Eddie Sundquist

MAYVILLE – Democratic Committee members in Chautauqua County have announced their endorsement for congress in the 2018 General Election.

Jamestown attorney Eddie Sundquist, the only candidate of the pool of seven to come from Chautauqua County, collected 59 percent of the ballot vote to beat out six other contenders to win the endorsement of the Chautauqua County Democratic Committee. Sundquist received the majority of votes on the fourth attempt by more than 100 committee members.

Democrats across the state’s 23rd Congressional District have been working to identify the candidate who will best challenge Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning), who will be seeking a fifth term in office.

Fellow Democratic hopefuls Tracy Mitrano (Penn Yann) and Max Dell Pia (Owego) were second and third runner ups respectively in the nomination process. Also nominated were Linda Andrei (Ithaca), Rick Gallant (Corning), Ian Golden (Ithaca), and Charles Whalen (Geneva).

Party Chairman Norman Green says the endorsement process for the county Democratic Committee is a precursor to the June 26 primary where rank-and-file Democrats will vote to finalize the party’s candidate to run in the general election.

The field of Democratic contenders this year is the largest since the creation of the newly drawn 23^rd congressional district back in 2012. In that year’s election, a total of three Democrats competed for the party’s nomination to face Reed, with the eventual winner being Ithaca’s Nate Shinagawa. There was no primary in 2014 and 2016 elections, with Democratic candidates Martha Robertson and John Plumb each having no competition from their fellow party members. In each of those three past elections, Reed was able to hold his seat.

The NY23 district extends along New York’s border with Pennsylvania from the shores of Lake Erie in Chautauqua County to the suburbs of Binghamton in Tioga County.  Of those numerous counties in the district, Chautauqua County holds the largest overall population, while Tompkins County has the most registered Democrats.

NY 23 DISTRICT: The NY 23 Congressional District, containing: Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, Steuben, Chemung, Schuyler, Yates Tompkins and Seneca counties – along with a portion of Ontario county.

The next congressional election isn’t until November 2018, but several individuals are already putting their hats in the ring in an effort to unseat Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning).

Rep. Tom Reed of Corning, elected to Congress in 2010, has represented New York 23rd Congressional District since January 2013.

According to the Jamestown Post-Journal, potential candidates for the state’s 23rd congressional district include Jamestown area attorney Eddie Sundquist, Corning area teacher and union leader Rick Gallant, and Ithaca businessman Ian Golden. Also listed as a potential candidate via Facebook is Enfield, New York resident James Clasby.

Since reapportionment redrew congressional lines and put Chautauqua County into the 23^rd congressional district, Tom Reed has won reelection three separate times against three different opponents.  They included Ithaca-area Democrats Nate Shinagowa in 2012 and Martha Robertson in 2014, and most recently Randolph native John Plumb in last year’s election.

With the election still nearly a year-and-a-half away, more potential candidates cold also be coming forward in the coming weeks and months. If necessary, a Democratic primary will take place in June 2018.

The 23rd Congressional District is comprised of 11 counties – several of which are located in the southern tier along the New York-Pennsylvania border.

John Plumb (D-Lakewood)

JAMESTOWN – The John Plumb for Congress campaign is once again going on the offensive against Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning, NY 23), accusing him of putting the interests of Wall Street before residents in the 23^rd Congressional District.

On Thursday the Plumb Campaign sent out a media release criticizing Congressman Reed’s campaign for sharing a graphic on social media on Wednesday, Aug. 2. The graphic features a message that Reed is representing the “families here in the Southern Tier, Finger Lakes, and Western New York.” However, the accompanying image includes the Tom Reed Logo over a silhouette of the New York City Skyline.

Whether intentional or an oversight, the irony of the image didn’t go unnoticed by Plumb’s campaign.

Friends of John Plumb spokesman Sam Newton said the image is actually fitting for a representative that has taken over $1 million in campaign funding from Wall Street and the financial industry – including over $260,000 in this campaign cycle. He also claims that Reed has consistently voted to protect Wall Street at the expense of families here in Western New York.

A screenshot of the recent message and accompanying image on the Tom Reed’s social media.

“We appreciate that Congressman Reed is finally coming clean about who he represents in Washington – Wall Street bankers, not the hardworking families here in Western New York, the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes,” said Newton.

To support his claim of Reed putting Wall Street before Southern Tier Families, Newtown says that in June of this year, Reed voted along with his House Republican colleagues to block a new fiduciary rule that requires financial advisors to act in their clients’ best interests when giving financial advice, and bars advisors from ripping off clients in order to increase profits.

He also points to Reed’s vote in 2012 to repeal what Newton says was a key mechanism designed to keep Wall Street banks and the financial industry in check to prevent them from crashing the U.S. economy again and hurting working families.

And Newton said that Reed voted in 2013 for a bill almost entirely written directly by lobbyists for a top Wall Street bank that would have repealed a key regulation and allowed Wall Street banks to once again trade derivatives in house –which is a practice that the New York Times called “a main culprit in the 2008 financial crisis.”

And finally the Plumb campaign says that in 2011 Congressman Reed voted against a predatory lending restriction, which allowed financial industry advisors who had been convicted of fraud for engaging in predatory lending to veterans to continue to sell securities.

REED CAMPAIGN: PLUMB IS THE ONE PUTTING OUTSIDE INTERESTS AHEAD OF THE DISTRICT

In response to the Plumb campaign’s most recent accusations, the Reed campaign responded by saying Plumb is the one who’s putting other interests before the interests of local constituents.

Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning)

“John plumb is the one who is bought – bought by the DC establishment. This has been proven time and time again by Nancy Pelosi’s constant involvement in the district,” said Amy Hasenberg, Tom Reed for Congress Spokeswoman.  “She handpicked Plumb to move here to run for Congress and she already has hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in television commercials. John Plumb is literally in the pocket of DC insiders. He doesn’t care about the needs of our families, he just cares about where his next fundraising check is coming from. Tom on the other hand is fighting for our families because New York is his true home. He is bringing New York’s voice to Washington.”

Hasenberg also said that when it comes to looking out for the interests of Wall Street, no one does it better than the Democratic nominee for president, whose received full support from Plumb.

“Hillary Clinton is the candidate bought by Wall Street this election and John Plumb has supported her all along. Tom is supported by New York’s 23rd District because he is fighting for fair policies for us.”

Plumb is challenging Reed for his seat in the 2016 general election. Over the past two decades he’s served as a submarine officer in the Navy and later as an official at the Department of Defense. Most recently he’s served as director of defense policy and strategy at the National Security Council and is also a Navy Reserve Commander. He graduated from Randolph High School in 1988.

Reed is an attorney and former mayor of Corning who was elected to Congress in 2010 and has represented Chautauqua County since January 2013, when redistricting created the new boundaries for the state’s 23^rd congressional district. Since first being elected to Congress in 2010 (defeating Mathew Zeller, D-Rochester), Reed won reelection in 2012 (defeating Challenger Nate Shinagowa, D-Ithaca) and in 2014 (defeating challenger Martha Robertson, D-Ithaca).

John Plumb

RANDOLPH, NY – While the 2015 election is still more than three-and-a-half months away, one area resident is already turning his sites on the 2016 general election.

Democrat John Plumb has announced his intention to run for Congress for New York’s 23rd District.

In a media release announcing his candidacy, Plumb describes himself as a fourth-generation Western New Yorker and Naval Reserve Commander who was born in Jamestown and raised in Randolph. He’s spent the last two decades working as a submarine officer in the U.S. Navy and later as a Department of Defense official and a staff member on the National Security Council.

Plumb said he’s heard from too many families who feel Washington just isn’t listening to the rural communities of Western New York – saying that year after year, our middle class and working families find it harder and harder to get ahead.

The 23^rd district is currently held by Republican Tom Reed of Corning. Reed has not yet officially announced his intention to run for reelection, although it is widely believed he will seek fourth term in office. No other democrats have yet to come forward to announce their intention to run.

Since the 23rd Congressional District was drawn in 2012, Reed, who was elected in 2010 and had previously represented the former 29th Congressional District, has won reelection twice. In 2012 he defeated Democratic challenger Nate Shinagawa and in 2014 he defeated Democratic challenger Martha Robertson. Both challengers were based out of Tompkins County.

The 23rd Congressional District includes Chautauqua County and stretches across the Southern Tier all the way to Ithaca in Tompkins County.

For more information on John Plumb’s candidacy, visit www.johnplumbforcongress.com.

Martha Robertson

ITHACA – It’s official. Tompkins County legislator Martha Robertson is an official candidate for congress.

On Tuesday, Robertson’s campaign announced the Ithaca-area Democrat made her candidacy official by filing more than 5,500 Democratic nominating petitions from all 11 counties represented in 23rd Congressional District. As a result, Robertson is the primary opponent for Congress Tom Reed (R-Corning), who is seeking reelection for a third term.

Since redistricting in 2012, New York’s 23^rd congressional district includes 11 different counties in the southern tier of New York – including Chautauqua County.

WRFA is unaware if any other candidates are seeking the Democratic Party’s endorsement. During the 2012 election, three different individuals sought the endorsement, with Ithaca’s Nate Shinagawa eventually winning in the primary before losing to Reed in the general election.

Tompkins County Legislature Chair Martha Robertson has announced that she is going run for Congress in 2014, with her opponent most likely being current congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning).

In a report from the Ithaca Journal, Robertson stated that people have been asking her to do run for a long time, and she feels now the time is right. Robertson has severed on the Tompkins County Legislature for 12 years. She has also been a frequent presence at the state Capitol as a hydrofracking critic.

Robertson’s choice to run came after last year’s democratic challenge – Nate Shinagawa of Ithaca – announced he would not be entering another congressional race in 2014. Shinagawa – who is also a Tompkins County Legislator – will be serving as Robertson’s campaign chair.

In reaction to learning that Robertson would be announcing her intention to run, Congressman Reed said that while he welcomes all challengers, he will remain focused for the time being on doing his job.

Tom Reed

CORNING – Incumbent Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning) won the race for the newly drawn New York 23^rd Congressional District and will serve as Chautauqua County’s next congressman, starting in January 2013. Reed defeated challenger Nate Shinagawa (D-Ithaca) by an unofficial margin of about 51 to 49 percent.

In Chautauqua County, Reed defeated Shinagawa by an unofficial tally of 24,558 (52.7 percent) to 22,042 (47.3 percent).

The race was much closer than anticipated, with it still being too close to call after more than 85 percent of the election districts had reported in. But Reed eventually did pull away and announce victory shortly after 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night, although Shinagawa initially said he would wait to concede until after he was able to review the final results. However, within half-an-hour of Reed claiming victory, Shinagawa eventually conceded.

While the final numbers had yet to come in, Reed told the media that he is confident he will have won by a larger margin of victory than originally reported, adding that he won 10 of the 11 counties in the district. Reed also gave his reaction to the Presidential race, saying while he was upset Mitt Romney he’s willing to work in a bipartisan manner with reelected President Barack Obama and the U.S. Senate.

Following his concession speech, Nate Shinagawa spoke with WRFA and said that despite losing the race, he believes his campaign made a statement, showing that the 23rd Congressional District is by no means a “safe” district for the Republican Party. He says he also believes that his campaign has helped to pave the way for future Democratic congressional candidates in the Southern Tier. He added that it was still too early to say whether he’d have any interest in taking another crack at the seat in 2014.

Also last night, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand won reelection, easily defeating her opponent, Republican Wendy Long.

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) is campaigning for her first full-term in office and is squaring off against Wendy Long (R).

Local residents will also be choosing a new U.S. Representative, thanks to recent redistricting that moves Chautauqua County into the NY 23^rd Congressional district, which spans the southern tier of the state. In that race, voters will choose between current congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning) and Nate Shinagawa (D-Ithaca).

For state office, Senator Cathy Young (R-Olean) is running unopposed for her fourth full term in that office. Meanwhile, for the state assembly seat which now encompasses all of, and only, Chautauqua County, Republican incumbent Andy Goodell (R-Jamestown) will square off against Democratic challenger Dr. Rudy Mueller (D-Lakewood).

Finally, residents will also be voting for Chautauqua County Judge, which carries a ten-year term. In that race, incumbant  judge John Ward (R) will face challenger William Coughlin (D).

Other local races are also taking place in the towns of Busti, Carroll, Charlotte, Cherry Creek, Dunkirk, Harmony, North Harmony, Pomfret and Riply. The Village of Celoron also has a local race for village trustee.

Ballots for all municipalities in Chautauqua County are available at www.votechautauqua.com.

Tom Reed

JAMESTOWN – With the 2012 Election just days away, WRFA’s Jason Sample sat down with the two men who are running for the NY 23rd Congressional District, which will include Chautauqua County starting in January 2013. The candidates are current U.S. Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning) and challenger Nate Shinagawa (D-Ithaca). The host asked each candidate the same 10 questions, which were not made available to the them prior to each respective interview.

Nate Shinagawa

Due to scheduling, the two candidates were unable to be interviewed at the same time so the program is not meant to be considered a debate. The interview and both candidates responses were broadcast during the Nov. 1 episode of WRFA’s Community Matters program.

• AUDIO: LISTEN TO NOV. 1 EPISODE OF COMMUNITY MATTERS

Tom Reed

CORNING – Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning) is defending his support for a project that would import electricity and power from Canada to the Northeastern part of the United States. During his weekly conference call with the media, the Corning Republican told WRFA he supports the Champlain Hudson Power Express Transmission Line because it will help to reduce the cost of power throughout New York State and the 23^rd Congressional District, thus creating a greater incentive for manufacturers and other businesses to come into the area.

Reed was recently criticized by his opponent, Nate Shinagawa (D-Ithaca), who said that Reed’s support of the Canadian Transmission line project hurts local investments in renewable energy like wind and solar, shifting the responsibility and the benefits to Canadian workers. He also said the Canadian Transmission Line project undermines the $700 million, PowerUpWNY effort to get the NRG Power building in Dunkirk converted to producing electricity generated by natural gas, rather than coal.

Reed has already come up in support of the NRG project, pledging to do what he can to help keep the privately owned energy producing power plant open and on the local tax roles. He also said that it is actually his opponent who is undermining PowerUpWNY by opposing the increase of natural gas dependence in the district.