Television commercial in Putnam County exec race
Putnam Legislator Mary Ellen Odell, who is running for Putnam County executive against state Sen. Vincent Leibell, is taking aim at her opponent in a new commercial. The two Republicans face off in next week’s GOP primary.
The 30-second commercial focuses on a couple of issues associated with Leibell, a 28-year veteran of Albany. View the commercial and then read on for some background.
First is his spending on staff and office expenses in fiscal year 2008-09— $964,882. That put him atop the list of local lawmakers and their spending. He said the figure was a result of added duties stemming from his chairmanship of a busy committee.
But the veteran GOP lawmaker from Patterson maintained that the earlier costs were tax dollars well spent — and a result of additional staffing and travel costs that came with his chairmanship of the Legislature ’s Standing Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs.He insisted that the committee’s workload was so extensive that it was considered “radioactive.”
“As chairman, I had more staff assigned to that,” Leibell told The Journal News in February. “I’m the ranking minority member on the committee.
“But we have the oversight over everything from the Division of Military and Naval Affairs to the New York State (Office) of Homeland Security, which comes under the Governor’s Office, as well as things such as the New York State Police,” he said. “So all of these come under us for oversight as well as we do our own initiatives right out of this office.”
The commercial also touches on the FBI subpoenaing records in June related to the construction of his Patterson home. He told The Journal News at the time that he wasn’t worried about the subpoena and blamed the matter on a continuing conflict with state Assemblyman Greg Ball.
Leibell, who is running for Putnam County executive, acknowledged that the records were subpoenaed but said he was confident investigators would find no evidence of wrongdoing.“I’m very comfortable that everything that I did in terms of that house was most appropriate,” said Leibell, R-Patterson. “Except for the fact of the position I’m in, there’d be no question about it. I built a house like millions of other Americans have done.”
The campaign piece also mentions the two non-profits he formed, the Putnam Community Foundation and the Hudson Valley Trust, which are funded with state grants.
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This is possibly the worst campaign commercial I have ever seen. Is Putnam Politics really that amateurish? I don’t even understand what the point of the ad was. A tainted state senator? Who? I’ve already forgotten this woman’s name. Perhaps it would have made more sense to just focus on herself first.
Must agree, this is a bad commericail that tells you nothing, it try’s to imply something, but does not get its point across. Of more importance it tells you nothing about the person who paid for the commercial other then her name. On a grade of A to F, this commercial would get an F in all areas.
She doesn’t have a chance. In a fit of rage, she’s aligned herself with Ball and now she’s ruined her political career. No County Executive job, no Assembly job and no Legislator job.
I have lived in Putnam for 30 years and have no idea who Mary Odell is. Vinny Leibell may be an “Albany Veteran” but at least he he brings the “pork” home. What is wrong with money to to not for profits? The Putnam Community Foundation and Huidson Valley Trust are both fine organizations
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