Chris Lee’s campaign has exposed a huge lie of Alice Kryzan’s. Kryzan has been on the record for a year saying she would refuse contributions from special interests and lobbyists.  At the Democratic primary debate as Geneseo last month, she said the following:

I do not believe that you can go to Congress and be an independent voice of the 26th district when you have taken hundreds of thousands from PACs, lobbyists and special interests groups. Money is corrupting our political system. It is in some respects the root of all evil there … everywhere I go in this district people are telling me I want to see somebody like you in Congress, somebody who will fight for us, free of any taint, free of any link to these special interests who do except something in return for their donations.” 

Well, according to her FEC report, filed last night, she is very much indeed accepting contributions from special interests and lobbyists. 

• Kryzan’s Total Special Interest Contributions: $83,150
• Kryzan’s PAC Contributions: $69,000
• Kryzan’s Washington Establishment Contributions (Lobbyists, Members of Congress, House Staff): $14,150
• The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which is financed by special interests, has pledged more than $1.5 million in NY-26 district before Election Day.

Andrea Bozek, Chris Lee for Congress spokeswoman said in a statement, “Alice Kryzan is learning fast how to be the kind of politician she promised not to be. How can the people of Western New York trust Alice Kryzan? For the past year she’s sworn off special interest money and now she’s taken nearly one hundred thousand dollars from special interest groups and political action committees.”

I guess, Alice Kryzan, by her own standard, is a tainted politician who cannot independently represent the 26th district.

It is also worth noting, as the 26th District Blog has discovered, that Jon Powers, who claimed he was not drawing a salary from his campaign funds, actually did, according to his FEC reports.

Read Full Post »

It’s kind of funny how similar Jon Powers and Baby Joe Mesi are. Both have shady dealing with their respective charities. Jon Powers’ failed charity, War Kids Relief, according to disclosure forms, lined his wallet a lot better than it helped Iraqi children, and Joe Mesi’s Organ Donation Foundation similarly was more profitable for his family members than for the cause.

Another trait they share is they both have attracted a lot of political contributions from outside the districts they want (or wanted) to represent. The Buffalo News has a story revealing where Baby Joe’s political donations are coming from.

If all politics is local, Democrat Joe Mesi had some problems during the most recent fundraising period for his State Senate campaign.

Only $350 out of $140,000 he raised during a recent 14-day stretch came from voters or business interests from within the 61st Senate District — a showing his opponent, Republican Michael Ranzenhofer, immediately seized upon Monday.

“It’s kind of astonishing to see such a huge amount of money coming from outside the area,” said Ranzenhofer, an Erie County legislator who is locked in a battle with Mesi, a former boxer, for the seat being vacated by retiring State Sen. Mary Lou Rath, a Williamsville Republican.

Mesi was unavailable for an interview, but a campaign official said that since campaign efforts began earlier this year, Mesi has gotten donations from more than 350 local sources.

Russ Thompson at Albany’s Insanity made the following point:

Well apparently the people in the district don’t support or think Mesi has a chance of winning. If they did he would be pulling in more. What does bother me is the donations from New York City… Our biggest problem IS NY City influence and now we see it in the Mesi campaign? Independent my a$$…

He makes a good point. Russ also says that “Everyone should be worried when down state politicians and interests want to buy off any legislator and especially a candidate.” I agree. How can Baby Joe say he’ll fight for Western New York when they’re not the ones pushing him into the ring.

Read Full Post »

The Democratic National Committee, under the guise of refusing PAC money, is returning a $100,000 donation from Charlie Rangel, who, as we reported a while back, is having some ethical issues right now.

The Democratic National Committee is returning a $100,000 donation from embattled Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel made at his birthday fundraiser, saying it goes against a Team Obama ban on PAC money, The Post has learned.

Rangel presented the donation to DNC chairman Howard Dean at the gala at Tavern on the Green a few weeks ago.

But the DNC is returning it because it stopped taking PAC money once Sen. Barack Obama, who has a rule against taking most PAC money, became the presumptive nominee, officials said.

The idea that this has anything to do with PAC money is absurd, of course, so, one has to wonder, why, in a presidential election year, would the Democrats really choose to wash their hands of that much needed cash? Are Charlie Rangel’s troubles soon to be getting worse, and is the DNC preemptively avoiding any issues by dumping the cash now? 

Now, it’s been over a month since Jim Domagalski and Henry Wojtaszek called on Jon Powers to return the tainted contributions he received from Charlie Rangel… Now that the DNC has returned the tainted cash they received, isn’t it about time Jon Powers did the same?

Read Full Post »

The Lockport Union-Sun & Journal has an interesting story about how Jon Powers and Jack Davis have been attacking each other for having stocks in a highly profitably industry. While commonsense suggests that it makes for people interested in money to invest in companies and industries that are profitable, apparently to Democrats, investing in oil is morally equivalent to raping a child.

The Jon Powers camp lobbed a second grenade at opponent Jack Davis over his oil stock holdings in late July.

The first volley, a June 26 press release seizing on Davis’ disclosure that he owns oil and energy stocks valued at about $35 million, asserted a link between Davis, “Big Oil” and Average Joe’s pain at the gas pumps.

How, the release asked, can voters trust Davis to know their pain when he made up to $288,000 on those energy stocks in 2007?

Despite the release’s pairing of a Big Oil diatribe with Powers’ version of best U.S. energy policy — replete with favors for alternative energy and tough love for oil — the missive wasn’t widely repeated by press in the region.

Powers went after Davis again July 31, when his camp issued a statement blasting Exxon’s record-breaking second quarter profits — and linking Davis with the presumable evil.

“The fact that Jack Davis is bankrolling his campaign with money he made from Exxon shows how out of touch he is with everyday Western New Yorkers,” Powers’ campaign manager, John Gerken, said.

After the second attack from Jon Powers, the Jack Davis campaign decided to strike back, throwing out the fact that Jon Powers too has benefitted financially because of holdings in Big Oil.

Powers’ second lob got a bigger rise out of its target. Last week, the Davis camp released an “analysis” of Powers’ self-reported financials showing the mutual funds he’s invested in also are linked with Big Oil — and posing pointed questions about Powers’ honesty.

Powers is invested in the Schwab 1000 Index Fund, two of whose Top Five holdings Davis says are Exxon Mobil and Chevron; the William Blair International Growth Fund that backs oil, gas and coal mining; the William Blair Small Cap Growth Fund that manages shares in the same; and Fidelity Capital & Income Fund, whose holdings include dozens of oil and gas companies. Powers has IRA holdings in Global Industries LLC, which is invested in offshore oil and gas drilling.

“Mr. Powers deliberately exaggerates Mr. Davis’ oil holdings, conceals his own and also fails to disclose that he has accepted campaign contributions from oil and energy lobbyists,” Davis’ campaing manager Luke Vaughn said. “To attack (Davis’ oil returns) is simply childish and flies in the face of reality.”

When push comes to shove, who really cares? It’s this kind of childish bickering that turns people off from politics. Quite frankly, I’m tired of Jon Powers (and his supporters) criminalizing success. Jack Davis and Alice Kryzan may both be wealthy, but wealth shouldn’t be a badge of dishonor. Jon Powers may not be wealthy, but he made an unusually large salary (putting him roughly in the top 15-20% of income earners) for running a rather unsuccessful non-profit group, so where does he get off claiming the moral high ground over the source of one’s wealth?  With regards to Powers mutual fund stock, the talking point (sure to be repeated by the Jon Powers Echo Chamber) is that any profits Powers made from those stocks were modest, while Davis had #35 million invested in oil and energy stocks and made roughly $288,000 off those stocks last year.

Of the Davis camp’s observation that Powers also profits personally from Big Oil, Powers’ spokeswoman, Victoria Dillon, professes astonishment that the two should be compared.

Within Powers’ mutual fund holdings there “might be some oil tucked into the Top 100,” she says, “but I truly don’t think it’s the same thing. The scale (of profit) is so, so drastically different. For them to nitpick this one little thing … it’s silly.”

The “scale of profit.”

I guess investing in Big Oil is one thing, but the bigger the profit, the more evil the investor? If Jon Powers hates success and prosperity so much, why would anyone want him in Congress? How can he fight for the people of the 26th district when he can’t even defend himself:

What’s the moral difference between a little profit off oil and a lot?

Despite repeated requests, Dillon declined to put Powers on the phone this week to speak for himself.

Is Jon Powers going to hide behind press releases and spokespersons throughout his campaign?

Read Full Post »

Alice Kryzan, one of the three Democrats running for Congress in the 26th District, is calling on Jack Davis and Jon Powers to join her in signing the so-called “Voters First Pledge” which “commits a candidate to supporting legislation to create a system of public financing for qualified candidates who agree to strict spending limits and to take only small donations.”

Somehow, I don’t think Jack Davis or Jon Powers will go for it, and I don’t Kryzan believes they will either, considering the criticisms of her opponents written in the release:

Reiterating her commitment to eliminate the stranglehold of special interest money on Congress, Kryzan said:

“We’re not going to have a Congress that works for working families when its members need to raise millions of dollars every year, and the election cycle essentially never ends. It is time for candidates who are serious about changing Washington to begin by changing the way they get to Washington. It’s time to not just talk the talk, but to begin to walk the walk. And that’s why I ask my opponents to join me in signing the Pledge.”

Kryzan is running in the September 9th primary against millionaire Jack Davis, a three-time congressional candidate who’s pledged to spend $3 million of his own money on the race, and Jon Powers, who has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from special interest PACs and lobbyists. Kryzan issued an additional challenge to her opponents, calling on them to join her in limiting the overall spending of their primary campaigns to three quarters of a million dollars.

As the party-endorsed candidate, special interests and out-of-state left-wing activists have been funding Powers campaign, which has also been spending significant amounts of that money. Jack Davis already thinks he’s superior for not accepting any contributions and using only his personal fortune to fund his campaign.

I think Alice is on her own with this one.

Read Full Post »

Jon Powers likes to claim that his campaign is funded by everyday Western New Yorkers giving small amounts of money. According to him, about 80 percent of his donors give less than $100.

Well, he’s not telling the whole story.

For one thing, we already know that left-wing activists from outside of his district are funding his campaign, but also, a closer look at his campaign contributions shows that the true source of his campaign coffers comes from big donations.

In terms of unitemized dollar amounts, here is a quarterly breakdown of Powers campaign contributions under $200, in terms of percentage of his total fundraising for that quarter:

• 2nd Quarter 2008 - 9.17%
• 1st Quarter 2008 - 18.52%
• 4th Quarter 2007  - 9.84%
• 3rd Quarter 2007  - 20.63%
• 2nd Quarter 2007 - 12.04%

…which means that overall, a mere 13.66% of his total dollars raised have actually come from contributions of $200 or less. So, despite Jon Powers‘ claims that his campaign is being funded by small donors and everyday Western New Yorkers, in truth, more than 86% of his campaign coffers came from large donations.

Read Full Post »

Looks like Jon Powers has earned the praise of the premier left-wing blog, The Daily Kos (of “screw ‘em fame), and was selected to be a part of their so-called “Orange To Blue” program. Power himself blogged at Daily Kos, thanking them for opening up another channel for him to raise money from liberal activists who don’t live in his district or state.

First of all, I want to say thank you to Markos and the Daily Kos community for selecting our campaign to be part of their Orange to Blue program. We are honored to be chosen and happy to be part of this community.

It’s nice to know Powers considers himself part of the Daily Kos community. He seems more at home there than in the 26th congressional district.

Read Full Post »

Today, Henry Wojtaszek, the Niagara County Republican Committee Chairman called on Jon Powers to return contributions from Congressman Charlie Rangel, who was recently revealed to have received sweetheart rent deals and accused of violating campaign finance laws.  Rangel has donated $9,000 to Powers, and they are to appear a fundraiser together in August.

 ”Powers isn’t leading by example; he’s following the model of a typical politician.  His ties to career politicians like Rangel, his illegal use of campaign funds, and his questionable acceptance of contributions from outside our district are indicative of the corruption and dishonesty of D.C. insiders,” said Niagara County Republican Committee Chairman, Henry Wojtaszek. “The voters of Western New York deserve a candidate who will bring real leadership and real change, not more of the same Washington politics.  It’s time for Jon Powers to come clean, and give Western New Yorkers an answer about his fundraiser and contributions.”

Wojtaszek was also critical of Power’s fundraising and spending:

In addition to Powers’ questionable ties to Rangel, Powers recent fundraising report shows that nearly half of his reported contributions came from outside New York State. Powers filing shows large contributions from San Francisco, Massachusetts, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Virginia. Additionally, Powers spent more than $15,000 on travel to places other than Western New York.

Wojtaszek said, “Powers has claimed to have a lot of ‘grassroots’ support from the district, but his contribution filings show otherwise. It’s another example of Powers’ hypocrisy by example. It’s been a week of silence since Powers was asked about his contributions from Rangel and his fundraiser with Rangel. It’s time for an answer and for Powers to give back the money and cancel his fundraiser.”

I’m not holding my breath on that one. While Jon Powers has said constantly that he would lead by example he never said that it would be a good example.

Read Full Post »

According to a press release I just received, Erie County Republican Party Chairman Jim Domagalski is calling on congressional candidate Jon Powers to return contributions he received from Rep. Charles Rangel, following today’s New York Times story on a number of Rangel’s sweetheart real estate deals.

In light of today’s New York Times article highlighting Rep. Charlie Rangel’s sweatheart [sic] real estate deals Erie County Republican Chairman James P. Domagalski called on Congressional candidate Jon Powers to show “leadership by example” and return Congressman Rangel’s $9,000 in campaign contributions.
 
“At a time when many Western New York families are being hit by the housing crisis Jon Powers is taking campaign contributions from a senior Democrat Congressman who now appears to have taken sweatheart real estate deals,” said Domagalski.  “Jon Powers should cancel his upcoming fundraiser with Rangel and return his campaign contributions.”

According to the New York Times story:

While aggressive evictions are reducing the number of rent-stabilized apartments in New York, Representative Charles B. Rangel is enjoying four of them, including three adjacent units on the 16th floor overlooking Upper Manhattan in a building owned by one of New York’s premier real estate developers.

Mr. Rangel, the powerful Democrat who is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, uses his fourth apartment, six floors below, as a campaign office, despite state and city regulations that require rent-stabilized apartments to be used as a primary residence.

Jon Powers has scheduled a joint fundraising event with Rep. Rangel, according to Roll Call. 

I’m not counting on Jon Powers to return the contributions. Rangel himself refused to return thousands of dollars in Abramoff-connected cash he received at the height of the Abramoff scandal. Though, when Powers himself violated election laws for using campaign cash to pay his rent, he did pay the money back… but there a difference between a legal obligation and a moral/ethical one. Democrats have a long record of ignoring both, and as Powers continues to become more and more like his Democrat colleagues in Congress, the chances of him doing the right thing are significantly reduced.

So, what will Jon “Lead By Example” Powers do?

UPDATE: Rangel: Not unfair to have 4 rent-stabilized apts

Read Full Post »

Jon Powers‘ campaign emailed supporters earlier today, stating that “We know that Jon Powers is the candidate with the grassroots support and the best candidate to bring real change and real leadership to New York’s 26th District. Yesterday, we made sure the word spread.”

The Buffalo News also reported the following:

Powers said he was excited that his grass-roots campaign has gained momentum.

“We have the needed hometown support,” he said. “People feel that I will best represent them in Washington.”

He said he would provide the new voice needed in Washington.

The Wyoming County Republican Committee begs differ, and responded to the Buffalo News story with the following release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, June 11, 2008

“We have the needed hometown support.”
- Jon Powers (Buffalo News, 06/11/2008)

Jon Powers’ campaign contributions Tell a Different Story:

Itemized contributions from cities/states according to the Federal Election Commission:

New York City - 75
Massachusetts - 58
Washington, D.C. - 37
California - 36
Virginia - 30
New York’s 26th Congressional District - 12

Total itemized contribution amounts from cities/states according to the Federal Election Commission :

New York City - $80,050
Massachusetts - $44,050
Virginia - $30,300
California - $24,550
Washington, D.C. - $23,770
New York’s 26th Congressional District - $15,400

“The only hometown support Jon Powers has is the backing of the Democratic party bosses,” said Gordon Brown, Wyoming County Republican Chairman. “Jon Powers’ leadership by example campaign is more words than actions. He continues to demonstrate he is not ready to lead. Why is Jon Powers so focused on collecting special interest donations from the Hollywood elite while being so afraid to let the primary voters of Western New York actually have a voice in choosing their next Congressman?”

If Jon Powers really does have the “hometown support” he claims, why is it that he’s received more money from outside his district than from within? If Jon Powers really is going to be a “new voice” in Washington D.C., then why does he receive 3 times as many contributions from Washington D.C. than he does from within the district he claims he’ll represent.

The numbers tell a very interesting story, and the story is that Jon Powers’ campaign appears to be funded more by out-of-state activists, then by the people he wants to represent in Congress.

Read Full Post »

The Buffalo News reports that Jon Powers is taking heat for contributions he received from Richard Snowden a well-known strip club owner in Buffalo.

Congressional hopeful Jon Powers is drawing fire from a prominent Democrat for taking campaign contributions from Richard A. Snowden of Buffalo, whom she describes as a “notorious strip club owner.”

Not only has Powers accepted $7,000 from Snowden and his Rick’s Tally-Ho “gentleman’s cabaret” in Cheektowaga, but Snowden co-hosted a fundraising event for him Tuesday at the Saturn Club in Buffalo, according to former Wyoming County Democratic Chairwoman Anne Weidman.

“I am frankly disgusted to learn you have taken campaign contributions from Rick Snowden, a notorious strip club owner with establishments in both Erie and Monroe counties,” Weidman told Powers. “Mr. Snowden’s profits come directly from the exploitation of women, mostly young women, and his ‘sweat money’ has no place in progressive politics or the Democratic Party.”

Weidman, a supporter of Powers opponent Jack Davis in the Democratic primary for the 26th Congressional District who is co-chairwoman of Women for Davis, said in her letter that Davis would not accept such contributions. Davis, a successful businessman from Clarence, has pledged to finance his campaign this year with $3 million of his own money.

Let’s face it, these days, endorsements and contributions are heavily scrutinized these days. In 2006, congressional Democrats play the guilt-by-association card heavily against Republicans who had received donations from (or connected to) embattled lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Of course, it should be noted that Democrats who had received Abramoff-connected cash largely refused to return such donations.

In the presidential campaign this year, endorsements and contributions have been so heavily scrutinized that John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama all have had to return money in order to protect their campaigns from criticisms. That precedent certainly makes this criticism of Powers’ contributions from Snowden fair game, and thus Powers’ decision on what to do with the contributions made or raised by Snowden will be important - especially given this point by Weidman:

“You are the candidate running on a slogan of ‘leadership by example,’ ” Weidman continued. “If you truly wish to lead by example, you should return Mr. Snowden’s three contributions and pledge to never accept campaign funds from those who profit from cultural misogyny and the exploitation of vulnerable young women.

“I hope you will do the right thing,” she added.

A memo obtained by The Buffalo News and distributed by the Davis campaign to supporters outlines the situation, calling it “hardly the kind of leadership we need for Western New York or in the House of Representatives.”

I couldn’t have said it better. Jon Powers certainly has made “leadership by example” his campaign theme. So, just what kind of leadership by example will Powers set? Considering the example set by Democrats in congress in past years, I am not counting on Powers to give up any of those contributions.

UPDATE: Snowden does get around.

Hillary Clinton, Richard Snowden, and Rep. Brian Higgins back in 2004.

It is also worth noting that Snowden was previously involved in Republican politics until November 2006, when he switched parties and quickly became a big Democratic fundraiser.

Read Full Post »