Please bear with me, as I am quite new to diary writing, and unsure as to format and how to proceed.
DISCLAIMER: I am NOT working for the candidate in ANY formal capacity, should NOT be taken as a campaign spokeperson, and am NOT too well-informed.
I had the opportunity to meet with the Democratic challenger to our incumbent G.O.P. House representative, and, I rather liked the challenger. Just wished to share the story.
The 25th Congressional District in NY covers a swathe of central NY, and we are currently represented by a G.O.P. incumbent, the Honorable James T. Walsh.
This is one of relatively few Congressional Districts in the country which went for both Kerry and Gore, in 2004 and 2000, but is represented by a G.O.P. member in the House. It feels weird to me to be represented by a G.O.P. member in the House, even though the District went (pale) blue in both 2000 and 2004; I would much rather upstate NY go a deeper shade of blue, and not just at the top of the ticket. Walsh ran without Democratic opposition in 2004, and steamrolled Howie Hawkins from the Green Party. This time, there is a challenger from the Democratic party.
The challenger is Mr. Dan Maffei, who grew up in and around Syracuse, attended University at Brown, then worked for a stint as a local reporter, and then on the staffs of Senators Bill Bradley, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and Representative Charles Rangel (he was a staffer on the House Ways and Means committee).
While it may be a long shot to unseat an entrenched G.O.P. incumbent, and the district does lean Republican although it went for Kerry, I have been impressed with what I saw of Mr. Maffei the other evening.
He comes across as highly intelligent, and articulate. He is also an excellent listener, and capable of what I am convinced is genuine empathy. He is capable of formulating complex answers to difficult questions asked impromptu (I was sure he had no idea I was going to ask him some tricky ones), and, does not grandstand or make grand statements along the lines of..."When I am in Congress XYZ etc etc ... ". He came across as realistic about the odds he faces, and, on a host of issues, struck me as a candidate and person I was in agreement with, again and again.
I would strongly and warmly urge all in Central NY (and elsewhere) who may be unaware that Walsh has a challenger to feel free to take a close look at Mr. Maffei, to see how they feel. For me, Walsh's votes to support "The Decider" (ahem, ahem) on his veto of federal funding for stem cell research, provide any additional justification (if I needed any) to hope he may soon become one of our soon-to-be "former
Congresspersons". And, I am hoping that Hillary and Spitzer will have long coat-tails !
I hope I did this right, and that it all appears okay, as I am quite new to this. My apologies in advance if I screw up somehow. It was very exciting for me to actually get to meet, and speak with, an aspiring Congressperson !
Link to Mr. Maffei's site here:
http://www.maffeiforcongress.com/...