There was high expectation and talk that debating Addie Jenne Russell's would be her strength and Bobby Cantwell's weakness, neither was proven true last night at the debate held at the Northside Improvement League and hosted American Association of University Women.
Both candidates addressed the issues with cursory answers and Addie Jenne Russell even ventured well beyond local and state issues a couple of times with her answers and began talking about foreign oil issues and buying American made products not exactly answers that would rivet a voter to pull her lever for a State Assembly representative.
Write in candidate Donald Lucas of the Waddington / Massena area provided the levity for the evening by being very candid and stating he lost his speech for his opening remarks and that he would most likely agree with both of the candidates and when asked about top three budget cuts he replied "I can't think of three."
Issues covered included budget cuts, school aid, jobs and lower taxes.
It was interesting to note Addie Jenne Russell's response to the state budget woes and her suggestion of cuts included consolidation of local government and "quasi-government" agencies and she seemed to downplay or flippant about the budget crisis by saying there have been worse times than we currently are in. Addie mentioned in one form or another her version of income redistribution which is toeing the Assembly majority line of raising taxes on higher income individuals.
Bobby Cantwell held his own tonight and stuck to his campaign message that government is spending and taxing too much and cannot tax their way out of problems. He offered up consolidation of state agencies such as the Thruway Authority, DOT and Canal Corporation as an example of reducing government cost.
There was no winner of the debate, which may even be a victory for Cantwell.
"A government big enough to give you everything you want,
is big enough to take away everything you have"
Thomas Jefferson
7 comments:
Good take on the debate. The only thing you failed to mention is Cantwell still stumbled through his speaches and even stated he was drawing blanks even though he was the only candidate reading directly off paper.
With Cantwell the points are there, he's passionate, and whoops maybe he stumbles, that makes him more like me than any other candidate (he's not a typical politician or a B.S.'r, whichever term you want to use).
I'd rather have a person with the right ideas who stumbles on words than one that says: We've had harder times than this, so we have to suck it up and deal. That is what I got from Ms. Russell last night.
With almost all State government being controlled by NYC politicians and NYC dems funding Ms. Russell's are we surprised she is saying things are ok and we shouldn't be looking for help from Albany? No one up here wants a handout; but NYC shouldn't get one either. All our tax money goes down there. Why can't the state help us a little with economic development?
The last thing we need is another politician up here controlled by NYC. We need Bobby in the Assembly to fight for us!
HAHA, lets be honest, you think Bobby is going to be able to do anything if he is elected. The system is broken and flawed, yes it absolutely is, but you have you have the be in the majority to deliver, if Bobby gets elected the N.C. would get NOTHING. I know its total B.S. that things are the way they are, but if he is elected we are really really screwed becuase unlike the Senate that could flip either way, the Assembly will always remain a dominant Democratic majority. For this reason and this reason alone I am voting for Mrs. Russell, because she will be way way way more effective at delivering for the N.C.
I think it is pretty obvious that Ms. Russell has received a ton of money from downstate; how much of an independant thinker is she going to be?
Cantwell is the one NNY needs...Not a lawyer who dresses down in her commercial trying to convince us that she feels our pain.
Check out the letter about Bobby Cantwell in the 10/13 Watertown Times.
You mean the article written by Bobby's campaign advisor Carry Brick? How desperate are you when you have your own campaign advisor writting letters to the editor stating how great of a leader you will be.
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