Bill Clinton to Rochester to Campaign for Hochul and Slaughter

Former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to make a stop in Rochester this Friday to campaign for fellow Democrats Louise Slaughter and Kathy Hochul.

Slaughter’s campaign says the former president will be in town to attend a luncheon at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center.

Both Hochul and Slaughter are engaged in tight races. Chris Collins, the former Republican Erie County Executive, is running against Hochul. Monroe County Execuitve Maggie Brooks is running against Slaughter.

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Rep. Kathy Hochul lists October satellite office hours

Rep. Kathy Hochul (NY-26) announced this week six locations where her staff will hold office hours in the month of October. These satellite offices will provide constituents of New York’s 26th Congressional District with direct access to Hochul’s district staff to assist with casework issues.

“These satellite office hours give constituents direct access to staff who are able to help with a multitude of casework issues,” Hochul said. “By sending my staff to different communities, I hope we can help resolve problems for western New Yorkers without making them take inconvenient trips.”

The following is a list of satellite office hours for the month of October:

Geneseo (Livingston County)
Geneseo Village Offices, 119 Main St., Geneseo
Tuesday, Oct. 9, and Tuesday, Oct. 23, 10

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Democratic Rep. Kathy Hochul Sounds Off On Capturing NRA Endorsement

So I leave my desk and the National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund endorses a Democrat for Congress…

The NRA’s political arm has chosen incumbent Democratic Rep. Kathy Hochul over GOP challenger Chris Collins in their upcoming faceoff, with Chairman Chris Cox saying she “has a proven record of defending the Second Amendment” and scored an A rating based on her “strong support of our rights.”

Hochul, in her campaign statement, heavily emphasizes the recreational aspects of gun ownership, saying the 4.3 million-member group “represents thousands of Western New York sportsmen” and that as Erie County clerk, she “was a staunch advocate for sportsmen, and I have carried through on my commitment to protect their rights in Congress.”

Hochul and the other Democrat to earn the NRA’s backing, incumbent Rep. Bill Owens, both supported taking action against U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in the wake of the Fast And Furious gun trafficking investigation boondoggle.

The NRA-PVF site, incidentally, is currently topped with a screamer promoting http://www.gunbanobama.com, a site cataloging years of Obama comments and votes the group says are a huge threat to firearms owners and fans of the Constitution.

Collins, meanwhile, reports House Speaker John Boehner will join him and state GOP Chairman Ed Cox at a “victory rally” this Saturday morning in Depew.

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Candidates Discuss the Affordable Healthcare Act

Chris Collins voiced his displeasure with the Affordable Healthcare Act during a campaign stop in Rochester.

Collins, the GOP candidate for the 27th Congressional District, believes the controversial healthcare legislation will hurt the economy by preventing job growth.

“With Obamacare, what you’re going to see is an economy that is still going to be stagnant, you’re not going to see jobs create. The private sector has spoken; they want less government, we need to get our spending under control. We cannot continue to four billion dollars a day in deficits and think that’s okay, it’s not,” said Chris Collins.

He is set to face off against incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul in November.

Hochul released a statement earlier regarding the Supreme Court’s ruling that says:

“I am hopeful that Thursday’s ruling will help to focus our country on the need for more effective policies that drive down the cost of care and ensure that all Americans have access to quality and affordable health care. I stand ready to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to continue to improve the law and find appropriate solutions to the rising cost of health care in this country.”

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Collins Looks Ahead to Hochul

Chris Collins easily defeated David Bellavia to win the Republican primary for the 27th Congressional District. The former Erie County Executive got strong support in Erie and Niagara counties to secure the win.

Calling it the first step in restoring the American Dream, Collins declared victory in this GOP primary. He thanked David Bellavia for a hard-fought campaign, then immediately started his general election campaign against Rep. Kathy Hochul.

Collins called Hochul an Obama Democrat who believes in big government programs like the President’s health care reform bill.

In an effort to appeal to his base, Collins even quoted Ronald Reagan, saying “government isn’t the solution to our problem. Government is the problem.”

Collins said he’s not afraid to have a converstaion about Medicare and says he never supported the Ryan budget.

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Hochul Raises $355K

U.S. Rep. Kathy Hochul, considered one of the most vulnerable House Democrats in New York, has raised more than $355,000 in the first three months of 2012, according to her campaign finance report filed with the Federal Elections Commission this past weekend.

The filing gives her more than $874,000 in cash on hand.

The money is going to be needed for Hochul, who is running for a full 2-year term in a district that was redrawn with more Republican enrolled voters. Iraq War veteran David Bellavia and former Erie County Executive Chris Collins are competing against each other in a Republican primary on June 26 for the chance to take on Hochul in the fall.

“Kathy Hochul has now raised more than $1 million this cycle,” said Fabien Levy, Hochul campaign spokesman. “When you combine the outpouring of support with Congresswoman Hochul’s record of independent leadership, we are confident that she will have both the resources and the record to run a strong and effective campaign this fall.”

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EMILY’s List For Slaughter, Hochul

In a move that is not at all surprising, save for the fact that there are two women in this race, EMILY’s List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, today announed its endorsement of Rep. Louise Slaughter in the nwely-drawn 25th Congressional District.

“In her 25 years in Congress, Louise has been a dedicated voice for women and families,” said EMILY’s List President Stephanie Schriock.

“She was the original champion of the STOCK Act and has a long record of standing up for women’s rights and access to healthcare. Now more than ever, women need representatives like Louise fighting for them in Washington. Louise represents everything that EMILY’s List stands for and we are proud to stand with her.”

In the last election cycle, EMILY’s List raised more than $38.5 million to support its mission of recruiting and supporting women candidates, according to the group’s press release. The organization focuses on supporting pro-choice candidates, and in this case went with Slaughter over her Republican challenger, Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks.

EMILY’s List also endorsed Rep. Kathy Hochul in the newly-drawn NY-27. She will face off in the November general election against either Iraq War veteran David Bellavia or former Erie County Executive Chris Collins, who are battling it out in the June 26 primary.

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Redistricting would split county

If a federal magistrate’s redistricting map is approved — as many local state legislators expect it will be — parts of Ontario County would keep Rep. Tom Reed and other parts would add Rep. Kathy Hochul.

Reed, R-Corning, would represent the eastern half of Ontario County in a newly configured 23rd District, and Hochul, D-Hamburg, Erie County, would pick up the western half in what is expected to be a new 27th District. Of course, that’s if the two House members win reelection bids.

New York loses two congressional seats as a result of population loss.

The redrawing of lines was a process that had to be done, but his district is a solid Southern Tier-Finger Lakes district, the square footage of which Reed said is slightly less than the size of New Jersey.

“We put the miles on the car before, we’ll do it again,” said Reed, who is former Corning mayor.Reed also loses several towns in Monroe County. Those towns would be added to a newly created Monroe County district, which will pit Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-Fairport, against Republican Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks, who kicked off her campaign yesterdayfor Congress.

The 23rd District would see expansions of Chautauqua, Seneca, Tioga and Tompkins counties.

A spokesman for Hochul said the district would include western Ontario County towns, but cautioned the magistrate’s map, which was released last week, has not been finalized and is subject to change.

Hochul, a former Erie County clerk, won a special election last May to replace former Rep. Chris Lee, who resigned after emailing a shirtless photo of himself to a woman he met on Craigslist.

Republican David Bellavia of Batavia has announced he is running for a seat in the new district.

Reed, who was first elected to Congress in 2010, will be facing a challenge for the two-year seat.

Nate Shinagawa, 28, of Ithaca, is a Tompkins County legislator.

“I’m ready to take him on,” said Shinagawa, who is an administrator with Guthrie Health, working for the Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre, Penn. He plans to take a leave of absence to run.

Reed said he has heard names of several Democrats from the Ithaca area who might run against him.

“This is all about democracy, and we welcome anyone who would like to run in the race and ultimately let the people decide,” Reed said. “It’s my home, and we’ll put the work in and let the people decide.”

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Kathy Hochul booed over support for Obama’s contraception plan

Rep. Kathy Hochul, D-Amherst, Erie County, was booed at her own town hall meeting on Friday morning in Lancaster, Erie County.

The packed crowd was critical of Hochul for supporting President Obama’s plan to require religiously affiliated employers, such as hospitals and schools, to provide full contraception coverage to female employees.

The plan was later altered. It now calls for those workers to get free contraceptive coverage from health insurers, thus sparing religious based groups, morally opposed to paying for birth control, from having to do so. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said that it still had concerns.

Even though Hochul’s town hall meeting was open to any topic, the large crowd focused on the contraception coverage issue.

When Hochul spoke in support of the president, the crowd booed. Many in the audience carried signs, including one that read, “Kathy why have you betrayed our Catholic institutions?”

The meeting was heavily publicized on Catholic radio and many Catholic organizations encouraged people to attend and discuss the contraception issue.

Hochul represents the 26th District, which includes Clarkson, Ogden, Riga, Sweden and Wheatland, most of Greece and Parma and small parts of Hamlin and Chili. It also includes Livingston, Wyoming and Genesee counties, and parts of Orleans, Niagara and Erie counties. Voter enrollment is 33 percent Democratic, 39 percent Republican.

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Bellavia Gauging Support for Congressional Run

Iraq War veteran David Bellavia was passed over by GOP leaders in last spring’s special election, won by Rep. Kathy Hochul for the 26th congressional district.
Now, he’s raising campaign cash to gauge support to a potential challenge to the Democratic congresswoman this fall.

Bellavia sent a web video and letter to some 400,000 people, urging them to help him decide if he should take on Hochul. He says he won’t make his run official until redistricting is completed.

Bellavia isn’t the only Republican mulling a challenge to Hochul. Former Erie County Executive Chris Collins and Amherst Supervisor Barry Weinstein have said they’re also waiting for the district lines to be finalized before making a decision about whether to enter the race.

Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos has said that Western New York could lose a district due to its loss of population over the past decade.

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