Kathy Hochul

Also, a press release from Hochul's campaign:

“While America’s small businesses are doing everything they can to stay afloat and create jobs, one of our nation’s corporate giants has found the loopholes that help them avoid paying their fair share of taxes,” said Kathy Hochul, candidate in New York’s 26th Congressional District.

“Once elected, I will fight for our small businesses and work to ensure we close the corporate tax loopholes that allowed General Electric to report a 2010 worldwide profit of $14.2 billion, without paying a single dollar in American taxes. In fact, due to G.E.’s intense lobbying efforts and slick accounting, the company was able to claim a $3.2 billion tax benefit – money that could have been invested in small businesses that create jobs here at home.

“The fact that every taxpayer in the 26th District paid more in taxes last year than General Electric is plain wrong. It’s time we overhaul our tax code. Without many of their tax breaks, G.E. would currently have thousands and thousands of more jobs here in the U.S. So we must end the tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas and instead invest in local businesses that create jobs for hard working American families.”

Jane Corwin was apparently for it before she was against it -- high-speed rail, that is.

The Buffalo News reported this morning that a pair of freshly minted Republican congressmen have come down hard on the idea of spending billions of dollars on a high-speed rail system connecting Buffalo and Albany (and passing through Genesee County).

Corwin, the GOP candidate to fill Chris Lee's vacated seat, said this:

"While I am in overall support of the concept of modernizing our passenger railways, with $1.5 trillion deficits we simply cannot afford to spend billions of taxpayer dollars on this project at this time," the assemblywoman from Clarence said. "Instead, I will fight for infrastructure projects that have an immediate and direct return on our economic bottom line."

Honestly, when I first read the Buffalo News story, I didn't read far enough down to see that both Corwin and her Democratic opponent Kathy Hochul had been asked by the Buffalo News for comment, so I e-mailed both campaigns seeking comment.

After I read the statement, I also did a little Google search and found the statement below on Corwin's official Assembly Web site:

A high-speed rail would make travel between upstate and downstate far more energy efficient and be a huge boom to economic development. Construction of the rail would create an estimated 12,000 jobs. By strengthening the connection between our smaller metropolitan areas and New York City, we could also reverse the upstate decline in population by making Western New York universities and colleges more attractive to downstate and out of state residents.

As part of the statement, Corwin did note that there was no guarantee New York would be granted federal funds for a high-speed rail project, and she asked constituents for their opinion and called the project, "worthy of further discussion and debate."

The headline on Corwin's two-year-old statement was, "High-Speed Rail Could Provide Economic Boom to Upstate NY."

After finding that statement, I sent a second e-mail to Corwin's campaign asking about this seeming contradiction and received this response from Communications Director Matthew Harakal:

As the statement we issued on Friday states, Jane is supportive of the concept of modernizing passenger rail, and that support was indicated in the newsletter from two years ago. But because Congress has failed to get spending, the debt and deficits under control, funding this is not practical at this time. Jane believes that we need to focus on getting our nation’s fiscal house in order before we invest in long-term spending such as this.

According to treasurydirect.gov, the national debt today is $14 trillion. In March 2009, it was $11 trillion.

Meanwhile, here's the statement we received from Hochul's campaign:

"A high speed rail in Upstate New York will reduce our dependence on oil, create thousands of much needed jobs right here in Western New York, and provide New Yorkers with a safe, efficient, and fast mode of transportation to travel the Empire Corridor,” said Kathy Hochul, candidate for New York’s 26th Congressional District. “While I support the idea conceptually, we are still analyzing what the fiscal impact will be on New York taxpayers."

Kathy Hochul, on her way back to Buffalo from a day spent in Rochester, called us and asked if she could stop by The Batavian's office and introduce herself.

She spent about 15 minutes here. I didn't want to dive too deep into an interview because I'm hoping to arrange a series of interviews with all of the candidates. But a chat about how beautiful Genesee County is and what a wonderful hub Batavia makes for the rural region turned into a discussion about protecting small businesses.

It turns out that Hochul's decision to run for the board in the Town of Hamburg was driven by her frustration with an effort to bring a Walmart to town.

Her mother owned a small shop in the village and Hochul saw her struggles to keep her business going and didn't want to see Walmart do any more damage to the local businesses.

"I decided to run for office because I want to have a say in the policies that effect local businesses," she said.

As for what she could do in Congress, she said tax codes and laws that give any incentive for manufacturers to move jobs overseas need to be reviewed and repealed if necessary.

She also said it's time to revisit NAFTA.

"We need to look at the policies put in place that were intended to help our area but they backfired," Hochul said.

She said a resurgence in manufacturing jobs in Western New York would be the best way to protect locally owned stores.

"We need to make sure the small shops in our cities and villages are not boarded up," Hochul said. "These shops sustain people who live in the community."

As she's been quoted as saying already, Hochul reiterated that she's not afraid to stand up to powerful interests, including her own party if necessary.

She pointed out her public opposition to Gov. Paterson's proposal to require residents to buy new license plates for their cars, and her efforts to fight Thruway tolls.

"No entity is too big that I won't fight if it's on behalf of my residents," Hochul said.

Finally: here's an invitation for Jane Corwin, Jack Davis or David Bellavia to stop by office of The Batavian any time.

Press Release:

Here is a statement from Kathy Hochul for Congress Communications Director Fabien Levy regarding Jane Corwin's newest television advertisement:

“Two days and two negative attacks – yesterday the NRCC released an ad slammed as “misleading” by an independent source and today an Albany politician has done the same.  Kathy Hochul is proud of her record of cutting waste, saving taxpayers millions of dollars, and helping Western New York businesses create jobs for hard working families.

“Kathy Hochul is no one’s handpicked candidate and has never shied away from standing up to her own party.  She saved motorists $129 million when she stood up to Governor Paterson’s plan to mandate new license plates.  And she stood up to Governor Spitzer’s ill-advised plan to give drivers’ licenses to illegal immigrants.

“Voters of the 26th Congressional District are concerned about turning our economy around and will not be distracted by typical Washington and Albany smear tactics.”

Jane Corwin's campaign announced the release of this new commercial today attacking Kathy Hochul.

Regarding Hochul's record in Town of Hamburg, the clerk there tells me that there are board minutes going back to 2002, but they're not easy to find. I created this Google search link that at least pulls up some of the minutes. If the clerk there provides me with a better link, I'll post that.

Also, YNN has posted a video interview with Hochul:

Full press release from Corwin's campaign after the jump:

Jane Corwin Campaign Releases Second Television Ad
Spot Highlights Kathy Hochul’s Consistent and Troubling Record of Raising Taxes on Western New Yorkers

WILLIAMSVILLE – The campaign of Jane Corwin, successful businesswoman and unanimously endorsed Republican, Conservative, and Independence Party candidate for New York’s 26th Congressional District, began airing its second television advertisement today. The 30 second spot discusses career politician Kathy Hochul’s disturbing record of voting to raise property tax rates in 11 out of 12 budgets during her long tenure on the Hamburg Town Board.

Hochul, a resident of the town of Hamburg (which lies outside the 26th Congressional District she is seeking to represent), served on the Hamburg town board for 13 years before being appointed as Erie County Clerk.

“While hard-working Western New Yorkers have been struggling to do more with less, Kathy Hochul repeatedly and consistently voted to raise their property tax rates in 11 out of 12 budgets while on the Hamburg Town Board,” Corwin’s Communications Director Matthew Harakal said. “With a record like that she’ll fit right in with Washington Democrats, so it’s no wonder she was their hand-picked candidate. Western New Yorkers have a clear choice on May 24th – they can vote for career politician Kathy Hochul, who’s repeatedly voted to take more money out of their pockets to grow government, or they can vote for businesswoman Jane Corwin, who’s helped run a business and was part of a team that created hundreds of jobs right here in Western New York.”

The ad will air across Western New York in the Buffalo and Rochester media markets.

Kathy Hochul’s long record of raising Western New Yorkers’ taxes
In 1994, Hochul voted for a $29.5 million town budget that included an increased tax rate to $6.51 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for residents living outside the villages.
In 1995, Hochul voted for a $26 million budget that included an increased tax rate to $6.76 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for residents living outside the villages
In 1996, Hochul voted for a $32 million town budget that included an increased tax rate to $7.03 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for residents living outside the villages
In 1997, Hochul voted for a $33 million budget that included a decreased tax rate to $6.96 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for residents living outside the villages
In 1998, Hochul voted for a $33.8 million budget that included an increased tax rate to $7.12 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for residents living outside the villages
In 2000, Hochul voted for a $35.9 million budget that included an increased tax rate to $7.20 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for residents living outside the villages
In 2001, Hochul voted for a budget that included an increased tax rate to $7.41 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for residents living outside the villages
In 2002, Hochul voted for a $38.1 million budget that included an increased tax rate to $7.69 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for residents living outside the villages
In 2003, Hochul voted for a $39.6 million town budget that included an increased tax rate to $7.92 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for residents living outside the villages
In 2004, Hochul voted for a budget that included an increased tax rate to $8.35 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for residents living outside the villages
In 2005, Hochul voted for a $42 million town budget that included an increased tax rate to $8.63 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for residents living outside the villages
In 2006, Hochul voted for a $43 million budget that decreased the tax rate for residents living inside the villages to $4.06 per $1,000 of assessed valuation and increased the tax rate for residents living outside the villages to $9.07 per $1,000 of assessed valuation


Kathy Hochul – Washington Democrat’s hand-picked candidate
Leading Democrat Candidate Who Has Washington Ties Interviewed By DCCC. “Hochul was interviewed this week by national party officials in town to determine the chances and the costs of winning in the district.” (WNED, 2/16/2011)
“[D]CCC Northeast Political Director Abby Curran Visited The District In The Days Immediately After Lee's Resignation.” (Roll Call, 2/17/2011)
An “Old DCCC Hand” Helped Hochul With Decision. “[A]n old DCCC hand with experience in special elections was advising Hochul as she pondered her decision.” (Buffalo News, 3/20/2011)
The ad can be viewed and embedded from Corwin’s YouTube page, www.youtube.com/user/janecorwin.

This ad was released today by the National Republican Congressional Committee.

It makes several undocumented claims:

Kathy Hochul voted to raise fees on all kinds of things, such as:

• Going to the beach…
• Getting in shape at the gym…
• Playing a round of golf…
• Ice skating...
• And owning that lovable four-legged friend.

As a matter of fact checking, I did a number of internet searches and searched the Buffalo News archives going back three years. I could find no documentation for any of these claims (if anybody can find documentation, please post in the comments).

On the flip side, when the Buffalo News endorsed Hochul for Erie County Clerk, they did so, they said, based on Hochul's record of saving taxpayers money.

It's unclear when the GOP claims Hochul voted on these things. As a clerk, and not a legislator, she doesn't vote on legislative matters. I've seen reference to her having served on a town board at one time, but can find no confirmation of that. Such service is not mentioned on her LinkedIn profile nor her Web site. So if she "voted" on these matters, it's hard to tell where.

As for being a Washington lobbyist at one time, that much is true. According to her LinkedIn profile: "Kathy also established her own practice in Washington, representing the computer industry on legislative issues."

She was a legislative aide prior to starting her own practice.

Again, further fact-checking or fact confirmation is welcome in the comments.

Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul is the Democrats' pick to run in the NY-26 special election.

Hochul was the unanimous pick of seven county Democratic chairs after interviews in Geneseo this afternoon, according to Lorie Longhany, Genesee County chair.

Longhany said Hochul was impressive in the interviews.

"I can’t wait for Genesee County voters and the rest of the district to get a chance to know Kathy," Longhany said. "I think people will be very pleased with Kathy's record."

Longhany praised Hochul for streamlining Department of Motor Vehicle  processes in Erie County during her term as clerk, "saving taxpayers time and money."

"We all decided that she is the candidate who can get things done in Washington," Longhany said.

The Republican candidate is Jane Corwin. Both David Bellevia and Jack Davis are attempting to secure enough signatures to get their names on the ballot.

UPDATE: In the initial post, we included a press release from Corwin's campaign but didn't jump this post. We now have a press release from Hochul's campaign.  Both press releases appear verbatim after the jump.

Corwin's campaign immediately attacked Hochul, releasing the following statement minutes after Hochul was announced as the Democratic pick.

Matthew Harakal, Communications Director for Jane Corwin for Congress, issued the following statement today after Kathy Hochul was selected as the Democrat candidate for Congress in New York's 26th District:

"It's good to see that Kathy Hochul was able to find the Democrat Chair meeting in Geneseo, considering she doesn't even live in the 26th District. It's no surprise that her record of raising taxes and fees resonated with Washington Democrats and now she’s their handpicked candidate. A career politician who has routinely voted to raise taxes and fees is just what Nancy Pelosi and Washington Democrats want, but it's exactly what Western New Yorkers are sick of."

Press release from Hochul's campaign:

ERIE COUNTY - The Democratic County Chairs of Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, and Wyoming Counties have unanimously nominated Kathy Hochul as the Democratic nominee for the May 24th special election in New York's 26th Congressional District.
 
After interviewing potential nominees one last time on Saturday, the County Chairs announced Hochul as their nominee in Geneseo. 
 
“I am running for Congress because I can do in Washington what I’ve done in Erie County – cut waste, hold down taxes, and help Western New York businesses create jobs for working families,” said Hochul.  “I am looking forward to meeting residents throughout the district, and sharing my plan to get people back to work and get our economy back on track.”
 
“Kathy Hochul has been a proven leader in Erie County and will work to support Western New York’s hard working families,” said Judith Hunter, Chair of the Livingston County Democratic Committee.  “She understands the struggles that businesses face and will work hard to help them grow and create jobs right here where it matters.”
 
Among her many accomplishments, Kathy has:
§  Created innovative new programs to get residents to renew their licenses and registrations locally – keeping much needed revenues here in Western New York instead of sending it to Albany,

§  Stood up to her own party and successfully fought Albany’s ill-conceived plan to mandate license plates, saving $129 million for motorists across the State, and

§  Initiated the effort to permanently remove burdensome tolls from the NYS thruway near Buffalo, saving millions for businesses and residents across the region.

Press Release:

WILLIAMSVILLE - Erie County Republican Committee Chairman Nick Langworthy issued the following statement after learning that Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul is running for Congress in New York’s 26th Congressional District: 

“Statewide Democrats aren’t the only ones concerned about Kathy Hochul running for Congress; Western New York taxpayers are too because she has spent her long political career raising taxes and fees. While Jane Corwin has spent 36 years in the private sector helping to create jobs, career politician Kathy Hochul has spent her life doing everything she can to advance her own political career.

“We welcome Kathy Hochul to the race and look forward to hearing her explain why she’s repeatedly voted to grow government and raise taxes and fees on hard working Western New Yorkers.”

Hochul has yet to declare her candidacy for the special election to replace Chris Lee, the married, former Republican representative who quit his seat after apparently being caught trolling Craigslist for dates.

The Democrats' county chairs from the NY-26 meet tomorrow in Geneseo to interview several potential candidates. The Democrats are expected to name their candidate within the following week.

Hochul, county clerk in Erie County, took out papers this week in order to legally accept campaign donations.

Recently, Hochul made headlines leading opposition to a proposed statewide license fee on bicycles. Eventually, Queens Assemblyman Michael DenDekker withdrew the proposal.

UPDATE: WGRZ is reporting that it's a done deal, that the seven Democratic County chairs will announce on Sunday their endorsement of Hochul and that Hochul will officially announce her candidacy on Monday.

Erie County Republican Chairman Nick Langworthy says the Democratic party has been playing a game with its nomination process, knowing all along that Hochul was going to be its candidate if she wanted to run for the seat.

Nick Langworthy: "This is a charade, it's a machination, they've known from the beginning that she's their candidate if she wants to run, but they're using this quirk in the law allowing her to take double the amount of special interest money that she normally would."

According to WGRZ, that by waiting until 12 days after the governor called the election, she will be able to accept as much as $5,000 (two separate maximum $2,500 donations) from the same individual.

A program to benefit Genesee County's military veterans is in the works. It will computerize discharge papers filed with the Clerk's Office. It will also provide money-saving opportunities for veterans at participating businesses when they show their photo ID card.

Dubbed "Return the FAVOR" (Find & Assist Vets of Record), it began about two years ago in Putnam County and since then has been implemented in about a dozen counties statewide.

Currently, Genesee County stores the record of discharge papers, called Form DD-214, on paper only. Veterans voluntarily submit their DD-214 to the clerk of record in their community as a safeguard procedure so it can be replaced if need be or replicated.

In a few months, the paper trail comes to a virtual end and the data goes online.

"Paper is fragile," said Clerk Don Read.

Not mention inefficient and cumbersome to keep up to date. The county probably has about 30,000 gun permits archived since 1934 when permits were first issued. But how many are active, valid permits is unknown.

Those who have implemented "Return the FAVOR" rave about what a good idea it is, Read said.

David Bellavia -- a highly decorated combat veteran petitioning to run as an independent for Congress in New York's 26th District -- issued a press release today thanking Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul for bringing "Return the FAVOR" to that county.

He praised her leadership in the program, which he termed "an appreciated salute to veterans," adding that it should be a statewide standard.

(His kind words are perhaps notable because Hochul is widely regarded as the likely Democrat canidate in the 26th District and will be a Bellavia opponent if he makes the ballot. Bellavia recently launched a petition drive to get on the ballot.)

Read said his office looked into providing "Return the FAVOR" here last year but the cost was prohibitive. The computer software and plastic ID cards, etc., was estimated to cost $30,000 and that money was not in the budget.

But last fall, the county negotiated with a computer company which was contracted to begin computerizing records of pistol permits on Jan. 1. They found out the company could also do the veterans record/ID card program using the same tools employed for pistol permits at, according to Read, no additional cost.

"The first thing is to perfect the pistol-permit program," Read said, adding that his office is looking at a launch date of May 1 and the veterans program would begin sometime afterward.

"We are contacting officials and asking how they would like the (new) pistol permit to be formatted," Read said.

County Judge Robert C. Noonan heads up the Handgun and Pistol Permit Program. District Attorney Lawrence Friedman is also being consulted along with law enforcement.

"This will benefit the Sheriff's Office because deputies will be able to access the database on our Web site," Read said. "When they are going to an address, they can find out who has a pistol permit and what kind of weapons they have before they get there."

Regarding "Return the FAVOR," Read said they are communicating with other counties to possibly extend the discount benefits across county lines. For example, a veteran with an ID card from Genesee County could get a dinner deal at a participating restaurant in Erie or Wyoming County.

The estimated cost to the veteran applicant at the Clerk's Office would be a one-time fee in the $5 to $10 range.

Read said his office plans to work closely with the Chamber of Commerce and the Veterans Service Agency to get businesses to support the discounts-for-veterans program.

But since the Veterans Service Agency lost a full-time worker due to budget cuts,  Read said he expects his office will have to do more of the "ground work."