Candidate Free Air Time -- 1 November 2002

>> [Captioning made possible by WXXI Public Broadcasting Council]
>> This is Candidate Free Air Time, a chance for candidates to present a straightforward, unedited message to the voters.
This program features candidates for New York State Attorney General, Representative in Congress for the 25th, 26th, 28th, and 29th Districts and Monroe County Court Judge.
The office of the New York State Attorney General has offices across New York State.
The Attorney General defends and protects the people of New York.
The candidate participating in free air time is Mary Jo Long.
Mary Jo Long is the Green Party candidate.
She is an attorney in private practice and is 54 years old.
>> There is more to say about the green party and its candidates than I can cover in this message, so I urge you to go our website at gtnys.org.
I am a people's lawyer and have been representing injured and disabled workers for 25 years.
I am running for attorney general because of my frustrations in dealing with insurance companies who routinely delay and deny medical treatment to which my clients are entitled.
These denials and delays, which are profitable for the insurance company, cause unnecessary hardships financially and medically to my clients.
Insurance corporations didn't always dominate health services.
Originally, their corporate purpose was to be a mutual aid society, pooling people's money to provide assistance when it was needed.
But with the cooperation of the Republican and Democratic parties, this purpose has been perverted so that now the principle is corporate greed, not patient need.
And insurance companies are not the only ones who are going and exceeding their chartered purposes.
With the acquiescence of both major parties, corporations are polluting our air, water and food supply, and monopolizing media outlets, commercializing curriculum in our schools, destroying small businesses and farms and affecting our elections and public policy.
That is not their corporate purpose.
To reign in corporate power, you need an attorney general who is willing to fight the corporations as I have been doing for 25 years and to return control of communities and our government to we, the people.
Vote for Mary Jo long for attorney general.
>> The U.S. House of Representatives is made up of 435 members and is part of the United States government's legislative branch.
The House members make laws, and set taxing and spending priorities.
A two-thirds vote from both the House and the Senate can override a Presidential veto.
The districts features in this program are the 25th, 26th, 28th and 29th.
The 25th Congressional District covers the eastern part of Monroe County, including Irondequoit, Webster and Penfield, and stretches east to include all of wayne County, part of Cayuga County and most of Onondaga County.
The participating free air time candidates are Stephanie Aldersley and James Walsh.
Stephanie Aldersley is the Democratic party candidate.
She is an associate professor of English at R.I.T. and the Democratic Minority Leader in the Monroe County legislature.
>> Hi.
I am Stephanie Aldersley.
I am the Democratic nominee for Congress from the 25th district, which covers Onondaga and Wayne counties, a small part of Cayuga and in Monroe, Webster and most of Penfield and Irondequoit.
All summer people have told me how upset they are with the lack of representation in Washington.
Upstate New York gets nowhere near the level of federal funding that other areas receive.
As a result, we have some of the highest local taxes in the nation.
Businesses and jobs are leaving our area, and a whole generation is leaving for greener pastures.
Voters who have the option of early retirement are also increasingly worried.
We all know that hundreds of thousands of dollars have been drained out of retirement accounts through losses in the stock market over the last two years.
And yet the Bush administration is itching to invest our Social Security in the stock market.
Voters also know that the Republican majority has done virtually nothing to ensure that Medicaid and Medicare work in a way that provides all of us with the medical care we need.
People want more responsive H.M.O.'s and some control on the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs.
And a huge majority of voters want to make certain that health care is delivered in a manner that safeguards a woman's right to choose.
My opponent has consistently voted against that right.
Local voters support public education.
Instead, my opponent favors private school vouchers.
As a long-term educator and school board member, you can depend on me to stand up for public education.
My opponent has been in Washington for 14 years.
The results of his representation are all around us.
We have never needed change and new energy so badly.
With your help, I will go to Washington and start the process of rebuilding our region.
Thank you.
>> James Walsh is the republican, independence and conservative party's candidate.
He is the incumbent.
>> I am Congressman James Walsh, and I am running for election.
The district includes the Monroe county towns of Irondequoit, Webster and Penfield, all of Wayne county, parts of Cayuga county and all of Onondaga county and the City of Syracuse.
Throughout my tenure in Congress, I have worked to be accessible and to provide strong service, and I look forward to representing the greater Rochester area in the 108th Congress.
I am a senior member of the house appropriations committee and currently serve as chairman of its third largest subcommittee.
That position has enabled me to bring home millions of dollars of important projects across New York State, including right here in Rochester.
I have authored and sponsored major legislature, including the creation of a comprehensive nationwide newborn hearing and screening intervention program.
I have also sponsored legislature to establish the Erie Canal corridor, as it will open the door to new development and recreational access in canal front communities.
I have directed NASA to become more involved in science and research activities at New York state colleges and universities.
And I have been outspoken advocate for northeastern farmers.
As New York's only Republican member of the committee.
I am for a clean environment, and I will continue to advocate issues important to both you and me to expand our economy, strengthen our schools, to ensure retirement security and improve overall quality of life.
I look forward to representing you in Congress in January, and I ask you for your support on election day, November 5.
>> The 26th Congressional District covers the western portion of Monroe County, including Greece, Parma, Clarkson, Ogden, Riga and Wheatland, and portions of Orleans, Niagara and Livingston counties and all of Genesee and Wyoming counties.
The participating free air time candidates are Paul E. Fallon and Ayesha F. Nariman.
The order of the candidates' appearance was determined by a coin flip.
Paul Fallon is the green party candidate.
He is an attorney and is 44 years old.
>> Hello.
My name is Paul Fallon, and I the green party's candidate for the 26th congressional district.
You may not recognize me with my clothes on.
As my minor party politician, I knew this was the only way to guarantee press coverage of my campaign.
It worked.
But there is only so many times you can pull a trick like that.
You have to be like my opponent, incumbent Tom Reynolds, the Republican candidate.
He doesn't take his clothes off.
He is content with removing his soul and selling it to the highest bidder.
He is the symbol of what is wrong with American politics.
In election after election, it's all about money.
Reynolds has received more campaign contributions than almost any other congressional candidate.
And those donors get what they paid for.
Reynolds opposed the campaign finance reform bill against soft money, voted in a national energy policy bill that extended handouts to large corporations and voted against a bill forcing the E.P.A. to maintain lower arsenic levels in drinking water.
That's the kind of a vote that makes no sense to thinking people unless you have $840,000 in soft money contributions that say it does.
Democrats and Republicans have sold out the voters of this country to special interests.
My candidacy is a protest against this kind of politics.
I accept no corporate donations.
I am free to support working people, the environment, the war on drug, defend civil liberties and fight corporate crime.
Just because our politicians have sold out doesn't mean you have to.
Your vote counts.
Give to a real person.
Give to me, Paul Fallon, on November 5.
Thank you.
>> Ayesha Nariman is the democratic party candidate.
Currently she is a financial advisor and is 54 years old.
>> Hello.
My name is Ayesha Nariman.
I am the Democrat candidate for Congress.
I am a financial advisor by profession, and I have an M.B.A. in finance.
I am a fiscal conservative and a social moderate.
I have chosen to be a participant and not a bystander.
I ask the people of my district to put their faith in a person of ideas, an ordinary citizen like themselves and not a politician to represent them in the U.S. House of Representatives.
My main focus is to keep the defined benefit structure of Social Security intact.
The 1983 Greenspan commission converted the Social Security program into a
pay-as-you-go program.
Hence, current workers continue to pay for current retirees, but they, that is you, are also required to put aside moneys for your own retirement.
This means it is a defined pension plan.
My bill would be to reflect this by changing the name from FICA taxes to FICA savings.
I am the candidate with a comprehensive Medicare plan, including a prescription drug benefit.
However, my plan is unique in that it is budget neutral.
I believe in a strong capitalist system, but as we are painfully aware, we need to have strong regulations in place and the mechanisms to enforce them to keep our corporate C.E.O.'s honest.
I have a plan to stop the corporate malfeasance, accounting malpractices, and to protect our worker's pensions.
I am for a fair trade bill and for a strong manufacturing base at home.
>> The 28th Congressional District includes the city of Rochester and a small portion of the Monroe County towns of Greece, Parma, Brighton, Perinton and Hamlin.
It stretches west through Orleans and Niagara counties and then extends down into Erie County and part of Buffalo.
The participating free air time candidates are Louise M.
Slaughter and Henry F.
Wojtaszek.
The order of the candidates' appearance was determined by a coin flip.
Henry Wojtaszek is the republican, independence and conservative party candidate.
He's the city attorney for North Tonawanda.
He is 39 years old.
>> As I talk to people in the newly-created district 28th congressional district, they are most concerned about two things.
Homeland security and economic opportunity.
As a result, I have been focused on three initiatives.
The northern border joint training and operation facility, an urban growth agenda, and relicensing of the Niagara project.
The facility will enable U.S. and Canadian personnel to be trained in a new collaborative border security.
It would serve as a permanent base of operations for these personnel to safely and efficiently move people and goods between the U.S. and Canada.
Trade is vitally important to the economic future of Rochester.
The majority of trade between Canada and U.S. moves through western New York.
I have proposed an aggressive pro-growth urban agenda that would bring people into the Cities.
The first thing I will do is say yes to the downtown transit center.
It needs to be built, and I will make sure it happens as soon as possible.
I have proposed a City home tax credit.
This would enable the owner of a primary residence within a federally-designated renewal zone to deduct the cost of home improvements.
I can think of no better way to encourage people to make an investment in the City than have the federal government make an investment along with them.
The third part of my agenda focuses on the re-election of the Niagara power plant.
Rochester, buffalo, and Niagara gets far too little of the power.
It would be enormous.
More cheap power equals more jobs.
We can create many jobs by offering businesses this cheap power.
I will bring to this job the passion and energy that is vital to securing federal dollars necessary for growth and change.
My plan for this district will bring western New Yorkers security and economic opportunity.
I will be focused on bringing both to the voters of West New York.
Thank you very much.
>> Louise Slaughter is the democratic party candidate incumbent.
She is 73 years old.
>> Hello.
I am Louise Slaughter, and I have been proud to represent you in Congress for these past 16 years.
It's been a privilege and a pleasure to stand up for the hard-working families who are the heart and soul of our community.
I put the interest of families and children first, and I have worked to bring new jobs and industry into our district, including helping to bring jet blue to Rochester and buffalo.
I fought to protect Social Security and Medicare.
And after what's happened in the stock market, we should never risk our Social Security on Wall Street.
And that is why I oppose privatization of Social Security.
We need to have the same low prices of prescription drugs here in New York as our neighbors do in Canada.
We need to get the prices down for everyone.
And I believe that in Congress, my job is to fight for your jobs.
And that is why I am sponsoring legislature to make electronic parts for our military machines made here in the United States.
Not only as a security measure, but so we can reopen manufacturing facilities here.
I want to continue to fight for you, for your jobs, for better health care, for good schools and safer communities, for a clean environment, a secure retirement.
But I need your help.
So I ask for your vote on Tuesday, November 5.
Thank you for listening, and, please, whoever you support, go to the polls and vote.
You'll be strengthening our democracy at a critical time in our nation's history.
>> The 29th congressional district includes southern Monroe County towns, including parts of Brighton, Perinton and Penfield and all of Pittsford, Henrietta, Mendon, Rush and Chili, and then extends south into Ontario and Yates Counties.
It then takes up the southern tier counties of Schuyler, Chemung, Steuben, Allegany and Cattaraugus counties.
The participating free air time candidate is Rachel Treichler.
Rachel Treichler is the green party candidate.
She is the owner of a bookstore and is 51 years old.
>> My name is Rachel Treichler.
I am running for Congress as the green party candidate from the new 29th congressional district, now represented by Amo Houghton.
If elected, I will work for policies to develop small locally-owned businesses and family farms.
We need to have local production of the products and food that we use in the district.
When products are produced here, the wages and profits of production stay here and increase the wealth of our communities.
We need to have local ownership in order to have owners that care about the long-term future of our communities.
The current economic system of far-flung, multinational ownership with production primarily for export is not a system that develops sustainable communities.
I have seen both systems at work.
I grew up on a farm, in a small farming community, and I spent 20 years in New York City, including eight years practicing law with large corporate law firms.
My experience has taught me that the green party values of decentralization, community-based economics, grassroots democracy, justice and ecology are the values that lead to long-term economic health.
If you would like to join me in building the green party in the 29th district, please call 607-569-2114, or visit my website at TreichlerforCongress.org.
Help make a difference in your community.
Join us and vote green.
The green party candidates are on the ballot on row G.
>> The Monroe County court judge is empowered to the prosecution of crimes.
But typically this judge handles misdemeanor trials and preliminary proceedings on felonies.
The participating free air time candidates are Alex R. Renzi and Richard Dollinger.
The order of the candidates' appearance was determined by a coin flip.
Alex Renzi is the republican, independence and conservative party candidate.
He currently serves as a Henrietta town justice and is 44 years old.
>> My name is Alex Renzi, and I am running for Monroe county court judge.
It deals almost exclusively with felony criminal cases.
It is important that a judge have the necessary experience and ability to fulfill the responsibilities of this very important position.
I would like to take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about myself and why I believe I have the qualifications and experience that are so necessary for this judgeship.
I have the honor and privilege of representing the Republican, conservative and independence parties.
They have trusted me to represent them, and I would like to think that I have earned that trust.
I have earned it with almost 20 years of experience as a lawyer, all of them practicing criminal law.
I am a former assistant district attorney where I had the opportunity to prosecute cases on a daily basis.
For the past 12 years, I have been a private attorney, and I have been in Monroe county court on a regular basis.
My opponent is a politician who has never practiced in county court or tried a criminal case.
I have been a judge for the past 12 years.
I have presided over more than 25,000 cases, many times making decisions that can be life-altering, whether it is a 16-year-old child who deserves another chance or locking somebody up for the maximum period of time to protect the community.
One thing I am very proud of is the endorsements I have received.
They come from the people responsible for maintaining law and order in our community, and that's law enforcement.
I have the endorsement of virtually every police association in Monroe County.
These are the agencies that are closest to dealing with the criminals and victims in our justice system.
They are aware of my outstanding service to this community.
We live in a day and age where much fear surrounds us, fear for our safety.
We see it every day.
The child abductions, murders, drug dealers and drunk drivers.
These are the type of cases that come before a county court judge.
I am committed to be a judge and make this community a better and safer place to live.
>> Richard Dollinger is the democratic party candidate.
He is a state senator and is 51 years old.
>> Hello.
I am state senator Richard Dollinger.
After 10 years in the New York state Senate and five years as a Monroe County legislator, I seek the privilege of continuing to serve you, your family and neighbors as our next Monroe County court judge.
I believe that my 22 years as a successful trial lawyer and 15 years as a legislator responsible for crafting the law represents a well-rounded career in public service that makes me uniquely qualified for this job.
The Monroe County bar association's judiciary committee unanimously recommended me for this position.
The greater Rochester association of women attorneys found me both qualified and commended for this job.
As a member of the state Senate, I voted on thousands of laws impacting the criminal justice system, including reform of the sexual assault laws, increased penalties for elder abuse and domestic violence, increased rights for crime victims, and limits on parole for violent felons as well as many others.
I voted to confirm both Republicans and Democrats as judges.
These votes were based on their integrity and character, a thorough and practical knowledge of the law, strong skills and a passionate commitment to justice.
I believe I have those same characteristics in abundance.
I hope you will agree that my combination of 22 years as a trial lawyer, my passionate commitment to justice, and my record as the people's advocate in this county make me well-qualified to be your next county court judge.
I would ask for your vote in November.
>> I believe that the drug laws should be repealed.
I think they are old.
They are too punitive.
>> They should stay there because they have people out there that are dealing drugs, and they should really be not put into jail but underneath it.
>> I think the drug law is a little bit excessive and too harsh and tends to penalize minorities.
It should be repealed.
>> Back in the 1960's, I smoked my share.
But I don't have a problem with it.
But with people that do have a problem with it, they need treatment.
>> I think they are the most unfair laws that have ever been placed on the vote.
Abolish them, get rid of them.
>> I think they should be re-examined and looked at on a regular basis so that they are kept up to date with the needs of society.
>> For complete coverage of New York state issues, connect to nycitizens.org, your one stop site.
You can get current information on legislature, redistricting and other issues.
Statewide news from Karen DeWitt.
>> Thank you for tuning in to this year's candidate's free air time.
[Captioning made possible by WXXI Public Broadcasting Council]
For a transcript of this program, you can visit www.nycitizens.org.