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McMurray rallies volunteers in Alexander

By Howard B. Owens

Standing in front of about 100 members of the Democratic Party -- volunteers who signed up walk precincts on his behalf -- Nate McMurray, candidate for Congress, said something you might find surprising: Donald Trump is right about a few things.

"Let's be honest, a lot of people voted for Donald Trump because they knew they needed help," McMurray said. "It was a Hail Mary. They felt like there wasn't a party representing them and maybe they needed somebody on the outside to say, 'hey, I can shake the system up.'

"I'm going to tell you something to a lot of people in the Democratic Party will not say," McMurray added. "Mr. Trump may be a master salesman. He may be a lot of things but his message was right in many respects. The message of the fact that a lot of Americans get left behind or forgotten about."

Many of Trump's voters are now disappointed in Trump, McMurray suggested, because he hasn't delivered on his promises.

"The problem is, Mr. Trump's message has been nothing but bluster," McMurray said. "He's is not doing anything to help people in this country. We hear about a booming economy but do you think the people here in this part of the region or the people in Attica, do you think they feel things are booming and moving and things are going great?"

McMurray promised not only to fight for jobs if elected, including opposing bad trade deals, but to support health care for all, protect Social Security, and follow through on a campaign promise Trump seems to have forgotten: infrastructure.

"Within 60 days in office, we will present a joint infrastructure bill in the house," McMurray said.

Right now, it's unclear who McMurray is running against. The man he planned to beat, Rep. Chris Collins, is under federal indictment on insider trading charges. The Erie County businessman continues as the singular target in McMurray's crosshairs, at least until, and if, the GOP NY-27 chairs are able to remove Collins from the ballot and replace him with another nominee.

Next week, Democratic Party Chair Tom Perez is going to visit the NY-27 but there was a time in McMurray's congressional quest, he said, when the party bosses told him he couldn't possibly beat Chris Collins and he should save his political capital for another fight, he said he told them Collins needed to be taken out.

"I said no someone has to stand up to Chris," McMurray said. "We know he has an ethics violation. We know he has this history of saying 'I only represent my constituents who are my donors.' He had this horrible record and all knew his record even before he was a congressman. We knew about his record when he was county executive when he would fire people and defund libraries and defund all kinds of projects important to the community just because he felt like it."

There was only one person in Washington, D.C., back then willing to encourage McMurray's run, said: Louise Slaughter.

It was Slaughter, he said, who wanted to know if McMurray would "fight like hell," which has become the campaign motto. 

"She said something else," McMurray said. "She said, 'this man has used the house of the people not to do people's business but to make money for himself and his family. Are you ready to stand up against that?' and I said yes and she said, 'Will you stand on his neck?' She said that.

"Now that's mean and it sounds tough but there comes time for accountability. It is time for accountability, not just for Collins but for the entire party that supported him."

Jean Orsini-Clabeaux

I am one of Mr. McMurray's constituents here on Grand Island. Mr. McMurray is our Town Supervisor. He has delivered on his campaign promises, made a lot of positive changes and works hard for us.

Sep 15, 2018, 11:28pm Permalink
Daniel Norstrand

Could you please point up some of the "campaign promises" followed through on and "positive changes you attribute to Mr McMurray? Thanks.

Sep 16, 2018, 11:00am Permalink
Daniel Norstrand

3 thumbs down. I truly relish those. A very simple and reasonable request garners 3 thumbs down from either supporters of the the candidate who feel that the claims can't be backed. Or just lazy and/or uneducated people who have been unable to mount an intelligent argument regarding past comments. What other explanation for the gesture could there be? Thanks for the laugh.

Sep 16, 2018, 2:54pm Permalink
Candace Bower

You are wrong on at least 2 accounts, Mr McMurray.....
Trump has delivered on his campaign promises and I know no one who regrets their votes for Trump.
As a human being, you be ashamed on how your colleagues are treating Judge
Kavanaugh .

Sep 17, 2018, 10:54am Permalink
Tim Miller

"Ashamed on how your colleagues are treating Judge Kavanaugh"?!?

You mean, asking questions about past votes and documents (the relatively few that have been released, especially compared to documents released for past nominees)? You mean, follow-up questions when the original question is not answered? You mean, hearing of a possible past sexual assault and actually wanting to see if there is any truth to it?!?

Yeah - so freaking unfair. Sorry, Candace, but the shame belongs 100% to the political hacks who are trying to push a nomination through without proper vetting.

Sep 17, 2018, 11:49am Permalink
Rich Richmond

The Senate has reviewed ONE MILLION ( 1,000,000) plus pages of legal opinions and emails from Brett Kavanaugh's career as a Federal judge. Or in other words, five times as many, and nothing incriminating found, much to the chagrin of those opposing him for any reason whatsoever.

Look at the political timeline, Diane Feinstein received a letter from Christine Blasey Ford, and held since July. If the decades-old allegations were so serious, why not release it immediately?

Timing perhaps? If this were released weeks sooner, the proper vetting process would be over by now.

On a side note, Senators reviewed approximately 182,000 pages of documents on Gorsuch and approximately 170,000 pages on Kagan or in other words five times as many.

It appears to be a political smear of a good and decent man.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/07/09/donald-trump-su…

Sep 17, 2018, 9:22pm Permalink
Tim Miller

I've seem where half a million or so documents have been released, and a similar number either not yet released because the National Archives need more time, or "Executive Privilege" is being used to hide hundreds of thousands of documents.

What is the rush? Give the Archives a chance to put the documents together. Give this accusation a time to be reviewed.

As to this being "a political smear of a good and decent man"... Let's see if there is anything behind the sexual assault accusation before we put a potential rapist up on a pedestal. After all, there have been plenty of supporters who have called a self-admitted pussy-grabbing con-man a "good and decent man", too.

Sep 17, 2018, 4:51pm Permalink
Julie Morales

“Nothing incriminating was found…” Like nothing incriminating has been found by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Tim, you know what the rush is; the deciding SCOTUS vote installed before the blue tsunami. Corrupt to the core.

Sep 17, 2018, 8:38pm Permalink
Rich Richmond

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/09/17/trump-orders-feds-to-declass…

As reported by the news; "President Trump on Monday ordered the declassification of several key documents related to the FBI's probe of Russian actions during the 2016 presidential election, including 21 pages of an application for a renewed surveillance warrant against former campaign aide Carter Page, and text messages from disgraced FBI figures Peter Strzok and Lisa Page."

Let the incriminating evidence begin, and the source of corruption, and put and end to Trump collusion delusion. What role does Herr Mueller play in this?

Or if you prefer other sources-https://search.yahoo.com/search?p=Trump+orders+feds+to+declassify+key+F…

Sep 17, 2018, 8:55pm Permalink
Daniel Norstrand

They're all corrupt Julie, red and blue:
Watch "“How Congress shapes Middle East policy, and how AIPAC shapes Congress” Kirk Beattie" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/Vg8VUWIfoWo

Please watch this and listen to the speakers introductory credits. Then tell me he's a "conspiracy theorist." He tells who corrupted our government, and how. If you do go there YouTube will bring up similar intellectuals with similar experiences.

Sep 18, 2018, 5:27am Permalink
Jean Orsini-Clabeaux

Daniel Norstrand: You requested some of Nate's campaign promises. I have been keeping a list of Nate's accomplishments and in the following list I have noted those that were campaign promises:
a) Term Limits (campaign promise)
b) Dunlop Building, that laid dormant for 24 years is now a Holiday Express (campaign promise)
c) Worked with state on Tourist Center –
d) New Farmer’s Market
e) Solar Power Law passed (Councilwoman Kinney and Nate)
f) Broadband
g) New Master Plan – finalized and approved (campaign promise)
h) Additional Sidewalks – grant awarded- construction 2019
i) Gas lines from closed gas stations removed (environmental hazard)
j) Worked with state to convert the under utilized West River Parkway into a bike path.
k) Worked with state Cashless tolls.
l) Consistently promotes businesses on Island
m) Scenic Woods grant recovery/construction in process (campaign promise)
n) Work with the Land Conservancy – preservation of appox. 140 acres
o) Introduced and implemented in house website that saves taxpayer’s money
p) Work and commitment to control sprawl (campaign promise)
q) Clean up of roundabout and planting of trees (campaign promise)
r) New Castle Phone System
s) Transparency (campaign) includes:
…Weekly Newsletters to the Island Dispatch
…Facebook
…Podcasts

Nate has been Town Supervisor for 2 years and 9 months

Sep 28, 2018, 4:15pm Permalink

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