Political Punches
If you think the local political campaigns have gotten a little dirty, you're not alone. Religious leaders from a wide range of denominations within the community have called on local politicians and candidates to stop "the personal attacks against Assemblymember Sam Hoyt and others".
Rev. Tom Yorty, Senior Pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church, said, "Assemblymember Hoyt has admitted to his mistakes, apologized, and worked hard with his wife and two teenage sons to gain forgiveness and emerge a stronger family. Forgiveness and reconciliation are critical for any family, and I believe, any community that considers itself decent. We need to separate these personal attacks from the substantive policy issues that ultimately have more relevance to our community and to our future."
Former councilmember Barbara Kavanaugh, who is running against Sam Hoyt said, "The thing I'd like people to know is that there are three campaigns going on here, and I'm the positive one." Kavanaugh refers to Golisano's attacks against Hoyt as being the "third campaign", saying she's not at all involved with the negative attention Hoyt has gotten from the local and national media. "I have nothing to do with that campaign. Nothing," Kavanaugh stated.
Kavanaugh said her decision to run against Hoyt in today's primary has nothing to do with her past friendship with him. "I don't think that because we had a personal relationship it should prevent anyone from being a candidate. I always said I wouldn't run against anyone I'd vote for," Kavanaugh, a former three-year councilmember said. "I feel an obligation to run now."
Adding,"I'm concerned about the negative campaigning and making myself heard above the noise of the past few weeks," Kavanaugh said she gets her share of hate mail, and that the antidote is going door-to-door and talking to people. "I've always been involved on a grassroots level, and it's gratifying to be remembered."
At least Hoyt and Kavanaugh were friends once, so it's doubtful that either would behave as Jack Davis has in his three-way congressional run for the democratic bid against Jon Powers and Alice Kryzan. As reported in the Buffalo News, Davis shouted, "Get away from me!" when Powers approached his car to shake hands as Davis rode in a Labor Day parade in Clarence, NY. He was, however, kinder to Kryzan.
Another of the pastors calling for a halt to the negativity, Rev. Merle Showers said, "These personal attacks hurt the spouses, children, parents, and other family members who did not choose to lead public lives. How are the children to go to school and face friends when a parent is being publicly humiliated? How can a spouse face coworkers when her husband is the subject of public ridicule? What have these family members done to deserve this?"
Today is primary day. Hopefully, by now, you've educated yourself on the important issues so you can get out and vote.
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buffalo339
All I wanna know, where the interns hot? :)
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CaptVonTrapp
BK's statements that she has nothing to do with Golisano's bottomless pocket funding of smears against Hoyt seem ungenuine. The ads (mailed and televised and online) from Mothers And Fathers Demanding Answers is unattributed at this time but I will be willing to bet the are sourced at a close-to-Golisano or Steve Pigeon source.
If Kanagaugh were truly interested in a clean campaign she would call of Golisano. She has not. She would repudiate M&FDA. She would demand that her ad be pulled from the yellow-online-site of Joe Illuzi (bankrobber, alimony evader, political extortionist), the so-called-political reformer who has turned this campaign into shakedown of dubious legality.
Barbra Kavanagh is an out lesbian... except when running for office. Sam's family has been forced into the forefront. Lynn Edelman, Barbara's partner, has had the luxury of saying "no thanks" to the limelight. Only a few short years ago, Illuzi, Golisano and those of their ilk would have targeted Kavanagh and Edelman and their sons would have been front page news as a freaky, femiNazi, manhating love commune with an agenda to "homoize" the region and teach sex instead of prayer in schools. Of course that is not the case. They are a Buffalo family like any other. Like the Hoyts.
Barbra is not a political force. She has hopscotched from job to job to job, leaving each officd before her work was done. At best she is a concerned neighborhood mom. Were she a political force, she would tell the mobs yelling "adulterer!" to drop their stones. She has not. She is counting on the lowest common demoninator to vote for her.
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Activist
The notion of someone with deep pockets bankrolling your election in parallel to your own efforts must have seemed like a dream come true for Barbara Kavanaugh. I don't fault her for giving an enthusiastic nod to a group of politically savvy political junkies the go ahead to sing her praises and advance her candidacy. HOWEVER, Barbara is not a babe in the woods. She knows which people have sleazy reputations, who fights dirty, and those who don't. Giving her consent to bankroll and mount a parallel campaign has so tarnished her reputation, I don't think she'll ever recover. Her guise at taking the high road with clean hands is really nauseating and totally transparent. CaptVon Trapp is right. She could have told them to stop, she could have said that they were wrong, she could have done a whole lot of things to bring an end to the scurrilous venom spewing from her deep pocket friends' mouths, but didn't. Barbara, you have defeated yourself. Even if you win the election, the level of respect for you is lower than what have for your deep pocket friends.
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hodgepodge
... please; my sympathy goes out to the young kids gunned down on the east and far west side; not Hoyt's kids. also, and as many of us know, the allegations against Hoyt are far grosser than actually reported. what did you all expect from a former bartender with no work/political experience?
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jibo
What people fail to ask is why did Barbara decide to stab a former close ally like Sam in the back to begin with. But then again when you remember that Babs is also a chosen member of the Mayor Erkel, oops I mean Brown group it seem logical. It seems that ever since Sam considered a run at the Mayor's office the blood between the "UM" "UM Mayor and Hoyt has been not very good.
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NewBuffalo
what else do politicians have to do? FIX Buffalo/WNY? Of course not. After all they are elected to SERVE the people right? Career politicians need to go!
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buckygoldstein
The election results from yesterday are disgusting. The same slobs winning. Nothing ever changes in Buffalo. It never will.
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CaptVonTrapp
Bucky... Don't like who gets elected? Then run yourself. Truly.
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Auburner
Regarding the Hoyt victory, Tom Gallisano was the laughing stock of the state. In his quest to become Governor he was known to pick people off the streets of NYC who "fit the ethnic part" he was trying to reach out to; Irish, Italian, African American, Latino. He (his carny croneys) would offer cash in the form of up to $500 and hand them a script. I know this for a fact as I have two friends who were approached, one who took him up on it and the other who had no idea as to who he was so he declined but both who did not know who this guy was. The fact is, Gallisano tried to buy endorsements of the common man who had no idea as to who the hell he was.
He is an ego meniacal, of the worst kind. A cheat and a wanna be. If he were so upstanding and upset about Albany, why does he not start in the Assembly or Senate to learn Government and work his way up? Why? because he knows nothing about the art of compromise to get things done! He has clearly no clue as to how government works, that is clear. He thinks his word is God and behaves like an autocratic rich kid who does not have to guts to work his way up. He may run his company in any way he chooses but if he practices the politics of destruction without the guts to put his fat ass on the line, that is another.
Steve Pigeon; see above.
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