Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. – David Brent
Well, yesterday was interesting.
One of the things I hear a lot lately has to do with Jon Powers’ campaign’s raising of money and subsequent spending of same. Where did the money go is the common refrain. He’s not on the air, he’s not doing mailings, he’s raised money from wealthy donors outside the district, and even *gasp* a strip club owner. These accusations have their genesis in the desperate-but-wealthy sense of entitlement that is the Jack Davis campaign.
If one cuts through the flak, one thing is clear: Jack Davis is finding little support from the people of the district; from the regular prime Dems who actually bother to go out and become that sub-30% of people registered in the party who actually vote in primaries.
That’s why Powers has been hit in the past few weeks with a barrage of unfriendly fire from everything mentioned above, and now the attacks center around War Kids Relief, the charity that Powers created upon his return from fighting in Iraq. The only thing missing so far is a wholesale attack on Powers’ record as an Army Captain. I have no doubt that Davis and his people are digging.
What all of this hubbub indicates is that it’s Powers’ race to lose.
If Powers was getting no traction, Davis would be paying him no mind. If Davis was out front, he’d simply rely on his lame jingles, patent hatred and fearmongering of immigrants, “free trade”, and the other bumper stickers on which he’s running.
Davis’ media strategist, Erick Mullen (who hasn’t returned repeated emails or calls from WNYMedia.net), did deign to grant an interview to Matt Margolis at the Buffalo Bean. Robert Harding from the Albany Project has responses to that interview here. Mullen’s email replies to Margolis add nothing whatsoever to what he wrote at the Batavian late last week, and fails completely to address or defend the patently indefensible way in which Davis is presenting his negative information.
The funniest part of it, to me, is Mullen/Davis’ criticism of Powers for spending money on “outside consultants” when Mullen’s own shop is in Washington, DC.
The other attacks have to do with the claims of a jilted pro-life Democrat in Amherst who complained to Joe Illuzzi about whether Powers was pro-choice or pro-life, and statistical arguments over how much Powers raised from lobbyists, PACs or individuals. The average voter is hardly paying a stitch of attention to any of that, and the number of average voters who go to Illuzzi probably reaches the double digits.
Yesterday, Bob McCarthy ran a story assailing Powers’ work with War Kids Relief. It’s a damning indictment of Powers, whom McCarthy accuses of taking a sizeable salary from the group over the past 18 months. While the Davis campaign is making political hay of this, Powers defends it:
He recalls how the relationship of soldiers and civilians deteriorated rapidly as the American occupation wore on, to the point where one young Iraqi was recruited to attack U. S. soldiers for a pack of cigarettes.
His “darkest day” in Iraq, Powers said, was when a nun warned him outside an orphanage that its residents would be killed by insurgents if they were recipients of U. S. aid.
By the time he came home and hooked up with the Vietnam Veterans of America, he said, he was committed to altering U. S. foreign policy to help Iraq’s street kids.
“Billions of dollars were being spent on reconstruction,” he said, “but nothing on youth development in a country where 40 percent of the population is under the age of 14.”
In June of 2005, Powers started War Kids Relief as a program of Vietnam Veterans of America. He worked for the veterans group, raised $14,000 at a Clarence picnic, returned to the war zone and began lobbying officials for programs centered around the network of youth centers left over from the era of dictator Saddam Hussein.
Powers set out to persuade Congress to fund as much as $7 million for Iraqi youth, with the idea that youths engaged in soccer or cleanup and maintenance programs — maybe even being paid for it — would be steered from the clutches of radicals recruiting them for violence against American troops. “The whole purpose was to help them help themselves,” he said.
Indeed, Powers’ efforts began attracting attention. “NBC Nightly News” featured his efforts as part of its “Making a Difference” series. Other stories aired on CNN and ABC.
In what amounted to the program’s most important thrust, Democratic Sens. Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry of Massachusetts sought $1 million in 2007 for a Youth Center and Work Study Program that would be administered by Iraq’s Ministry of Youth and Sports, with oversight provided by War Kids Relief.
But Congress’ rejection of the program spelled the beginning of the end for War Kids Relief. By June 2007, Powers announced his candidacy for the seat now held by the retiring Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds, R-Clarence. His time with the Vietnam Veterans of America was also ending…
…[Powers] said that while others complained about conditions in Iraq, he did something about them. He said his efforts resulted in the State Department’s creating a position for youth development, while raising consciousness about the plight of Iraqi youth.
Powers offers no apologies for his efforts: “I’m proud of War Kids.”
In his corresponding blog posting, McCarthy asks whether the issue is a noble failure or resume padding. I think it’s the former. I don’t think that anyone can question Powers’ motives here, and it’s quite clear that the intent of War Kids was never able to be realized due to congressional inaction. Even McCarthy’s article acknowledges that. When that happened, Powers decides to run for congress himself, and he transferred responsibility for War Kids to others.
But anyone who reads through Powers’ blog postings from when he started War Kids can see that his heart was in the right place and he really wanted to help these kids.
When Jack Davis peddles Roveian stories against Powers that attack his strengths, the campaign needs to address it with a rapid and specific response. Why didn’t I post about this yesterday? Because I don’t know what the response is and they do. The Powers campaign obviously defended the purpose and works of War Kids in the article, and on their website they compiled past stories about War Kids.
I spoke with Powers yesterday and he assured me that the money he was paid was significantly less than what McCarthy cited in the article, but I haven’t received any confirmation of that yet. As soon as I do, I’ll post it. I don’t like being in this position. The campaign should not have been taken by surprised by this, and the response should have been out there essentially at the same time as McCarthy’s article. They can’t ignore stuff and hope it’ll go away. Oh, so let me remind you:
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Davis and his campaign have taken the gloves off, and I think up until now, Powers’ campaign has brought a knife to a gun fight. Exxon Jack stuff isn’t going to earn votes. Releasing the negative oil stock information at the same time as Powers’ energy plan dulled the impact of what I think is a great, forward-thinking set of ideas. Whether Davis’ people futzed with petitions is embarrassing, but won’t earn anyone any votes. I do think the payments to IP wives is a big deal – not only from a micro perspective with respect to the Davis campaign’s incessant vote-buying, but also from a macro perspective showing the patent patronage and corruption that electoral fusion brings.
Many have criticized me and the Powers campaign for failing to post positive items that present ideas Powers has for the future. That stuff is coming, and nothing has shaken my belief that Powers is the best candidate in the 26th from any party. I’m also sure that the campaign will be getting Jon out there to meet voters and do and say newsworthy things. When Jon Powers the candidate is a generic name you’ve heard of, you may not be compelled to vote for him. When you see him and hear him speak, you are.
War Kids? Jon Powers was a twentysomething war vet who saw Iraqi children being used and recruited by the bad guys, and he set out to help. Thanks to his efforts, the US is now paying attention to these kids. That is a success. When I get the details of the salary issue, I’ll post them. In the meantime, feel free to rip all and sundry a new one in comments.
Photo credit: Michael Parks
The Buffalo Record 
Jonny Powers has been in this race longer than anyone. He started putting this thing together well over a year ago. There’s one month left in the primary and you and the campaign are still saying that positive stories are coming and Jonny will eventually get out there and start doing newsworthy things? That’s ridiculous. This campaign seems to be horribly mismanaged. We were talking about this same thing 3 or 4 months ago and nothing has changed for the good for Jonny.
You’re absolutely right, the campaign should have responded to yesterday’s article immediately. In fact, after talking to McCarthy for the article they should have known this was coming and tried to get out in front of it. This is very damning and it’s going to be very difficult to recover from these charges. Having had little positive exposure up to this point makes it even more difficult for him to dig out of this.
Even if his effort was a noble failure it does not bode well for a run for Congress. Running a charity into the ground and allegedly taking a large percentage of the donations for your own salary is not a good platform to run from. Saying that Congressional funding was the only potential source of capital for this venture is not a very good defense either.
I do not think you can say that at this point this is still Jonny’s election to lose. That may have been true 5 or 6 months ago, but now it looks like Jonny and his people have done everything they could to lose.
I think very little of this is originating from the Jack Davis people and there is no conspiracy against Jonny. Where did all the money go is a legitimate question, not desperation. Questioning the source of his election funds is a legitimate question. It’s always been an issue to voters that care, especially when people are increasingly concerned with the level of influence lobbyists and special interests have. That’s not a creation of Jack Davis and it goes well beyond the 26th District of New York.
Your boy is in serious trouble of losing this primary. If he can get lucky and play the numbers right to win this primary (because a primary is really just about playing the numbers and getting your people out) I cannot see how Jonny can have a real chance against Chris Lee or any Republican in this District for that matter. It looks like the Jonny Powers for Congress campaign has been EPIC FAIL.
i would respectfully disagree, pundit. i would indeed question his motives. and I wouldn’t call it resume padding, either.
the $77,000 paid himself out of the $140,000 or so he collected from people who thought they were donating money to children in war-torn iraq should be the subject of an fbi investigation.
even putting the best light possible on it, he exttracted an “administrative fee” of well over 50 percent of the total take!
the people who donated the $140,000 that powers “charity” raised did not do so with the thought that it would be used primarily to fund the powers for congress campaign.
in fact, the msnbc story you reference (11/17/05) said he was actually “building orphanages” in iraq at that time!
wonder where they got that idea?
as far as mccarthy was able to determine, that $140,000 bought the children of iraq a few soccer balls and some backpacks filled with crayons and pencils. a couple of hundred bucks worth of stuff that was probably donated as well.
the $77,000 he paid himself is, quite likely, far more than many of his constituents made by actually working during the same period. running for office, it seems, can be very lucrative.
the source of jack davis’s money is a successful business that he built himself from the ground up.
the source of chris lee’s money is that he apparently won the gene pool.
pundit has bitterly criticized both of these approaches to personal wealth but now seems to be endorsing the requisitioning of money meant for iraqi orphans as a funding source, just as he endorsed the completely unethical use of campaign contributions by powers to pay his own rent and other bills.
running for office is not supposed to be a career choice.
the ironic thing is that, on the same day bob mccarthy’s fine piece of journalism appeared, another seedy sttory emerged from the powers campaign. one of his strongest backers — the disgraced niagara county democratic chairman dan rivera — decided to go after davis because some petitions circulated on his behalf appeared questionable. in fact, rivera called for criminal prosecution in the case.
as people in niagara falls well know, rivera is the poster boy for the kind of slimy politics that have helped ruin western new york. two years ago, when gary parenti ran a primary against the awful state rep. francine delmonte, rivera used his position as an insurance investigator to illegally dig up dirt on parenti, some of it going back to when he was a minor.
parenti subsequently sued the insurance company, which then fired rivera. parenti won in court and collected a large settlement, and rivera then went to work for buffalo attorney marc panapinto, best known for his work as an “organizer” for laborers local 210 in buffalo back in throughout the 1990s.
nice playmates your candidate has,pundit.
Point-
Mullen’s firm may be in DC, but he’s locally born and bred. My work last year with Jim Keane brought me in passing contact with him, and I think I was told he’s from West Seneca, but if its not that, it was definitely somewhere in the first ring suburbs.
mike hudson-
Rivera called for prosecution of davis’s petitioners, not Davis.
If we arrested every candidate for whom a petitioner committed fraud, we’d probably have to arrest every candidate.
I’ve vetted petitions for campaigns before, its mind-boggling some of the stuff people think is OK to hand in: People just writing names form the walksheets in order, people circle signing, people gathering signatures after they’ve signed the bottom, people signing for their families, etc.
When I vet(“scrub”) petitions, we throw anything that is obviously fraudulent into a garbage pile, because no one should go to jail to get someone on the ballot, that’s just stupid.
If I miss a page, though, it’s the petitioners responsibility – they broke the law, not me, and not the candidate.
The big picture shows Powers being caught paying his rent from campaign funds and extracting a large salary from a failed charitable program. He blames the failure on Congressional inaction. At best, Powers is just another dyed in the wool tax and spend democrat who refuses to accept responsibility for his own actions and failures. The more we hear from Powers, the more we realize he is just another politician putting self-interest ahead of the public good.
adam k….thanks for the instruction. except i never ever ever said that the slimeball rivera was calling for davis’s prosecution.
what i said was that he was “going after” davis, which he clearly was, and which his his sleazy standard m.o. dan rivera is a bottom feeder even amogn political types in western new york, which is saying a lot.
nice job trying to distract from the issue, which is what rivera was trying to do when he released his charges to coincide with mccarthy’s great piece about powers running on the backs of orphaned itraqi children.
sorry folks. my mind-finger coordination seems to be a bit off this morning.
Erick Mullen is an old Schumer acolyte and he knows how to play dirty and run a campaign. Perhaps Jon should have hired him instead of Jack Davis campaign retreads.
great post geek but a little late. there’s a month to go in the campaign. there were plenty of reasons not to vote for powers before –him being 30 years old and never holding down a full-time job except for the one year he spent in iraq, for example. but he’ll not recover from this no matter what he does now.
and even if jack davis should die of a heart attack on sept.8, it would only postpone the inevitable. chris lee will win tom reynolds’ congressional seat in november.
the question now becomes; what in the hell did powers do with the $900,000? i haven’t seen one tv spot, and i watch tv all the time.
another question one might ask is what in the hell did they do to the democratic party? in new york, the most liberal of states, obama lost to clinton by nearly 40 points in niagara county. nationally, he’s barely keeping his head above water (44%), with most polls showing him to be statistically tied with the befuddled john mccain, even though mccain is weighted down with both the onset of alzheimer’s and the gop/bush mantle.
this year’s elections should have been a blowout for the dems. instead it will be another nailbiter.
did you see olbermann stopped having dana milbank on his show after milbank offended the church of scientology, uh, i mean the obama campaign by suggesting that the candidate might be getting a little bit too full of himself? milbank took a job with cnn, a news organization not tied to lefty orthodoxy.
barack obama: pro-hopes, also supports dreams.
THIS JUST IN!!!!!!!!
POWERS CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCES WOMEN FOR POWERS
WILLIAMSVILLE, NY – The Powers for Congress Campaign is pleased to announce the formation Women for Powers.
As a dedicated group of volunteers, Women for Powers works tirelessly to help elect Jon by calling other women voters, knocking on doors, and introducing Jon and his campaign to their friends and neighbors.
“I am supporting Jon because he knows the needs of Western New York and the changes that need to take place,” said Molly Ciocca, Chairwoman of Women for Powers. “He’s the one that can get us there.”
“I am thrilled to have the support of everyone involved in Women for Powers,” said Powers. “These ladies are community leaders, professionals and tireless advocates for a safer and stronger Western New York. They have been integral to the success of our grassroots campaign. I value their friendship and support.”
THAT REALLY IS A POWERS PRESS RELEASE. I SWEAR TO GOD.
Great point by whoever commented that Powers has been running for this office for over a year and is just now getting to putting up positive items and ideas for the future. What exactly has he been waiting for?
I have no idea if the War Kids program was resume padding or an honest effort. It really doesn’t matter, though, either way he wanted the program to be successful. The fact that it failed is the important part. Powers’ resume is pretty thin. When the only major initiative he was in charge of fails, it wouldn’t seem to instill a lot of confidence that he can get things done in the future.
BP-
I’m with Powers as well. Two years ago I road with Judge Drury on a float in the Oatka Festival parade as part of Drury’s campaign for State Supreme Court.
The float consisted of a flat bed trailer hitched to an old tractor. The judge was perched in his wheelchair atop the flatbed amid several other Democratic candidates for various offices in the district. Jack Davis, then in the middle of his second campaign for U.S. Congress, was immediately behind our float in a highly polished vintage Excalibur. He had a microphone attached to a P.A. system through which he spoke to the parade watchers who were lined four deep on each side of the street. It was reminscient of Jake and Ellwood in the Blues Brothers. After the parade, the tractor was pulling us back toward the starting line along hilly country roads which carved through endless rows of corn in the middle of nowhere—ahem, I mean, in the middle of a very rural area. Naturally, the tractor died, the sky grew dark and it began to pour. We were still about a mile from shelter. We decided to “hoof it”, and as I was pushing the judge up a rather steep hill (which was followed by an even more treacherous downhill) Jack Davis drove right by us in his Excalibur. He beeped, he waved, he chuckled to himself and then he kept right on going. Nice guy.
whoops—I rode with Judge Drury.
one time jack davis dropped some gum on the sidewalk and i stepped in it. nice guy. at least i think it was jack davis’s gum. anyway, isn’t that a good reason to vote for powers?
I was on that tractor with you, Peter. I walked back to our staging area before the breakdown and waited, worried and wondered what had happened. It was a very muggy, hot day, (if I remember it correctly) and I was particularly worried about Judge Drury. After you returned pushing Judge Drury back (I would say close to a mile with storm clouds threatening), I jumped into the Judge’s car because he offered to help me get back to the wagon so that I could pick up all of our signs and decorations. Jack Davis was long gone by that time — back to his hideout in Akron (or wherever).
This is an interesting event that I had forgotten, but it gives a very telling tale of just who Jack Davis is. It never crossed his mind to stop and help. I can easily speculate had Jon Powers been there that day what he would have done in those same circumstances and it wouldn’t have been driving off and leaving people stranded.
The contrast between these two candidates couldn’t be any bolder. Jon is someone that when he sees people in need whether it’s Iraqi children or a cleanup crew sprucing up a neighborhood in Batavia, it’s just natural for him to want to do something to make a difference. Jack Davis waves and drives away in his Rolls.
Bob McCarthy has successfully ended the Powers campaign. Powers just can’t escape the truth.
I can’t wait to see the War Kids Relief filings on August 15th!
This anecdotal nonsense about the cars, tractors, and judges in wheelchairs is totally irrelevant. We have no way to verify your claims and even then, what does it matter?
Perhaps Jack was on his way to help another wheelchair bound person get to the pound and nurse sick puppies.
Is Powers running an effective campaign? No. If he was, none of this would be an issue and reliance on this emotional crap of “surely Jon would have helped the handicapped judge” is prima facie evidence that his campaign is wholly “f’d in the a”.
For fucks sake…
sorry fellas, but jon powers left the iraqi orphans he’d promised to help as high and dry as your judge drury while scrambling to fund what has become a two-year campaign for congress.
powers requisitions $77,000 meant for iraqi war orphans = GREAT GUY!!!!
davis fails to help some stranger by the side of the road one day two years ago = LOATHSOME SCUMBAG!!!!!!
sure. i see where you’re coming from on that.
Wow, I had no idea how desperate Jonny’s supporters have gotten. This is really laughable. Maybe you guys should make a commercial out of this.
lorie, I have to wonder if Jonny was in the same position and he did give the judge a ride, would he make the judge pay $300 to cover his car payment for that month?
he didn’t get the money in one money did he? the article did put that 77 K at almost 2 years right?
how much do you guys make in a year? how much did you give to charity or donate your time to charity? did any of you travel to Iraq on your salary? or travel to New Orleans for that matter?
no wonder people don’t want to do any good for anyone else in the country anymore it’s full of assholes like you people
For the record, Judge Drury uses a wheelchair. Just in case anyone didn’t know.
Frustrated
pundit. how could we not know? poor ole judge drury’s wheelchair has been mentioned several times aso far. such as;
“The judge was perched in his wheelchair atop the flatbed amid several other Democratic candidates for various offices in the district.”
“This anecdotal nonsense about the cars, tractors, and judges in wheelchairs is totally irrelevant.”
“After you returned pushing Judge Drury back (I would say close to a mile with storm clouds threatening), I jumped into the Judge’s car because he offered to help me get back to the wagon so that I could pick up all of our signs and decorations.”
“We decided to “hoof it”, and as I was pushing the judge up a rather steep hill (which was followed by an even more treacherous downhill) Jack Davis drove right by us in his Excalibur.”
“Perhaps Jack was on his way to help another wheelchair bound person get to the pound and nurse sick puppies.”
i mean, we get the fucking point of this crackerbarrel observation, ok?
as for you, jackson smiles. yes. $77k is more than i make in 18 months. a person would have to make $51,500 annually to reach that figure in 18 months. as for my charitable work, i raised more than $30,000 for community missions here this past may, call them up and ask them. or read about it in the niagara falls reporter archives.
and guess what? i actually gave community missions the whole $30,000, not keeping more than half of it for myself in order to cover my administrative costs! it’s just something we do every year.
what a fucking sucker you must think me.
Jackson, that’s a lame excuse. You folks just keep getting lower and lower with your attempted defenses.
It was for 18 months (1.5 years) worth of pay and my salary has nothing to do with how much Jonny can syphon off a charity. If you really must know, I give 10% of my income to charity plus many hours of time. I would never give it to one that had around 50% of its donations going to adminstrative salaries. And I’m pretty confident that his travels to Iraq were covered by the charity, not his salary.
Doing good while attempting to profit from it is not the kind of charity workers we need to worry about losing. I’ve done good for people without putting it on my resume, looking for pay, or trying to use it as a springboard to run for office. Jonny made this an issue by attempting to use it to bolster his own position. The News was right to report on it because it’s at least shady and a little unethical to draw around 50% of a charity for your salary. Jonny Powers’ failure is much more relevant than my rate of pay.
The point is that Powers is getting dragged through the mud before the so called filings have even been released. There is great expense associated with the administration of any fund. From what I’ve read, Mr. Powers’ initiative was to raise 7 million for the innocent but forgotten casualties of an unjust war. Nice Guy!!!! The 77 thousand which Mr. Powers allegedly requisitioned is a mere 1.1% of 7 million. Go ask Unicef, the United Way, Goodwill or any not-for-profit corporation what percentage of its budget was originally allocated for start up expenses, postage, office equipment and supplies, legal fees, payroll, insurance, advertising, and the myriad other costs associated with starting up and sustaining a charitable fund. Unfortunately, Congress refused to assist Mr. Powers in cleaning up their mess, and the project had to be shelved. (Actually, the reins were handed over to a separate charitable foundation.) At any rate, Powers didn’t launch the venture for selfish reasons, and I’ll bet the filings will show that his salary, if any, was commensurate with the hours of thankless toil expended. No good deed goes unpunished, but we shouldn’t blame Jonathan Powers for trying. For fuck’s sake. Shouldn’t we be questioning the selfish agenda behind industrialist Jack Davis’ protectionist platform. What percentage of Jack Davis’ fortune is given to charity. What is there to suggest that Davis gives a rat’s ass about anyone but himself.(Please don’t refer to the money he spent buying gas (votes) for Akron motorists a couple weeks ago).
According to “Open Secrets”, Powers still has a considerable amount of cash on hand, which cash will presumably be spent on television spots as primary day nears–(a necessary evil). So–the money hasn’t gone anywhere.
Man, do I ever hope the public sees through the bs and elects a guy with heart, rather than some cranky old fake democrat millionaire paying political hit men to discredit the better candidate.
If the United Way, Goodwill or any other non-profit realized a budget that was only 2% of their targeted budget they’d be run out of town on a rail. If it came out that half of that 2% went to the boss’ salary, heads would roll.
This is a huge failure on account of Jonny. If the filing due in just over a week is going to show some marked difference from what the article says, Jonny should have been out with it before the article even hit the newstands. At the very least, he should have released some statement countering it by now. His future is at stake here. This is not Congress’ fault nor is it Jack Davis’. Jonny’s failure is Jonny’s failure, regardless of how much money Jack Davis has and what he chooses to do with it. Plenty of non-profits do just fine without being funded by Congress. Jonny shouldn’t have spent the money before he had it. His salary should not have been based on some pipe dream of $7MM he hoped to get handed from the taxpayers. Until that money was realized, he should have worked within the budget he had in hand.
This is a hugely wealthy but unelectable self-important jack-ass and his gang of droll pranksters slinging mud before measuring the facts.
Never did I think that a story about a wheel chair could be so funny.
Does Jack Davis own the Buffalo News? Does Bob McCarthy work for Jack Davis? Jonny Powers did this to himself. He’s the one that failed. There’d be no mud to sling if Jonny weren’t such a failure.
I’m no Jack Davis fan, but Davis is a little older than Powers, so while Powers was in Iraq, Davis was running a successful business. And I don’t think you can crap on Davis too much about this, since he served in the military, too.
From the Buffalo News article: “He acknowledged that the organization raised between $150,000 and $250,000 over the course of its existence, with a substantial percentage dedicated to his salary.” So Powers had a chance to refute the story, but didn’t. So it can’t be completely off base.
“Smithers, it appears that man in the wheelchair and the poor sap pushing him in this pouring rain is in need of some assistance. Do you think we should stop and help them?”
“That’s up to you sir.”
“Well then, if it’s my decision I say to keep going. The rain is good for him… it will help keep the tires on his wheelchair clean.”
“Good point sir.”
“I know Smithers, I know. Now hand me a fifty dollar bill so I can blow my nose and throw it at Peter Crotty so he can one day write about this experience on an Internet blog.”
Man, do I ever hope the public sees through the bs and elects a guy with heart, rather than some cranky old fake democrat millionaire paying political hit men to discredit the better candidate.
It’s not the charity, it’s the miserable excuse for a messaging operation that they are running over there that would lead me to not vote for him. Protestations to the contrary to “he’s got a heart” are totally empty. Where is an official statement from Jon on the salary issue? This is now nearly two full news cycles without any credible response or at least a “we’re not going to dignify this with a response’ statement.
Instead, he’s got volunteers out talking about what a sweet guy he is and how he would help guys in wheelchairs if the opportunity were to present itself. Who the fuck cares?
Also, Jack Davis is a cranky old dickbag but he’s no better or worse than Powers as far as I can tell. Why? Because the Powers campaign couldn’t be bothered to TELL ME MUCH ABOUT THEIR CANDIDATE OR THIS ISSUE! How about some press avails? How about some daily conference calls with the media? How about some position papers? How about some publicity events? How about some mailers, TV Commercials, or radio spots?
All I know about Jon to this point is that he has all the endorsements of people who don’t like Jack and he intends to “lead by example”. He is being outmaneuvered in every possible way by an old man who sits in an office all day and hates people. That does not speak highly of Jon’s leadership, personality or organizational skills.
No one cares about whether the pretend party “insiders” at The Albany Project or the rest of the co-opted “netroots” support Jon, I want to know what he stands for…besides the thought that he might help a wheelchair bound guy if the opportunity were to arise.
This campaign is a mess and with a year of lead time, they should be out in front of all of this shit, have a candidate with a defined message and brand and be able to rebut scurrilous accusations in a heartbeat. They should have worked the media and built connections, outlets for leaks, and built a communications organization. To not have done so tells me that this guy isn’t ready for prime time.
Finally, if I was driving around in my two seater $100K classic car and saw a guy in a wheelchair at the side of the road, I wouldn’t help him either. What was he gonna do? Tie a rope to the wheelchair and tow him somewhere? Chrissakes.
Jerri, the timeframe that Bob McCarthy was looking at for the $77,000 salary was not only 2007. At most, it would have only covered part of 2007, before Jonny announced his intention to run. The $15,000 Doug Turner mentions is part of the $77,000, but not all of it.
If he did not make $77,000, why did he not respond to The Buffalo News with that? Why has he not released any response to counter that allegation? Why would his campaign not point that out to BP, a friendly, when he asked? This is a very damning charge that could derail his entire campaign. If it’s not true, he should be all over it. For the sake of his run, he should have said something yesterday. Every hour that goes by without a response from him is very damaging.
Jerri links to inspiring stories of Jon walking door-to-door. Wow, that’s an idea based campaign right there. I’ve read all of these “updates” from RT, TAP, and other sites and they amount to absolutely nothing. There is no substance, just idolatry and comments about canvassing.
I’m starting to think that Jon should have run for Town Board or County Legislature before hopping in with the big boys. He’s in over his head with a campaign manager who doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing.
Chris,
Have you actually looked at Powers’ website? It has all the policy specifics on it. http://www.powersforcongress.com. Jack Davis doesn’t even HAVE an energy policy!
Powers’ campaign is a grassroots effort. He has support and volunteers but Davis has the millions to mail out glossy mailers while he sits at home for the most part. I’ve never voted for someone based on a mailer sent via mail. I vote for people I’ve spoken to or heard or can at least read about on their website in depth.
How can you say buying an ad on tv is outmaneuvering? By getting all of the endorsements early and building a strong grassroots base, Powers has outmaneuvered EVERYONE. The media blitz will happen.
I invite you to listen to Powers on WLVL next Tuesday at 11:15 and hear for yourself what an informed candidate he is. On the stump he is unflappable, able to take heckling from reporters and voters alike. He has specific policies on his website and he’s the hardest working man I’ve met. Don’t fall for the smear tactics.
Furthermore, Powers will be sending out mailers and ads. I can’t answer to the timing but I have personally interviewed him for TAP with video.
the “truth” on daily kos.
that’s even funnier than the judge in the wheelchair.
Ok, here’s the substantive energy policy from Jon Powers:
http://www.powersforcongress.com/main.cfm?actionId=globalShowStaticContent&screenKey=cmpPlan&show=energy&s=powers
Here’s Powers’ Call To Service Plan:
http://www.powersforcongress.com/main.cfm?actionId=globalShowStaticContent&screenKey=cmpPlan&show=call&s=powers
Here’s Powers’ Pledge to our Veterans:
http://www.powersforcongress.com/main.cfm?actionId=globalShowStaticContent&screenKey=cmpPlan&show=veterans&s=powers
Look, I’m as jaded as the next guy, but I’m telling you Jon Powers is a genuinely honest and informed candidate. He’s out working so hard meeting voters and attending events, and yes, raising money since he’s the ONLY NON-millionaire in this race, that it may have contributed to his not personally (yet) answering this latest smear tactic.
Obviously Powers’ has the momentum or these attacks wouldn’t keep coming. I’ve interviewed governors, senators, legislators, etc., and Powers stands out among them as a hard-working, dedicated and knowledgeable candidate. I’ve asked him questions on numerous topics and he always seems to be informed on the topics. He’s a former teacher and has a mind that works quickly with broad-based knowledge about the issues Western New Yorkers face.
http://www.dailykos.com/
Shorter Jerri Kaiser: Jack is rich and that’s bad. Also, don’t worry, it’s three weeks to election day, Jon will start defining himself to the public soon enough!
Claims, counter-claims, negative ad and counter ads aside. I’d like anyone of the Powers bashers or Davis supporters to honestly say that if it weren’t for his self-funded, millionaire status that Jack Davis would even be a blip on the political radar. His 3rd boutique campaign is an effort to either win the primary or destroy a viable opponent. Where you guys get the idea the Chris Lee is some juggernaut is beyond me. He’s the Republican’s Jack Davis; a (mostly) self-funded placeholder since no one else stepped up to the Republican plate. If Jack didn’t have the money he’s got to throw at people, and if the Lee people weren’t cross commenting here, there’d be no argument at all.
Chris Lee’s energy “policy” is what’s funny: it blasts things that need to change even though it was HIS party formerly represented by Tom Reynolds. Either he’s slamming Reynolds’ record, the guy who nominated him (second choice at that) to run or he’s saying he’ll be the anti-Reynolds. Which is it?
Jack Davis doesn’t even HAVE an energy policy.
If you want specifics and positive stories, then Google “Jon Powers.”
Powers served as an artillery platoon leader in the 1st Armored Division, and later as the Battalion Commander’s Adjutant in Baghdad and Najaf. Captain Powers commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel William Rabena, described Powers as “one of the most talented officers I have known in twenty-two years of service in the Army.” Rabena went on to say that Powers possesses “extraordinary management skills, leadership, and unmatched talent to accomplish the most difficult tasks with minimal guidance.”
Chris Smith,
I never said being rich is bad, but thinking you’re ABOVE accountability is bad. Hmmm…where have we encountered that before??? Dick Cheney, maybe? George Bush II, maybe??? How’s that working out for ya?
Shorter Chris Smith: let’s trash an honorable veteran (Powers) so a rich guy who profits off of the gas he “donates” (read: profits from) wins.
I’ve never voted for someone based on a mailer sent via mail
Yeah, but you see…most people do vote that way. They vote based on mailers, TV ads, radio commercials, branding, and signage. We live in a fast paced media world and you have to be hitting people on the various distribution channels with message and brand at all times. Jack came into this race with a serious edge in name recognition and branding over Jon. So, you attack that aspect of Davis’ campaign. You establish your own message and work the media to give you the editorial you need while putting whatever resources you have into mass media. Access to the candidate = editorial coverage. The more access you give, generally, the more friendly the coverage. If you make the lives of reporters easier, they will make yours easier.
At this point in the campaign, an issue like this should slide right off the back of an established, well funded candidate who has been in the race for over a year.
Unfortunately, this is the first exposure many voters are getting to Jon and it’s not good. His inability to mobilize media (aside from hack liberal bloggers) is crippling him on this issue. He should already be defined on a regional basis as a man of integrity and high ethics. Instead, people are wondering. Why?
He should have leaned on the other party pols to issue statements on his behalf, neutralized this issue from the start and had some media buys ready to shoot Jack down. Instead, we’re looking forward to an interview NEXT WEEK on the lowest rated station in WNY that barely reaches the majority of his district to clear things up. FAIL.
I agree with Jerri that Powers’ site is a wealth of information compared to Jack Davis, that Powers is a better candidate, that he has a genuine grassroots organization, etc.
Also, it’s important to remember that primary tactics are far different from general election tactics. Primary voters do not vote for a candidate on the basis of mailers. Primary voters are generally well-informed party loyalists, especially in this year’s primary, where very little is at state. The Powers campaign is running the right kind of campaign to get those voters to the polls, a face-to-face campaign. They need to save the mailers, direct video, etc. for the general election, where they will face a well-funded Republican who’s been sitting around watching the Democrats eat each other for lunch.
That all said, Chris is right that the Powers campaign has totally botched their response to a potentially derailing character issue. Jack Davis has totally owned this cycle. And putting out that women’s group press release was the shit icing on the incompetence cake.
Powers needs a full and complete explanation of what he was paid and why it was paid to him. This dirt-simple politics, and his failure here is huge.
comparing people to george w. bush should be de facto outlawed in polite dicscussion in much the same way that comparing people to hitler isn’ permitted. it’s fucking ridiculous.
popular threads here over the past year repeatedly compared hillary clinton to bush, then john mccain to bush now jack davis and chris lee.
i think that the real problem that the church of scientology, uh, i mean people supporting loser candidates like powers and obama are having is that bush isn’t running for anything in november.
Illuzzi says Powers should resign, and that is good enough for me … but now that I heard that Jack Davis is nasty to handicapable people and his hangers-on, I don’t know what to do !
Jon Powers: One Month To Go indeed. The News article narrowed NY26 to a 2-horse race.
2 Problems:
1) The only thing Powers ever ran (outside of the Army) in his life failed
2) He skimmed half the take
I’ve run non-profits – it takes YEARS before anyone involved takes a salary. That’s just what happens when money is tight. Churches, vet’s groups, and ladies auxiliaries are all sending soccer balls and books to Iraq. And it didn’t take $150K.
I’m sure Powers is a good kid who got in over his head. I’m sure someone said – you were in the Army and started a charity, you should run for Congress! And he listened. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s in over his head.
BTW – I’m proud of WNYMedia for not ignoring this (though it took a day), and being critical, instead of reflexively pro-Powers or anti-Davis.
Why is it that Powers’ supporters always resort to attacks on his opponents, or “check out his website”? At least 14 months on the campaign trail and we’re still being told he’ll do something soon. There’s no positive press, not even advertising himself, and nothing from the campaign beyond a website.
Jerri, who have you interviewed in each of those offices that make Jonny look hard working? I cannot believe that someone could work less than Jonny appears to be on this campaign and actually win the office. If he’s so hard working than he has to be an absolute bafoon to have botched things this badly.
War Kids Relief did not fail. It has been combined with Children’s Culture Connection and it raised awareness and research funds due to the UTTER FAILURES OF THE IRAQ WAR “STRATEGIES” TO ADDRESS THE CIVILIANS. Here is the http://www.powersforcongress.com site for War Kids Relief:
http://www.powersforcongress.com/main.cfm?actionId=globalShowStaticContent&screenKey=cmpWatch&htmlkey=watchWarkids&s=powers
“War Kids Relief became the dominant voice for Iraqi youth in Washington. Through research, advocacy and training, it helped a country dominated by youth engage its young citizens to prevent them from falling into the hands of extremists.
War Kids Relief worked with Iraqi ministers to develop programs for the Iraqis to implement. It provided needed research on the state of Iraqi youth. It brought Iraqi youth to the attention of a Washington devoted solely to military tactics.
War Kids Relief worked to prevent a future generation of terrorists from growing in Iraq. It briefed Marine commanders on counterterrorism and the importance of engaging Iraqi youth.”
The key point here is that the Bush Administration’s failure to properly plan this war led to the need for War Kids Relief. Bush and Cheney didn’t plan on handling the civilian population and the utter failure of the Iraq War has contributed to the problems we see today.
Jon Powers attempted to address this problem and he did so admirably.
“Creating Programs for Iraqi Youth
Jon returned to Baghdad in 2005 as a civilian, with no more than the money he raised with the help of the Western New York community and his military reserve identification. He met with the Iraqi Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Department of defense, USAID, and others about orphan programs in Iraq. See the blog he kept on his trip.”—www.powersforcongress.com
“Providing Needed Research
In the midst of the war, Iraqi youth were being ignored. War Kids Relief provided needed research on the state of Iraqi children. Jon often attended conferences sharing this with officials and other non-profit leaders. In several cases he wrote or contributed to research papers.
In October of 2005 Jon attended the RAND conference sharing the mission and work of War Kids and other experts. He contributed to the paper “A Future for the Young” laying out the need to give Iraqi children elements of a functional life.
In the fall of 2006 Jon published a paper for SAIS “Iraq’s Youth in a Time of War.” It laid out a detailed report of the strains Iraqi kids face including kidnapping, increasing violence on their neighborhood streets and radical recruits.
As a result of War Kids Relief becoming one of the leading experts in Washington on Youth and counterterrorism, Jon was invited on numerous occasions to brief Marine Commanders on the need for youth engagement. He also took part in numerous think tank discussions and tried to drive policy changes in our approach to national security.”—www.powersforcongress.com
Please stop tearing down a valiant veteran who is at least out there trying to do something positive in the world.
I’m still waiting for the valiant veteran to explain why he made $77,000 dollars off these kids he helped.
The $77,000 figure comes directly from Jon Powers’ financial disclosures.
He was paid $60,000 in 2006, $2,314.53 for half of January in 2007, and then when he spun WKR off into a separate entity, he paid himself $15,000 in three months (March through May of 2007). So basically, he was paying himself $5,000 per month.
But I guess we will know more when the Form 990s are filed (or not) on August 15th.
Sorry Jerri. I’m a valiant veteran who spent two tours in Iraq. I handed out a lot of notebooks and packbacks, and didn’t make $75K to do it. And the people who sent the stuff were just local schoolkids who did a project for their class.
There are a lot of people trying to do something positive for the world. Not all of them are qualified to run for Congress. And not all of them made $75K to do it.
That $75K salary just really torques me. I mean, this is Buffalo, for crying out loud. In Buffalo, everyone has five jobs – two that pay, and three that don’t. Buffalo wouldn’t run if it weren’t for nurses who work part time at two hospitals, and then volunteer their time run PTA meetings, teach bible school at church, and run their block club. We have so many community groups, church groups, activists, etc, and 95% of them are volunteers. And Powers takes half the funding from his charity as salary?!?! I just think its unconscionable.
From Jack Davis’ campaign web site—-
Well, we’ve seen the light, and it’s high time, That we send a new man down to Congress this time, Jack Davis will take a stand…and be that brand new man!
Western New York is talkin’ ‘bout those lines they’ve been crossin’ down in Washington They doin’ too much harm…to our jobs and farms!
Jack will clean up the scandals, and he knows how to handle all the challenges that he’ll face, And he’s got the backbone, to vote our soldiers home!_
Well, we’ve seen the light, and it’s high time, That we send our own man down to Congress this time, And Jack Davis will take a stand…he’s our next Congressman!
Paid for and authorized by Davis for Congress, Miller Lite and Chevy Trucks.
You guys are right, Jon Powers is screwed without this sort of catchy jingle.
Here it is . . .
jerri kaiser, jon powers IS NOT RUNNING AGAINST BUSH OR CHENEY.
in fact, THEY ARE NOT RUNNING FOR ANYTHING AND CERTAINLY NOT IN THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY HERE.
so HOW COULD WHAT THEY DID OR DIDN’T DO HAVE ANY BEARING WHATSOEVER ON THE DAVIS-POWERS RACE?!?!?!?!?
And Jerri – the core charge still stands:
Powers made big (7 million dollar) promises, but didn’t do much more than pay himself a fat salary and grab some headlines while failing to deliver on what he promised to the kids.
He’s just not credible – and regurgitating old press clips isn’t going to change that.
It’s funny to see everyone mention how inept Jon Powers’ campaign manager is and how badly it’s been run.
Remember how badly Jack Davis’ campaign was run in 2006?
ITS THE SAME CAMPAIGN MANAGER!
BTW, I’ve been saying this for months, only to be ridiculed.
Stevo, Thanks for the news flash.
What a molehill.
Not for nothin Mike Hudson, but in response to your ALL IN CAPS question regarding what bearing Bush or Cheney has had on our local congressional election……………. please refer to Jack Davis’ campaign website which recites
“Our Family”
Jack Davis launched his advertising campaign by highlighting the impact of George Bush’s economic policies on working families in Western New York.
Powers lost the race for the Democratic nomination for New York’s 26th District congressional seat on August 5, 2008, a full month before the election. He was done in by his own poor judgment.
And Pundit, David Brent is some kind of mental defective over there. Everybody knows the two greatest things in life are to never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut.
Jack Davis was defeated first in 2004, and again in 2006. He was done in by his own poor personality. He is a remarkably horrible candidate. Does agoraphobia count as a mental defect?
peter crotty….unlike the woeful no-powers campaign, davis is already running against chris lee and the gop. the powers supporters have been attempting, ridiculously, to somehow link davis — who is a democrat — to bush and cheney based simply on the fact that they all have a lot of money, like ted kennedy, nancy pelosi, john kerry and tons of other dems who don’t seem to raise your righteous ire.
Davis is clinging by a hangnail to his third chance. Primary voters will recognize that he is a democrat in name only. Doesn’t matter to me that he’s rich, just that he’s a phony.
@WNYDEM – Thanks for posting the jpg of Powers’ financial disclosure. It quite clearly shows that he earned $15k from War Kids Relief and 60k the year before from the Vietnam Veterans Foundation, which is _not_ War Kids Relief, but was associated with it. During the year-ending 2006, the VFA had revenues of $12 million. Therefore, $60k would represent .5% – that is one half of one percent of what VFA took in.
That pretty much defines insignificant, and this really is nothing. I continue to disagree with how this was handled, however.
What will all of you say if Powers wins the primary next month?
and you, wizard, what would you say?
I’d say “POWERS WINS! POWERS WINS! POWERS WINS!”
Party at Chuck E. Cheese!
Mike Hudson – Well, I think he probably will pull out a win in a squeaker of an election. I’m asking all of you nay sayers who are declaring the race over already.
All I have to say, is no matter which jack ass wins, it won’t matter. Name one politician that has had made a positive difference??? ONE… I can’t remember any… I find it laughable that Powers is even still around. That tells you how weak the Democratic Side is for this seat.
Powers is a twenty-something Clarence Kid. He has admittedly chalked his license to buy beer underage, and still socializes with people that use pot and other drugs. His political immaturity is shown in the generous salary he gave himself with WKR program.
Now, I am not one to throw stones, but you need to have a cleaner image if you are running for office. Hell, I chalked my license, and I hung out with people who did drugs… But I am not running for Congress…
Powers is smug, immature, non-experienced person. AND if he wins the primary in September, I truly hope the republicans have someone worthwhile…
Hudson latest issue has Powers on the cover in full monkey face.
The funniest part of Mike Hudson’s pile of non-sequiturs posing as “analysis” is this line:
So Illuzziesque, I’d bet money that the “longtime Democratic strategist” quoted is none other than Hudson himself.
Also, he says that Lee is “a wealthy Tonawanda industrialist whose family business, International Motion Control, was sold last year.” Lee lives in East Amherst, and IMC was based in Orchard Park.
Where will I be able to view Powers Tax Filings on August 15th for the “charity” he was running???