Earlier this month, a group of regional Democratic leaders traveled to Buffalo to meet with newly minted U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Congressman Steven Israel.
Among the issues raised by GLOW Democrats was the dairy farm crisis, which we covered previously.
The Democrats discussed with Israel possible candidates to run against Congressman Chris Lee in 2010.
The full press release from Judith Hunter after the jump:
Members of the GLOW Democratic Coalition traveled to Buffalo on Saturday, April 4, to meet with New York U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Congressman Steven Israel (NY-2) and discuss the needs of Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, and Wyoming Counties. “Now that our Democratic committees are working together across our region, we’re getting opportunities to speak up and be heard. This was a great morning for our coalition,” said Lorie Longhany of LeRoy, Chair of the Genesee County Democratic Committee.
Geneseo’s Phil Jones, Livingston County Democratic Chair, emphasized the importance of meeting with Senator Gillibrand. “It was crucial for us to meet with our new Senator, because our federal Senators are our only legislators who are members of the majority. Every legislator we have below that level is in the minority caucus and, of course, less powerful.” The first issue the GLOW leaders raised with Senator Gillibrand was the crisis in dairy farming, with Harold Bush of Gainesville, Wyoming County Democratic Chair, stating that his county is projected to lose $60 million this year because dairy prices have fallen so drastically. “I was very impressed with the Senator’s response. She is a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and understands this issue and its importance very well. She explained the problem was structural and that the pricing system has to be changed so that you don’t have the current situation of the price level being set lower than the cost of the production of milk. She had some great ideas.”
The GLOW Democratic leaders also met with Representative Steven Israel, who asked them to come and discuss possible Democratic candidates for the 2010 Congressional race in New York’s 26th District. Congressman Israel is in charge of recruitment for the DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee). Suzanne Coogan of Warsaw, Wyoming County, noted that “the rural counties are crucial to our Congressional election. It’s a great development that the people guiding our national strategy want our input.”
One of the things that came up in both meetings was the new GLOWDemocrats.com website. Senator Gillibrand’s staff was especially complimentary of the site, which tracks and analyzes developments that affect the GLOW region.
