NY-26 Today

On his website, two-time loser Jack Davis writes,

One more thing – I want to run on a positive campaign on my record of saving AND creating jobs, global economic experience, and a passion to give back to the country and the community that has given me and my family so much.

So I will not be the first to engage in the politics of personal attacks. I invite all the others running for this office, to join me in a pledge to the taxpayers – not to interrupt their time at home with negative TV ads or clutter their mailboxes with tacky mailers. The issues are too important, we can do better, and I hope the other candidates will agree.

The issues are important indeed, but Davis’ “pledge” is – and was – a lie.

The only criticism that the Powers campaign has leveled against Jack Davis involved his very large investments in big oil stocks, raising the question of whether it was in Davis’ personal financial interest to push for alternative, sustainable energy solutions. That is a criticism on the issues – not a personal attack.

But Davis is now a desperate candidate; Davis with all his millions couldn’t buy himself the IP line, couldn’t buy himself the support of organized labor in spite of his anti-free-trade views, and couldn’t buy himself the endorsements of the Democratic party committees anywhere in the district.

Over the weekend, I was at University Plaza across from UB South waiting for a pizza. There was a young African American guy in the plaza sporting a “Save Jobs” t-shirt with a clipboard and Davis lit. I asked him what he was collecting signatures for, and he handed me the clipboard. He explained to me that he was there on behalf of Jack Davis, who is running for “councilman” and that he wants to “save our jobs and stuff”, and the clipboard held petitions to add the “Save Jobs and Farms Party” to the ballot in November. Yes, he was being paid. So, if Jack can’t buy himself the Independence or Democratic line, he’ll buy himself a minor-party line and will undoubtedly be campaigning through and until November. Particularly amusing was the party emblem, resembling an early 20th century socialist cog symbol.

In spite of Davis’ pledge not to run personal attacks, we’ve seen an attack website made to look like Powers’ own, using a URL associated with Powers’ unpaid army of volunteers. We’ve seen the release of a ticket for disorderly conduct from 2004, which when paired with $2.00 will buy someone a cup of coffee. We’ve seen the Rovian release of stinging pseudo-information about War Kids Relief, which some mainstream media recount, replete with added-value falsity.

Even Joe Illuzzi dropped this bombshell today:

For our part: The Davis campaign offered this publication $3,000 to do hit pieces on Davis rival Jon Powers in lieu of an ad. We said, NO! A shouting match ensued between yours truly & Davis spokesman Luke Vaughan. Albeit, we believe Jon Powers is a bum

They didn’t want to buy an ad, because that would have been too obvious. Instead, they wanted to pay Illuzzi to ream Powers, but maintain the appearance that they weren’t engaging in “personal attacks”. Jack Davis likes to talk about how he’s the candidate who’ll “clean it up“. What a load of nonsense. How will he clean up Washington when he’s been running a dirty campaign?

Naturally, Davis’ vigorous, relentless attacks on Powers only underscore the fact that Powers is the one to beat, and Davis quite literally can’t get anyone to pay him any attention.

Except, of course, for the Monroe County District Attorney and the federal authorities.

You can’t call them “consultants” when all you’ve bought for $5,000 is a vote. You’ll recall that Davis listed $5,000 in payments to “Blanca Semidey” for consulting services on his financial disclosures. Semidey is the maiden name of the wife of disgraced former Monroe County IP chair Rafael Colon.

Blanca Colon was one of three members of the Monroe County Independence Party’s nominating committee to vote for Democratic congressional candidate Jack Davis back in May, but she never revealed that she was being paid by the Davis campaign, according to a party member.

The mere fact that the money was paid out in such a way as to not be obvious that it was to Mrs. Colon and Mrs. Orsini is indicative of the fact that Davis knew the payments were improper vote buying and tried to hide them. Hate to say it, but that’s a whole lot different from when Jon Powers improperly reimbursed himself for running his campaign out of his house and then repaying the money back – because there was transparency; he didn’t try to hide them.

When asked about Davis’ payoffs, the Colons (showing infinitely more class than the Orsinis) promptly quit the party.

The Colons resigned when asked about the payments. Blanca Colon received the payments under her maiden name, Blanca Semidey. Davis made payments in the same amount to the wife of Erie County Independence Chairman Tony Orsini.

Payments to both women were made public after Davis filed campaign finance reports in mid-July. Colon resigned after the payments came to light.

After initially saying the payments would continue, despite Colon’s resignation from the committee, the Davis campaign announced Aug. 8 that the payments would end.

“These are half-baked slanderous charges made at the height of the silly season,” said Joy Langley, communications director for the Davis campaign, on Monday.

If they’re “slanderous”, then I expect shortly to see a complaint filed with the State Supreme Court against the individual who replaced Colon as chair of the Monroe IP, who called the payoffs “bribes”. Oh, and it was Davis who inaugurated the silly season, so WTF.

Ultimately, I think it underscores a few things. Firstly, that Jack Davis will do and say anything to get elected. Secondly, that Jack Davis is a liar who can’t run on issues that failed him in ‘04 and ‘06, and instead figures he can bloody up the frontrunner enough that people will turn again to him. Thirdly, that electoral fusion – especially where the IP is concerned – has taken yet another blow, proving once again that it’s a fertile breeding ground for corruption and scandal.

Meanwhile, Jon Powers has released his education agenda, his energy reform agenda, his policy on trade and consumer protection, and his call to service.

I know the mantra – “you’re just posting shit about Jack Davis, why can’t you post something positive about your guy”. Aside from attacking his opponents, what has Jack Davis proposed, apart from paying off the IP and paying off people at a Rochester gas station? What has Chris Lee proposed, apart from drilling for oil in states that don’t begin with “New” and don’t end with “York”? Zip, nada, zilch.

UPDATE: