris Lee and Alice Kryzan are debating on WBEN right now. It seems to me that Alice only knows how to blame the Bush Administration for all the problems the country is dealing with now, but doesn’t have a single solution. 

Listening to Alice talk she truly earns the nickname “Alice In Liberaland.” She seems to be in her own little world that isn’t based in reality but in Democrat talking points.

Some thoughts and observations on the debate:

• Lee nailed Kryzan for supporting the redistribution of wealth. Kryzan denied, of course, even though it is impossible to cut taxes for 95% of Americans when 40% don’t pay any taxes at all.
• Kryzan called Obama’s redistribution plan her own plan.
• Kryzan accused Lee of not being out in the district… Even though it was actually her who has recently given excuses why she hasn’t been out more. She accused Lee of sitting in his office behind his “bags of money” which is a laugh and a half since their net worths are roughly the same. Lee called her on that and ridiculed her for painting herself as a poor person.
• Kryzan claimed she’s open to working with both parties, but only spoke of working with the Democrats in Congress and with a Democrat administration.
• Kryzan thinks healthcare is a right. Someone hand her a copy of the Constitution, and explain to her why Canadians who have socialized medicine come down to America for treatment.
• If Kryzan was challenged to offer proposals and not blame, she would have been lost for words.
• Lee said small businesses cannot afford to pay employees for a full year of not working under the Family Leave Act. Alice thinks they should be.
• Kryzan danced around an answer about the so-called Fairness Doctrine.
• Kryzan wants your tax dollars to pay for abortions. Lee does not.
• Kryzan supports the Employee Free Choice Act would which would deny employers the right to demand secret-ballot elections before a union can be certified. Lee does not support it, says it is a misnomer that leaves workers open to coercion and intimidation.
• Lee called Kryzan out for flip-flopping on accepting special interest money.
• Kryzan is against “unfettered free markets.” If she sounds like a socialist and looks a socialist she must be a socialist.

UPDATE: Kryzan could do no wrong according to Buffalo Pundit’s bizarre assessment of the debate. Of course, all facts that supported Lee or contradicted Kryzan were “beside the point.” 

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For a while now I’ve heard rumors about Alice Kryzan’s legal career… Apparently she worked at quite a few law firms:

Phillips Lytle, LLC
Whiteman Osterman & Hanna
Kryzan & Kolaga
Buchanan-Ingersoll
Harris Beach & Wilcox

That is a lot firms to have worked over 26 years.. especially when the longest stretch she spent at any of them was 6 years.

So what does this tell us about Alice Kryzan? That she jumped around from law firm to law firm?  Okay. But that really leaves us with a big question: Why? According to rumors I have heard she was fired from a few of these firms… 

Alice is running for congress largely on her experience as a lawyer. But it looks like that experience is hardly something to brag about.

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I’ve just learned that Jon Powers will indeed remain on the WFP line on the ballot on Tuesday. A federal court ruled moments ago…

This reverses the decision earlier today that gave Kryzan the WFP line…

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The Buffalo Bean recently had the opportunity to interview Chris Lee, candidate for U.S. Congress in New York’s 26th district. The interview was conducted via email and is posted below:

THE BUFFALO BEAN: You have been the target of some false negative ads put out by the DCCC on behalf of Alice Kryzan. As a newcomer to politics, were you surprised by the tone taken by your opponent and the groups trying to put her in office?

CHRIS LEE: It is unfortunate that Alice Kryzan has run a negative smear campaign against my family and our business. It does not surprise me that she has nothing positive to say about her background or her vision for Western New York.

Unlike my opponent my campaign has focused on the issues. Alice Kryzan has been on record for wanting to raise taxes which would harm our economy and destroy jobs in Western New York.

TBB: A new poll by SurveyUSA has you with a significant lead over your opponent. With the outlook for Republicans nationwide considered bleak even in Republican-leaning districts, why do you think you’re running so strong?

CJL: I don’t take a lot of stock in polls. The only poll I care about is the one on Election Day.  Voters are interested in electing someone who brings solutions and experience.

TBB: According to that same poll, there are still 18% who are undecided. What would you tell those voters to convince them they should support you?

CJL: In these troubling economic times we need a leader in Congress that has the real world experience of creating jobs in Western New York, balancing a budget and meeting a payroll.  Western New Yorkers deserve an independent voice in Washington who won’t accept business as usual.  A leader who will fight to keep taxes low, not raise them - who will fight for affordable health care, not government run health care. We have enough attorneys in Washington it is time to send a businessman to Congress.

TBB: What part of your message has resonated the most with the voters you’ve talked with on the campaign trail?

CJL: People like the fact that I have created jobs in Western New York. I have spent my career growing a family business that helped Western New York’s economy. Out of the 535 members of Congress, 237 members hold a law degree and only 18 members hold an MBA degree. Western New Yorkers understand that we don’t need another lawyer in Congress we need a businessman.

TBB: How do feel your experience as a successful businessman makes you better suited to represent the 26th district than your opponent?

CJL: I am a businessman, not a career politician. I bring real world experience to the job.  I’ve helped build a business and create jobs in Western New York.  I’ve been fortunate enough to sign the front of paychecks as well as the back. I know the challenges job-creating businesses face — and in Congress, I will work to make sure it is easier for them to grow in our communities.  When you are meeting a payroll you understand how difficult it is to earn a dollar. Therefore you are also a better steward of taxpayer’s hard earned tax dollars.

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…of course, if the SurveyUSA poll is at all accurate, the courts forcing her on the WFP line (in spite of legal precedent) won’t exactly make a difference.

Alice Kryzan has won a coveted second ballot line in Tuesday’s election for Congress in the 26th district, thanks to an appellate court decision striking Jon Powers from the Working Families Party line.

The Appellate Division of State Supreme Court ruled late Thursday that a lower court erred in deciding that Powers, Kryzan’s former rival for the Democratic nomination for the seat, must stay on the Working Families line even though he had moved to Washington, D.C., to take a job there.

“In the absence of evidence to the contrary, Powers’s letters to the Board and his concomitant submission of an out-of-state driver’s license and lease agreement conclusively establish his intention to establish residency outside of this state,” the appeals court said.

It in all very silly and really demonstrates the desperation of the Kryzan campaign for an insignificant amount of votes that will have no impact on the outcome.

Isn’t it about time we put an end to this electoral fusion nonsense?

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I just heard that Channel 2 News released a new SurveyUSA Poll during their noon news broadcast with the following results for the congressional race in the 26th district:

Chris Lee 48%
Alice Kryzan 34%
Undecided 18%

Looks like Alice’s smear campaign isn’t working out for her, and Chris Lee’s message is resonating big with the voters.

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UPDATE: The DCCC and Alice Kryzan are continuing their smear campaign against Chris Lee… Here a mailer that was recently sent out:

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This ad appeared in the Buffalo News yesterday (click for a larger version):

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At the Clarence Candidates’ Forum yesterday, Alice Kryzan made a bit of a gaffe in not only flip flopping on her position on special interests, but by saying she work hard for the hard working people of the 25th district.

Of course she’s running in the 26h District.. so … woops.

The left-wing Buffalo Pundit was able to make it to the event, and decided to do a bit of preemptive damage control for Alice in Wonderland:

At one point, Kryzan slipped and said “25th” when she meant “26th” district. A dopey misstatement, but a misstatement nonetheless, and I have no doubt that the Republicans will try to make some hay with it about Kryzan not knowing what district she’s running in.

Uh huh… and had had Chris Lee made the the same mistake does anyone doubt that we’d have seen some picture of Lee with some witty “FAIL” caption on it?

While I am sure at this point Alice has managed to memorize what district she lives in, it serves as a reminder that Alice doesn’t really have much knowledge about the local issues.

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I have just recieved word that Jon Powers will remain on the ballot on the Working Families Party line.

More details to come.

UPDATE: The decision.

UPDATE: In the end I don’t think this decision will have any impact on the election. it seems to me that electoral fusion has just become another device that shifts the electoral process into the courts. In 2006, I, along with a majority of Massachusetts voters, defeated a proposal to bring electoral fusion to the state. Since I moved to Western New York, I have seen why it was the right choice…  Electoral fusion, from what I understand is meant to give more attention to the issues championed by these small minor parties, but instead is more about the candidate getting more lines on the ballot, as if that somehow matters.

UPDATE: Via Buffalo Pundit, here the Kryzan campaign’s whiney statement: 

Today, the New York State Supreme Court ruled in favor of Christopher Lee’s effort to keep Alice Kryzan from appearing on the Working Family Party line.

Anne Wadsworth, Sr Campaign Advisor said: “This is nothing more than the Republican machine’s attempt to make a mockery of the Democratic process. Jon Powers is not a candidate for Congress, he does not live in the state of New York and therefore by state law is ineligible to appear on the ballot. Clearly Republicans are struggling to come up with a winning message and are therefore playing Karl Rove-like antics in an attempt to steal the election. Alice got into this campaign because she believes that with new leadership we can bring jobs and prosperity back to Western New York. Republicans can play all the political games and use all the smear tactics they want, but we are confident that come November 4th Western New York will see through the mud and elect Alice Kryzan because she represents the positive change we need with integrity and independence.”

Cry me a river, Anne. Seriously.  Aside from the ridiculous left-wing talking points, the weight given to these minor party lines is, in  my opinion, overestimated.

But I do want to address the charge that the ruling was “nothing more than the Republican machine’s attempt to make a mockery of the Democratic process,” and Republicans are “playing Karl Rove-like antics in an attempt to steal the election.”

One of the cases cited in the ruling as precedent was Texas Democratic Party v. Benkiser. For those of who don’t recall, that was the case involving former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay in 2006. DeLay had not only officially retired, but had moved out of state. Despite these facts, and the fact that a replacement candidate had already been chosen, the state Democratic Party fought (successfully) to keep him on the ballot. So, no one, not even Anne Wadsworth, can pin this on “Karl Rove-like antics” when Democrats set that precedent.

Howard Dean-like antics would be more appropriate and accurate. 

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I just got a campaign email from Alice Kryzan. I found the following part of it interesting:

On Monday, Jon Powers and I will be hitting the pavement and talking to voters in Rochester, Geneseo, Batavia and Williamsville about importance of this election to the working families of Western New York.

Oh really? Is Jon Powers in town campaigning with Alice? I thought he moved to Virginia for a job? It must be tough starting a new job in Virginia when you are campaigning in Western New York.

If Jon Powers really did move to Virginia for a job (which is the Kryzan campaign’s whole case for giving her the Working Families Party line) then what is he doing in Western New York? Has he really moved yet? Shouldn’t he be in Virginia, starting that new job or unpacking his belongings?

Perhaps he is only in Virginia in his mind.

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Today, Vets for Freedom, the largest Iraq and Afghanistan veterans’ organization in America, endorsed Chris Lee for congress. David Bellavia, decorated Iraq War veteran and Vets for Freedom Co-Chairman was with Lee today to announce the endorsement.

“As a veteran who has proudly served my country in the United States Army, I am here to speak on behalf of Vets for Freedom in offering our support of Chris Lee for United States Congress,” said Vets for Freedom Co-Chairman David Bellavia. “Chris understands that the fight we are currently undertaking in Iraq is essential to our success in the global fight against Islamic extremism. Vets for Freedom looks forward to working with Chris in Congress.”

“It’s an honor to have the endorsement of Vets for Freedom,” said Chris Lee. “In Congress, my commitment to our service members and veterans will be absolute. I’ll fight to ensure we have world-class care at our VA facilities, our troops have the equipment they need to succeed and the proper benefits they deserve when they come home from the battlefield.”

Vets for Freedom is a nonpartisan organization established by combat veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their mission is to educate the American public about the importance of achieving success in these conflicts by applying first-hand knowledge to issues of American strategy and tactics in Iraq. Vets for Freedom supports policymakers from both sides of the aisle who have stood behind the great generation of American warriors on the battlefield, and who have put long-term national security before short-term partisan political gain. Vets for Freedom is the largest Iraq and Afghanistan veterans organization in America.

And Alice Kryzan has Jon Powers, the Iraq War veteran who created a charity meant to help Iraqi children, but helped his own bank account a lot more.

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As I’ve noted before, Alice Kryzan talks the talk against special interest money, but doesn’t walk the walk… well her latest filings show she still taking in special interest money:

From her 10/20 filing:

• $1,000 Feminist Majority PAC
• $1,000 Nita Lowey for Congress

From her 10/22 filing:

• $2,000 Citizens for Eleanor Holmes Norton
• $2,000 Higgins for Congress
• $2,500 Jerry’s PAC
• $2,500 KIDS PAC
• $5,000 New Democrat Coalition PAC
• $5,000 United Transportation

That’s another $21,000 in special interest cash… that she said herself was ”the root of all evil.” 

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Earlier today, Buffalo Pundit regurgitated claims by WNYMedia that Chris Lee has been MIA on the campaign trail. According to WNYM’s Mark Odien, Chris Lee “has been avoiding the press and the public like the plague.” Odien deosn’t say this is his opinion, he says it is a fact.

Their claim is ignorant at best, but more likely a fabricated lie.

It was just last week that Alice Kryzan, not Chris Lee, who skipped out on a candidates debate in Amherst hosted by the League of Women Voters. Curiously, Buffalo Pundit made no mention of Kryzan’s cowardice at that event. He’s been silent about a lot things about Alice Kryzan, like her special interest money and her lack of knowledge of so major local issues. Alice also has not done a Question the Candidate segment with Channel 7… Chris Lee has. WKBW Chan 7 Anchor Keith Radford even said, “We also offered this free time for a response to Democratic Congressional candidate Alice Kryzan she declined to take part.”

Where’s the criticism for Alice from Buffalo Pundit and other left-wing WNY bloggers? Unless they’re living under a rock, they must know she has been ducking intorviews and debates left and right… but you wouldn’t know it by reading their blogs.

UPDATE: It doesn’t look like Alice has bothered to show up at WROC 8 yet either… But Chris Lee has.

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It appears that Alice Kryzan is still looking to get on the Working Families Party line…

The Working Families Party has gone to court to name Democrat Alice J. Kryzan its candidate in the 26th Congressional District contest against Republican Chris Lee.

Bob Brehm, spokesman for the state Board of Elections, said Monday that the board last week came to no agreement on the Working Families Party’s attempt to substitute Kryzan’s name on the line in place of Jon Powers, who earlier this year won the party’s nomination but subsequently lost the Democratic primary. Powers filed a statement indicating he moved out of state, a basis for removal from the line.

But Republican members blocked the move on the board level, with GOP election lawyers previously indicating the move did not fulfill constitutional requirements.

If successful, the move would provide a major boost to the Kryzan campaign, since she appears on only the Democratic line, while Lee has the Republican, Conservative and Independence lines.

Justice Joseph Teresi is slated to hear the case in in Albany on Thursday.

With two weeks to go before the election, i don’t think Alice will have much luck… and I don’t think it is really worth all the fuss.

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