Politics on the Hudson

In case you missed it, Rep. Nan Hayworth, R-Mount Kisco, discussed earmarks or the lack thereof in a NYT’s piece that appeared Saturday. The story pointed out that earmarks, a.k.a. pork or money appropriated by Congress for specific projects in specific districts, have paid for many public improvements throughout District 19. But that is coming to a halt.

“I am not questioning the worthiness of filtering Lake Oscawana (in Putnam Valley),” Hayworth told the Times. (That was a reference to $400,000 obtained by her predecessor, John Hall, to improve the lake’s water quality.)

“Is this a project to which federal tax dollars should be directed, or is this a project another authority should be responsible for?,” she continued.

Both houses of Congress recently agreed to temporarily end the practice and President Obama during his State of the Union address threatened to veto any legislation containing such spending.

As a candidate last year, Hayworth signed a “no pork” pledge.

(Photo by Frank Becerra/TJN)

Democratic Rep. John Hall gained 4 points in his race against Republican challenger Nan Hayworth over the past two weeks, but the race for the Hudson Valley’s 19th Congressional District seat remains a dead heat.

A new Siena Research Institute poll released this morning shows Hall leading Hayworth 47 percent to 46 percent, well within the poll’s 3.8 percentage-point margin of error.

Hayworth led Hall 46 percent to 43 percent in a Siena poll earlier this month.
Both polls confirm political handicappers’ assessments that the race is tossup.

Republicans hope to pick up as many as eight House seats in New York in their quest to regain majority control of the House. They need to gain at least 39 seats nationwide to do that.

“This has the potential to be one of the closest races in the nation and might not be decided till very late next Tuesday — or maybe even later than that,” Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said.

Ninety-three percent of likely voters said they’re at least fairly certain whom they’ll vote for, leaving only a small segment of the electorate undecided.

Hall leads among independent voters 48 percent to 47 percent, according to the telephone survey of 651 likely  voters conducted Saturday through Tuesday.  Hayworth had led 46 percent to 39 percent among indepdendent voters in the earlier poll.

Hayworth leads among independent voters 46 percent to 39 percent, according to the telephone survey of 651 likely voters conducted Saturday through Tuesday.

Greenberg said Hall’s gains over the last two weeks mostly came from independent voters.

“Hall continues to have a high single-digit lead in Rockland and Westchester counties,’’ Greenberg said. “Hayworth continues to lead in Orange County, although the lead is down to seven points from 21 points. And the battleground counties of Dutchess and Putnam continue to divide their votes nearly evenly.’’

Hall is focusing on Orange County this Saturday, with a public rally at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union hall in Harriman that will feature former President Bill Clinton and musician Joe Bouchard of Blue Oyster Cult.

Meanwhile, Hayworth has tapped into voter dissatisfaction that has driven the growth of the tea party movement.

Likely voters who have a favorable opinion of the tea party prefer Hayworth over Hall 84 percent to 12 percent. But voters in the district are deeply divided over the tea party, which had a 44 percent favorable 46 percent unfavorable rating in the new poll.

By two-to-one, 62 percent to 31 percent, likely voters think the country is on the wrong track.
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Democratic Rep. John Hall and Republican challenger Nan Hayworth are tied at 43 percent each among likely voters in a new poll conducted by Penn Schoen Berland.

The phone survey of 416 likely voters in the Hudson Valley’s 19th Congressional District was conducted Tuesday through Thursday of last week.

It’s part of The Hill 2010 Midterm Election Poll of key congressional races around the country.

The polling also found Democratic Rep. Mike Arcuri leads Republican challenger Richard Hanna by 10 points, 47 percent to 37 percent,  in the 24th Congressional District covering central New York and part of the Southern Tier.  That phone survey of 400 likely voters had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

Both the 19th and the 24th Congressional Districts are considered by Republicans among their top opportunities to pick up seats on Nov. 2 and regain majority control of the House.

Today’s polling sponsored by The Hill looked at 10 second term Democrats who are in tossup races.

Arcuri was the only one of the 10 incumbent Democrats to have a lead that went beyond the poll’s margin of error.

First a RNN-TV/Westchester County Association poll said it. Then a Siena College poll did. Now, it’s Monmouth University Polling Institutes’s turn.

In the election for New York’s 19 Congressional District, incumbent John Hall is in a virtual tie  with his challenger Nan Hayworth.  The Monmouth University Poll finds the incumbent Democrat with  49% of the vote and the Republican with 48% among likely voters in this district.

Last week, a Siena poll found Rep. Hall, the Democrat, and Dr. Hayworth, the Republican,“waging a neck-and-neck race, as 46 percent of likely voters are currently backing Hayworth and 43 percent favor Hall.” That came after the RNN-TV/Westchester County Association poll showed the two in a “dead heat” with each having 42 percent of voters surveyed in their favor.

Here’s the Monmouth survey.

MUP37_NY19

The Northern Westchester Tea Party Patriots announced today its endorsements of Republican candidates for governor, Congress and state legislature.

Those endorsed were: Carl Paladino for governor; Joe DioGuardi for U.S. Senate; Nan Hayworth for Congress, 19th District; Robert Castelli for Assembly, 89th District; Greg Ball for state Senate, 40th District; Steve Katz for Assembly, 99th District; and Bob Cohen for state Senate, 37th District.

“We decided that now was the time to endorse candidates because people who are not as involved in the political process want some direction and input into which candidates support tea party principles,” Patriots c0-founder Bill Bongiorno said.

“We have been educating the public about Constitutional issues, free markets, limited government and maximum freedom in a free society,” he said, “and now is the time for direct involvement in the political process.”

A Siena College poll released this morning shows Rep. John Hall, D-Dover Plains, and Dr. Nan Hayworth of Mount Kisco, his Republican opponent, “waging a neck-and-neck race, as 46 percent of likely voters are currently backing Hayworth and 43 percent favor Hall.” The Sienna Siena poll was conducted October 5-10 by telephone calls to  610 likely voters and has a margin of error of 4 percent.

“Hall and Hayworth are dividing the voters in the 19th Congressional District nearly evenly. Hall has the support of more than three-quarters of Democrats, while Hayworth has the support of more than three-quarters of Republicans and a seven-point lead among independent voters,” said Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg. “Hayworth leads by 16 points with men and Hall has a 12-point lead with women. Hayworth’s 21-point lead in Orange County offsets Hall’s seven-point lead in Westchester and Rockland Counties and his small three-point lead in Dutchess and Putnam Counties. Hall has a slight edge among voters 55 and older, while Hayworth has a 10-point lead among voters less than 55 years of age.”

You can see the poll press release below and you can go here for further study.

19thpoll

It’s the second poll released in less than a week that shows a tight race between Hall, who is seeking a third term, and newcomer Hayworth. Last week, a RNN-TV/Westchester County Association poll showed the two in a “dead heat” with each having 42 percent of voters surveyed in their favor.

The association tonight is hosting a debate between the two, their first public face-off. The event takes place at 6 p.m. at RNN, 800 Westchester Avenue (5^th Floor Auditorium), Rye Brook, NY.

Almost everyone by know probably knows that Rep. John Hall, D-Dover Plains, is one of the founders of the ‘70s rock band Orleans. Among their hits was “Dance with Me,” which a group supporting his opponent, Republican Dr. Nan Hayworth, parodied this summer. Called “Vote With Me,” the video has brought about some legal wrangling, but that’s another story for another post.

Vote With Me from YVFORT on Vimeo.

In response, supporters of Hall have put together a remake of “Still the One,” another of Orleans’ hits. Some Orleans’ members, Dar Williams and at least one of the Garrison-based MotherLode Trio make appearances.

Rep. John Hall, D- Dover Plains, and his Republican opponent, Dr. Nan Hayworth of Mount Kisco, traded views this week over the auto-industry bailout. (Any bolding/italics is theirs.)

This came from Hayworth’s campaign:

John Hall Fact of the Day: John Hall Accepts Money from GM PAC After Government Bailout

John Hall accepted $1,000 on August 30, 2010 from the General Motors Company Political Action Committee.

In 2009, U.S. taxpayers committed $66.7 billion in bailout funding to General Motors ($49.5 billion to General Motors and $17.2 billion to the General Motors financing arm, GMAC LLC).

Pursuant to its loan agreements, General Motors was required to submit a restructuring plan to the Department of the Treasury TARP Auto Team to show how GM would use bailout money to achieve “long-term viability.” One of the main purposes of the loans to General Motors was to “preserve and promote jobs of American workers employed directly by the automakers and subsidiaries and in related industries.” In February of last year, General Motors submitted its restructuring plans. GM’s restructuring plan called for terminating 1,650 dealerships (about 300 per year) by 2014. The closure of the dealerships and plants was an acceleration of a plan to complete a “right-sizing and right-shaping of its dealer network in major markets, increasing volume throughput in better locations.”

GM’s plan was rejected by the Auto Team. According to the TARP Auto Team, GM’s “pace” of planned dealership terminations was too slow and therefore an obstacle to its viability. In response to the Auto Team’s rejection of GM’s plan, GM identified 1,454 dealerships in 2010 for closing. Additionally, the Auto Team advised GM to accelerate the closings during the bankruptcy proceedings as a way of avoiding the various state franchise laws and protections for the dealerships.

It is important to note that under GM’s plan, only 300 dealerships would have been closed a year. Under TARP’s plan, 1,454 dealerships had to be closed in 2010. As a result of that decision, there were greater job losses in 2010.

The Inspector General also found that that job losses at dealerships as a result of the closings was not a substantial factor in the Auto Team’s consideration of the dealership termination issue.

Questions for the Hall Campaign:

Given that John Hall has accepted money from General Motors, did he support the Treasury’s decision to close more dealerships than was necessary?

How many jobs were lost in New York as a result of the dealership closings?

It was followed by a response from Hall’s folks.

HUDSON VALLEY GM CAR DEALERS RESPOND TO NAN HAYWORTH’S SO-CALLED “FACT OF THE DAY”

Beacon, NY - Dr. Nan Hayworth’s on-going barrage of negative attacks against Rep. John Hall continued yesterday with a so-called “Fact of the Day” criticizing Hall’s vote to save the US auto industry.

Here are responses from several Hudson Valley GM auto dealers:

“This government action was taken to keep America going. The auto industry helped build America. These are American cars and local dealerships. If it had not been done, there would be a lot more empty storefronts and a lot more unemployed people in Dutchess, Putnam, and Westchester. What Congress did was right. Congressman Hall helped to keep us in business. It should be non-partisan and no one should second guess it now.” – Michael Sylvester, President, M&S Chevrolet, Pawling, NY

“Had it not been for the legislation to clear the way for a managed bankruptcy of General Motors and Chrysler, I don’t believe we would have survived, let alone the increase in sales that we have experienced since. It has created a culture change at GM and will influence how they do business now and into the future. I commend Congressman Hall and his colleagues for staving off a potential disaster.” – Frank Petrucci, President, Country Chevrolet, Warwick, NY

“It was because of the government’s intervention and Congressman Hall’s help that our local dealership was able to survive the auto crisis. At the time we had 45 employees who all would all have lost their jobs without the government’s help. Now we have 65 employees who live and work locally.” – Lou Roberti, President, Arroway Chevrolet of Mount Kisco, NY

Hall campaign manager Patrick McGarrity added:

“John Hall stands by his vote to save the US auto industry and stands by American workers and car dealers. It is no surprise to us that Nan Hayworth would oppose efforts to save American manufacturing jobs and our auto industry. After all, she is a strong supporter of tax breaks for companies that outsource US jobs overseas and opposed recent congressional efforts to close tax loopholes allowing foreign national corporations to dodge paying taxes by hiding assets in tax-haven countries.”

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A new poll has Rep. John Hall, D-Dover Plains, and his challenger, Republican Dr. Nan Hayworth of Mount Kisco, neck and neck in the race for the 19th Congressional District with less than four weeks until Election Day.

According to the RNN-TV/Westchester County Association poll released this morning, 42 percent of voters said they would go with Hall and 42 percent said Hayworth. The poll has a margin of error of 3.75 percent.

Hall is seeking his third term and some political observers in recent days and weeks have been labelling the race as a toss-up. See here and here.

You can see the poll, conducted by Iona College, below.

Hall Hayworth Poll Final(2)

Iona College wants your opinion. The college, long known for its presence in Westchester County, opened a new polling center focusing on local races.

With the recent launch of its new polling capability in four hotly contested Westchester races, Iona College is filling a gap in assessing the opinions and concerns of area voters, according to Brian Nickerson, dean of Arts and Science.

“The mid-term election, which has the potential to change the balance of political power in Albany and Washington, D.C., is a very exciting time for Iona to begin its academic-based polling service,” said Nickerson. “Such races and regional focus are often overlooked by other polling services, so we are pleased to address what we believe is an unacceptable gap for an area with such political and economic influence.”

With this effort, Iona joins other colleges and universities — notably Marist, Siena and Quinnipiac— in the region that guage public sentiment on key issues and races.

But for now, the center is addressing local races. The college’s polling center last week conducted its first Decision 2010 poll for RNN-TV and the Westchester County Association’s Call to Action Campaign for the 35^th Senate District race between incumbent Democrat Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Republican challenger Liam McLaughlin.

The poll results showed the race could be tight and that there is a large undecided voter block and strong anti-incumbent sentiment.

“Based on the ‘buzz’ resulting from this Iona poll, we expect these polls to become a more important part of the public dialogue as we enter the final weeks of campaigning,” Nickerson said.

Voters in the 35^th Senate District were polled by Iona on Sept. 21 and again on Sept. 26 before the WCA’s Sept. 28 debate that was carried live over RNN-TV. Iona College made over 10,000 calls to registered voter phone numbers and completed as many as 735 surveys.

They expect to do the same with other hotly contest races including in the New York State Senate (District 40) between Greg Ball and Mike Kaplowitz; Suzi Oppenheimer and Bob Cohen (Distirct 37) and U.S. Congressional District 19 with Rep. John Hall and challenger Nan Hayworth.

Nickerson said the college also plans to extend its poll for the governor and U.S. Senate races.