Countdown to Scottish Vote Nears

In less than 24 hours the referendum for Scottish independence will commence. The latest polling suggests a familiar gender aspect to the vote that Americans are accustom to. Women aged 55 or older are more apt to vote NO than younger women and men. This may be the push the NO vote's been looking for. So, the gender gap is alive and well on the other side of the pond.

British PM David Cameron, who's not exactly loved in Scotland is a NO supporter. He's got some company in the States and is joined by President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton. Among Scottish elites support for independence is divided.

Cameron's government is promising greater Scottish independence if the NO vote succeeds but polls suggest Scots are skeptical of English promises.

(Russell Cheyne/Reuters)

NO supporters hosted Orange Order fife and drum corps, mostly from Northern Ireland, to parade this past weekend. Reminiscent of  July Twelfth celebrations, Scottish Unionists may have inadvertently kicked a sectarian hornet's nest with potentially long-term consequence. In the short-term, these events may trigger increased YES votes among Scotland's Irish who's memories of the Orange Order are anything but favorable.

Gubernatorial Campaign AD's

The Erie Co. launched a recent ad utilizing sports as a means to sway the vote come Election Day in New York State's race to the governors mansion. The ad paints the Gov. Cuomo as the right man for the people of New York because of his efforts to retain the Buffalo bills. Rob Astorino is depicted as an outsider whose allegiance belongs to Florida's Miami dolphins.

Will this be effective? Should voters personal preferences for a sports team weigh heavily as we consider the right person to run the state. As knowledgeable voters (at least that is what I would like to assume) making the decision on who to vote for should be based on who you believe will best serve your interests in Albany.

The light hearten nature of Rob Astorino’s parody really appeals to people in general. The ad portrays Astorino as your average Joe trying to accomplish something big. Astorino has enlisted the help of some recognizable faces in New York state like Michael Kay who is the voice of the New York Yankees and also hosts his own sports radio talk show in the metropolitan area. Realistically speaking this ad isn't going to close the deficit at the polls, but it’s certainly an interesting way to advertise a candidate.

The twos AD's depict the two candidates in a different light, Cuomo as man using dirty tactics and Astorino as the underdog people usually root for. 

A Little Corruption Doesn’t Hurt

With the primary come and gone it looks like the Democrats have a chance to take full control of the State Legislature. In Queens democratic voters went against Malcolm A. Smith. He is accused of trying to bribe his way onto the 2013 New York City mayoral ballot as a Republican.

In Brooklyn Senator John Sampson who is facing criminal charges easily wins the primary against three other challengers. That shows you how important being the incumbent in an election is. What makes this story even better is the fact that Sampson’s district is so heavily democratic the chances for re-election into the State Senate are very high. Major de Blasio and Governor Cuomo did not want to see Sampson back in Albany. In fact Mayor de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo had endorsed Dell Smitherman, a former political coordinator for the powerful health care workers union 1199 SEIU, in the race.

Aaron Woolf who is running for a congressional seat in Upstate New York found himself in hot water recently. It was reported that Woolf didn’t always pay his employees at the Urban Rustic, a local eatery he owns down in Brooklyn. Woolf is running for the 21^st district in New York and he is one of the senators pushing to raise minimum wage. Isn’t that kind of Ironic. Urban Rustic, which was the grocery store and a restaurant owned by Woolf immediately denied the claims. It was also reported that Urban Rustic had 83 health code violations and were also in trouble with government for unpaid tax bills from 2008 to 2011.

Controversy Emerges in Close Congressional Races

A democratic supporter, Mike Flynn, questions Stefanik's personal life. Democratic candidate Aaron Woolf distances himself from Flynn by saying the call for her personal life "reprehensible and antithetic to what this campaign does or should represent." The Stefanik campaign spun this on Woolf and said that Mike Flynn is a Woolf Volunteer. 

Questions arise when Rep. Tim Bishop got a campaign donation after receiving firework permits for his son's Bar Mitzvah. Case closed with no charges for Justice Department, still open in the Ethics Committee. 

Green Party candidate Matt Funiciello interviewed with North County Public Radio and spoke on his 9/11 ideas. He claims that corporate America and corporate media changed the story of 9/11 and that this is a "certain horrific and nonsensical fairy tale our government has sold us."  

With Republican Zeldin still in a tight race with Bishop in the Eastern Long Island District he turns to House Speaker John Boehner from Ohio to help him fundraise. The reception will be held September 20th. 

The G.O.P will host a Meet and Greet in Potsdam on Wednesday, September 17th, to fundraise for candidate Rob Astorino running for the office of governor against Andrew Cuomo in New York. This is also in New York's 21st district, where Stefanik is inching away from Aaron Wolf. 

Keeping the Independent Democratic Conference Alive

After the last week’s primary, the vocal speaker of the Independent Democratic Conference Jeff Klein defeated the experienced Oliver Koppell by a 34-point margin, getting about 66 percent of the vote. Klein explains how important the Independent Democratic Conference is for the democrats as they “hold true democratic values, but at the same time make the government function better.” It seemed as if the race for senate in the 34^th district was going to be tight as Koppell launched a campaign contending that Mr. Klein’s power-sharing agreement with Senate Republicans marked a betrayal of the Democratic Party. But it came to no avail as Koppell only managed to harbor 33.2 percent of the vote.

(State Senator Jeff Klein giving victory speech last Tuesday night)

It was not all fun and games at the campaign office of Jeff Klein’s last week. Apparently, a couple of people broke into Jeff Klein’s office last week and stole his campaign phone. The “thieves” who stole his phone has been making calls to people all along the east coast aggravating callers who have no idea who Jeff Klein is. One person from Massachusetts said, 'I don't know who Jeff Klein is, but could you stop calling here?'".  Klein campaign counsel, Stanley Schlein is calling the robbery an “act of voter suppression” and he stated that they have informed the New York State Attorney General and the United States Department of Justice. 

SHOULD ASTORINO QUIT NOW

The race for the New York State governor's mansion features Rob Astorino (R) and the incumbent Andrew Cuomo (D). The republican party's attempt the capture the governor's mansion in 2014 doesn't look like it is going to end well and could very well be an embarrassing defeat. Astorino would need a miracle from the heavens to surpass Cuomo in the polls - and ballot boxes. The governor has many advantages over his adversary including statewide name recognition -among others... This race is likely to end badly for the challenger. Don't believe me? See for yourself

The State of the County

The financial picture of St. Lawrence County became even more stark today with the news that revenue from sales tax is expected to be $2 million short of what had been budgeted. Republican County Treasurer, Kevin Felt (pictured below), says the pressure will be on the Democratic majority to cut spending rather than increase property taxes in an election year. Felt says of the legislature's five year plan, "The promise they made in their five-year plan was to stay within the tax cap, increase the sales tax and reduce the property tax."

(Kevin Felt - Source: County Treasurer Website)

At a meeting of the Heuvelton Village Board, County Legislator Joe Lightfoot "delivered what was effectively a stump speech for change to Heuvelton officials, reading from a “shopping list” of problems facing county government, and ticking off a myriad of issues he said were all fiscally related." Mr. Lightfoot is one six legislators running unopposed (three unopposed from both parties), but on the topic of reelection he says, “I would love to see six of the nine Democrats on the board gone.”

In his typical tongue-in-cheek form, Mr. Lightfoot points out how monies are currently handled, “There’s a money tree and the county treasurer reaches up and plucks what he needs. Then he puts it in the fund balance, and we write checks on it. And there’s also a little pixie dust mixed into it.” It appears after years of fantasy budgeting this fairytale might not have a happy ending for Democratic incumbents. 

(Judge Richards swearing in Legislator Lightfoot - Source: SLC website)