PPOD October 15, 2010: Who's paying for this election, anyway?

This being election season and all, or maybe that should be ‘heightened’ election season – around here they never seem to stop – I’m being bombarded with mail from the ins and the wanna-be ins from both parties. 

One thing that stands out in all of the mail I’ve received is that not one piece I’ve received says “paid for by the guy who wants your vote.” And that’s my Pet Peeve of the Day.

The ones for Andrew Russo, the concert pianist and music educator turned Republican NY senatorial hopeful, are all paid for by the New York Republican State Committee. Russo has some challenges to overcome, including the fact that he’s not been a regular voter. But for me, the biggest challenge is his claim that he’s running a ‘grass roots campaign’ that’s paid for by people 'rooted' outside the district. 

His opponent, incumbent Dave Valesky, is a member of the Dem leadership in Albany. One recent piece I received on his behalf is paid for by Education Reform Now, in Brooklyn NY. A second one is paid for by the NY State Democratic Committee or the NY State Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (both are listed on the mailing) in Albany. Valesky also has detractors outside the district – a ‘report card’ I received was paid for by Common Sense, a group out of Glen Allen, VA. 

A while back I complained about President Obama allegedly trying to talk our Accidental Governor out of running for reelection. Obama thought Paterson would hurt the party; I thought Obama was hurting New York by sticking his nose into our business.  Similarly, one day, I’d love to see an election where all of the candidate’s money is raised in their district, and where all of the ad money comes from within the district – because, again, who represents us should be up to us – the real constituents.