Well this may be the first time, in recent history, that the dems will only have ONE line this year. Their own! This couldn't have come at a better time. Cause if the conservs can pull off a reform to the party, you won't be seeing a current dem on the conserv line in the voting booth. The dems are going to have to make it on their own this year.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Recent accusations that Joe Salamone’s Assembly campaign is a GOP-orchestrated conspiracy are untrue [July 17 Gazette]. As Joe’s brother, I view these attacks as a personal insult to not only our family, but to all members of the Working Families Party in the 105th Assembly District. As a member of the Mohonasen Board of Education, Joe is uniquely qualified to tackle the current fiscal crisis facing the state. He sees firsthand the detrimental effect of high property taxes on working families and the elderly. However, he also understands the necessity of providing communities with well-funded schools. The idea that the Democratic political machine is attempting to torpedo this grass-roots effort to bring real discussion on the issues, rather than the usual political rhetoric, is upsetting. The Democrats are accusing Joe of hijacking the party of which he has been a lifelong member. It’s no coincidence that these accusations are coming from highranking Democratic officials. The reality is that the Democratic Party is attempting to hijack the Working Families Party, and in the process give the voters fewer choices. Rest assured, Joe will continue to fight for the concerns of working families throughout the 105th Assembly District. FRANK S. SALAMONE Rotterdam
George Amedore, an incumbent Republican running for re-election in the 105th Assembly District, raised more than $17,000 and ended with more than $41,000 in the bank. He will fight to keep the seat, formerly held by Democratic Assemblyman Paul Tonko. His opponent, Democrat Mark Blanchfield, ended the cycle with $20,521.38 in the bank, after raising about $20,000 and loaning himself $12,000 and transfering $10,000 from the account that funded his Schenectady City Council campaigns.
Quoted from bumblethru: ... Don't ya just love the unbiased gazette? They failed to mention exactly 'who' or 'what party' has been collecting petitions for the conservs...Why the dems, of course.
Bumble,
You are correct that the Democrats have been collecting signatures on the Designating Petitions of those candidates who are supported by those who currently control the Conservative party. In contrast, the petitions for candidates who are supported by those associated with the reform of the party were collected and witnessed by registered Conservatives. As one of many who collected petitions in 120+ electoral districts throughout the county, I will tell you that the true conservatives enrolled in the party are disgusted and infuriated by the manner in which the party has been run in recent years. Many traditional Conservatives expressed anger about the endorsements of liberal candidates and the infiltration of the party by those forces who are using the power and influence of the party to advance their special interests rather than to promote our political ideology. I sense that positive change is inevitable.
To Joe Salamone, though I believe that our parties' ideologies and positions are diametrically opposed on many issues, I respect your conviction to your beliefs. I encourage you to continue your fight to take back your party from those who have infilitrated its ranks. If you research the party membership levels during the past 5 years, you will no doubt find a considerable influx of individuals who changed their enrollments to the Working Families Party. I believe that many of those were formerly registered members of the Conservative party who, upon losing control of the party and the ability to advance their special interests, changed their enrollments to the WF party in an organized effort to wrest control of another (a different) ballot line.
The 2008 New York State Voter Enrollment by County, Party Affiliation and Status is available at the link below:
I am beginning to leane towards voting for Mr Salamoan depending on if he wants to throw our meterolplex money away by the bucket like the other 2 do. I love Georgie Amedore but his sellout on the metroplex makes me angrier each passing day over here, my friends. He had no need to sellout the convictions he supoosedly ran under over here in rotterdam last summer, of which I must admit here my friends I was as enthusiastic as th enext guy when he did indeed fight the taxes. But then he did bail on us overe there when the developers like Ga_esi Gro_p and such and such and that wanted him to give them the extra 50 years around our necks like a yoke of oxen. Even my old and reliable friend Jimmy T was caving a little. So I hold my fire until I can think straight but if indeed this audit comes back bad {on Metrop.} my friend, I assure you all I will register my loudest protest on election day when I do go and vote for Joe Salamoan.
Assembly candidate said he was forced to leave law firm Wednesday, July 23, 2008 By Michael Lamendola (Contact) Gazette Reporter
SCHENECTADY — For six years, attorney Mark Blanchfield served on the Schenectady City Council and worked for the law firm of Hiscock & Barclay in Albany without issue. He believed the status quo would remain when he decided to run as a Democrat in the 105th state Assembly District against Republican incumbent George Amedore Jr. He was wrong. Blanchfield said the law firm told him in May he either had to quit the race or resign his position. He resigned in June. Blanchfield and his Democratic supporters link the law firm’s ultimatum to the influence of Republican forces, including Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, R-Schenectady. Amedore is Tedisco’s chosen candidate and he and state Republicans have much riding on the assemblyman’s re-election campaign. Republicans deny they played a role in the matter, and Hiscock & Barclay Managing Director Thomas J. O’Connor said, “as a general rule, our employees can’t have outside employment without seeking permission.” O’Connor said Blanchfield is welcome back any time, calling him a good lawyer and close friend. Blanchfield said he viewed the firm’s outside-employment rule as inconsistent, especially considering that two other attorneys with the firm, Neil Breslin and William Barclay, hold public office. Breslin is a Democratic state senator from Albany and Barclay is a Republican assemblyman in the 124th District in central New York. Both are seeking re-election this year. The law firm has some 200 lawyers and offices throughout the state. Barclay also unsuccessfully sought, with the firm’s approval, the 48th Senate district seat earlier this year. O’Connor said Blanchfield’s application went before the law firm’s management committee and was not approved. He said Barclay is not a member of the committee, even though he is a partner in the firm, and that the policy applies equally to all employees, even Barclay.
Right now Amedore appears to be the best candidate. I was disappointed in the way he and Tedisco handled the entire Metroplex deal. My take on that, is that the reps want to keep the plex going in hopes they will one day gain control of it.
As far as Salamone, I am pleased that the WFP is putting 'their own' on the ballot. But their ideology is almost lock step with the dems. So as far as ideology is concerned...they are one in the same.
Although they ALL know how to tax and spend!!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
105TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT Candidate forced to leave job, he says Democrat claims employer, GOP issued ultimatum BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
For six years, attorney Mark Blanchfi eld served on the Schenectady City Council and worked for the law firm of Hiscock & Barclay in Albany without issue.
He believed the status quo would remain when he decided to run as a Democrat in the 105th state Assembly District against Republican incumbent George Amedore Jr. He was wrong. Blanchfield said the law firm told him in May he either had to quit the race or resign his position. He resigned in June. Blanchfield and his Democratic supporters link the law firm’s ultimatum to the influence of Republican forces, including Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, R-Schenectady. Amedore is Tedisco’s chosen candidate and he and state Republicans have much prestige riding on the assemblyman’s re-election campaign. Republicans deny they played a role in the matter. Hiscock & Barclay Managing Director Thomas J. O’Connor said, “as a general rule, our employees can’t have outside employment without seeking permission.” O’Connor said Blanchfield is welcome back any time, calling him a good lawyer and close friend. Blanchfield said, however, “No one has ever explained to me adequately what the principle was as to why I could not run. It clearly has nothing to do with the quality of my work or my ethics.” Blanchfield had been with Hiscock & Barclay since 2003. He was first elected to the City Council in 2001 and ran for re-election in 2005 without objection from the law firm, he said. When Blanchfield told the fi rm in March he planned to run for Assembly, he said the response from Managing Partner John P. Langan was that it appeared to be OK. In May he learned otherwise, but by then it was too late to withdraw from the race, he said. “I had already taken steps to secure the party’s nomination. I decided to keep my commitment to the party and to the people who supported me to run for this position,” Blanchfield said. Blanchfield, 41, who defends people in civil suits, is trying to build his own law practice. “I am a just a hard-working lawyer trying to support my family and serve my community at same time,” he said. He is married, lives in Schenectady and has two children. He served for three years as City Council president and is currently chairman of the council’s finance committee. He said, however, he viewed the firm’s outside-employment rule as inconsistent, especially considering that two other attorneys with the firm, Neil Breslin and William Barclay, hold public office. Breslin is a Democratic state senator from Albany and Barclay is a Republican assemblyman in the 124th District in central New York. Both are seeking re-election this year. The law firm has approximately 200 lawyers and offices throughout the state. Barclay also unsuccessfully sought, with the firm’s approval, the 48th Senate district seat earlier this year. He lost in the special election in February. O’Connor said Blanchfield’s application went before the law fi rm’s management committee and was not approved. He said Barclay is not a member of the committee, even though he is a partner in the fi rm, and that the policy applies equally to all employees, even Barclay. Barclay also serves as co-chairman of the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee. RACC is a political committee that supports Republican candidates for Assembly. It ran Amedore’s campaign last year and will fully support his campaign this year, said Josh Fitzpatrick, RACC spokesman. Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, R-Schenectady, appointed Barclay to chair RACC. Tedisco also recruited Amedore to run for Assembly when Paul Tonko, DAmsterdam, retired in 2006. Brian Quail, chairman of the Schenectady County Democratic Committee, said he sees more than coincidence between Blanchfield being forced to decide between his job and a run for Assembly and the connection involving Amedore, Barclay and Tedisco. “I think people can connect the dots,” he said. But Tedisco and Amedore said there was no conspiracy to use Barclay’s connections in the fi rm to try to get Blanchfield off the ballot. “I think that’s a very large leap,” Tedisco said Wednesday. “One guy in a law firm can make that decision? Don’t you think that’s a large leap? We have nothing to do with it, and I have nothing to do with that law firm.” He said Democrats are raising the controversy to avoid debating issues during the campaign. “They’re running away from a very bad record,” Tedisco said. Amedore said that he has no objection to Blanchfield running for the Assembly seat. “Listen, this is a democracy. We can have Blanchfield or whoever,” he said. “Last time it was [Ed] Kosiur. If I win this time, in two years it will be someone else. This is the way our system works.” He added that he knew nothing about Blanchfield’s resignation from Hiscock & Barclay. “This is the first time I’m hearing about it,” he said. “To ‘connect the dots’ or what have you, I think it’s ridiculous. I can’t speak for the fi rm, but I know one thing of the firm. It’s a huge firm.” Barclay referred comments to the law fi rm.
Maybe Blanchfield is just a lousy lawyer and the law firm got rid of him or maybe he's just looking for a way to give the Dems more power to raise our taxes. Just maybe the law firm was afraid if he was elected he wouldn't be able to do his job if he were elected.
I dunno, but I'm really getting tired of hearing him whining about this. He had a choice ... the real world is full of choices. He chose the one he wanted more. End of story. Get over it Blanchfield.
Oh not to worry there Mr. Blanchfield. I'm sure Suzie can create a taxpaid job for you somewhere in the dictatorship.
Mr. Mark Blanchfield is probably one of the most arrogant folks I've seen in quite some time.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
I was thinking that this man here is hurting his future career. Think about when he looses the position and he then gets the big job like Kosiur. Next he is out of that and wants to go to the big job over there in some other big lawyer outfit. Who wants to hire a big wheel lawyer that blabbs against his former bosses like this? Maddone! Front page news to boot, now every firm say to themselves- we wont hire a guy like this who if he leaves or gets fired is ever gonna make us look bad on the front page of the paper. We aren't talking a janitor or cleark at the Cumberland farms shop. This here is discreet stuff and being a PROFESSIONAL man making the moolah. Foolish for the man who is supposed to have the statuse and the judgement to be a big cheese. This makes me want to see him out and makes sure he is not gonna become our representative. Maybe I save the vote I was giving Salamona and give it back to my old friend georgie and hopes he go straight again for us
The ACLU will pick him up I'm sure......not to mention some politicos personal needs(although in NYS the politicos personal needs are woven tightly with their public needs).....
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
By LAUREN STANFORTH, Staff writer Wednesday, July 30, 2008
ROTTERDAM - State Assemblyman Republican George Amedore officially announced his re-election campaign this morning, anticipating his fight this year won't be at the level of last year's 30-day contentious race to take Paul Tonko's seat.
"I have a very aggressive plan," said Amedore standing among about 40 family, friends and supporters on the lawn of Rotterdam Town Hall.
The 39-year-old home builder is being challenged this year for the 105th Assembly seat by Democrat Mark Blanchfield, 41, a Schenectady City Council member and attorney. However, "the voters might not see my face in their mailbox every day like they did last summer," Amedore said.
Political newcomer Amedore won a surprise in the Democrat-heavy district last year against Edward Kosiur. The two spent about $950,000 combined in their campaigns for Tonko's seat.
The latest campaign finance reports show Amedore had $41,276 in his coffers, compared with Blanchfield's $20,521.
Blanchfield and Joseph Salamone, 21, a University at Albany student and Mohonasen Board of Education member, face off Sept. 9 in a Working Families primary. Blanchfield also has the Independence line. Amedore has the Conservative line.
Logged
