Spotlight on the 24th

Negative TV ads make up the majority

2006-11-07T11:36:00.000-05:00

The National Republican Campaign Committee's "sex hotline" ad attacking Michael Arcuri has been cited in a Media Life magazine report on the year's dirtiest political ads.

Arcuri could be part of Democratic wave

2006-11-07T09:53:00.000-05:00

Michael Arcuri is in some ways the model of a Democratic challenger this year in that he’s running as a centrist, and that could be part of a Democratic wave that could crest in upstate New York, according to The Hill, the newspaper for and about Congress.

Boehlert has little hope for GOP in House

2006-11-07T09:42:00.000-05:00

Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-24, retiring this year, thinks his upstate colleagues will survive, but doubts the GOP will keep control of the House after today's elections, according to an Associated Press story in the Staten Island Advance.

Boehlert: Democrat dollars makes it a contest

2006-11-07T09:30:00.000-05:00

Retiring Congressman Sherwood Boehlert told Bloomberg.com that "Democratic spending is "making races that originally would not be competitive more competitive."

"That, combined with the top of the ticket apparently sailing to victory, gives
them some standing.''

It's a fight down to the wire

2006-11-06T19:28:00.000-05:00

Both sides -- Raymond Meier and Michael Arcuri -- fire volleys from big guns as they enter the final stretch.

O-D ad analysis cited on "Meet the Press"

2006-11-06T09:59:00.000-05:00

"Ad Watch," a special feature the Observer-Dispatch has created this year to analyze televised political ads, was cited on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday.

Voters will have the final say

2006-11-06T08:49:00.000-05:00

Candidates are pulling out all the stops so voters will pull the levers. Read the report in the Observer-Dispatch.

A Day in the Life of a candidate

2006-11-06T08:43:00.000-05:00

Spend a day with the candidates who are literally running for Congress in New York's 24th district through reports in the Utica Observer-Dispatch and Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin.

Minorities feel left out of political process

2006-11-06T08:35:00.000-05:00

Neither Raymond Meier nor Michael Arcuri has given Utica's minority community any reason to believe they'll have a positive impact on them. Read the report in the Observer-Dispatch.

Smiling through all the madness

2006-11-06T08:25:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, you just can't help but laugh when dissecting the political campaigns, says Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin columnist Dave Rossi.

Meier endorsed by Auburn Citizen

2006-11-06T07:56:00.000-05:00

Ray Meier has performed in Albany and is ready to go to Washington, says the Auburn Citizen.

Arcuri rallies Democrats in Tompkins County

2006-11-06T07:47:00.000-05:00

Democratic Michael Arcuri discusses minimum wage and troop withdrawl from Iraq during a final campaign swing through Tompkins County, and the Ithaca Journal was there to report on it.

Candidates enter the final lap

2006-11-04T17:40:00.000-05:00

With only three days left before Election Day, Democrat Michael Arcuri and Republican Raymond Meier are rolling out plans to motivate their supporters to pull the lever for them Tuesday. Read about the plans in the Observer-Dispatch.

'Dream Team' on the stump for Arcuri

2006-11-04T17:35:00.000-05:00

The Democrats' first string was stumping for Mike Arcuri Friday night at the Greater Binghamton Airport, according to to report in the Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin.

After all these years, Democrat on the radar

2006-11-03T12:03:00.000-05:00

NY1’s Bill Carey offers a perspective on the showdown in the 24th Congressional district.

A dubious distinction indeed

2006-10-31T08:10:00.000-05:00

Even our neighbors to the north are wincing at America's pathetic campaign ads. Canada's CTV.ca lists the "dirty dozen," and guess which ads are among them ...

Syracuse paper goes with Arcuri in 24th

2006-10-30T09:37:00.000-05:00

The Syracuse Post Standard throws its support to Michael Arcuri, saying ... "maybe it's time to send a Democrat to Congress from the 24th District to help rein in an administration that has had its unquestioned way for too long. "

Young voters on candidates' radar

2006-10-30T09:29:00.000-05:00

Michael Arcuri and Raymond Meier are both prospecting for the youth vote. Read about their efforts in the Observer-Dispatch.

Where often is heard a disparaging word

2006-10-28T09:57:00.000-04:00

They might fight dirty, but one expert tells the Los Angeles Times that underhanded campaign ads work.

Local, national campaigns separate by law

2006-10-28T09:50:00.000-04:00

Candidates might detest those nasty ads, but there's nothing they can do to stop them, according to law. The Observer-Dispatch explains how it works.

Campaign battleground isn't cheap turf

2006-10-28T09:41:00.000-04:00

Money is no object when it comes to the getting a candidate elected in the 24th Congressional District. So far, the national political parties have spent more than $3 million on airtime for advertisements promoting -- or attacking -- Democrat Michael Arcuri and Republican Raymond Meier. And if past studies are any indication, at least 70 percent of those ads have been negative, says a report in the Observer-Dispatch.

Former president at Hancock airport

2006-10-27T08:32:00.000-04:00

The big names continue to climb on the stump in central New York in a vigorous battle to secure the coveted seats in Congress. The latest star attraction was former President Bill Clinton, who turned up in Syracuse Thursday to sing the praises of local Democratic candidates, not the least of whom was Michael Arcuri, seeking a seat in the House of Representatives from the 24th Congressional District. The Observer-Dispatch was there.

Arcuri's winning the money race

2006-10-27T08:23:00.000-04:00

In the race to raise money, Democrat Mike Arcuri has pulled even further ahead of Ray Meier, his Republican opponent in the 24th Congressional District, says a report in the Observer-Dispatch.

It's a donkey stampede through Upstate NY

2006-10-26T11:13:00.000-04:00

Democrats are pulling out all the stops to gain ground in Upstate New York, steadfast Republican country, says the New York Times.

Watch Arcuri, Meier debate right now

2006-10-25T15:00:00.000-04:00

Watch the 24th Congressional debate between Republican Ray Meier and Democrat Michael Arcuri on 9WSYR.COM.
The debate is presented by WCNY-TV and NewsChannel 9 WSYR-TV and is moderated by Dan Cummings. The debate will be available any time, here on 9WSYR.com and will be broadcast on NewsChannel 9 Sunday, Oct. 29, at 9 a.m.

On the quieter side, meet Mike Sylvia

2006-10-24T08:40:00.000-04:00

Who's Mike Sylvia?
He's a courier for Federal Express who is quietly conducting a campaign for 24th District congressman on the Libertarian Party ticket.

"I don't have $1 million," Sylvia, who lives in the small Tompkins County
community of Etna, told the Observer-Dispatch. "I don't mind
not being 'owned' by anybody."

No shocker here: Boehlert backs Meier

2006-10-24T08:36:00.000-04:00

Now it's official: Retiring Republican Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-New Hartford, has officially endorsed Raymond Meier in Meier's bid to take over the open Congressional seat in the 24th District.

"What's the news?" Boehlert said. "I've been there from the beginning."
Read the story in the Observer-Dispatch.

Outside funding pumps up campaigns in 24th

2006-10-24T08:30:00.000-04:00

Outside funding is fueling the campaigns of both Democrat Michael Arcuri and Republican Raymond Meier, according to a computer-assisted analysis by the Observer-Dispatch. The report shows that more than two-thirds of the money has come from outside the region, and that has given Arcuri the fundraising edge.

Cornell students on campaign bandwagon

2006-10-24T08:24:00.000-04:00

Students at Cornell University are giving it the old college try as they muster support for Republican and Democratic candidates and attempt to increase voter awareness. The Ithaca Journal has a report.

It's Square One for new congressman

2006-10-22T17:43:00.001-04:00

One thing Democrat Michael Arcuri and Republican Raymond Meier have in common is that no matter which one is elected to replace Sherry Boehlert in the 24th District, the new congressman will be starting from scratch. Read about that challenge and more in the Observer-Dispatch.

Sex lines and videotape: Attack ad coverage goes coast to coast

2006-10-22T09:50:00.000-04:00

The Republican ad about Michael Arcuri's misdialled number to a phone sex line has made the "A" wire. Papers near and far, ranging from the International Herald Tribune to the Akron Farm Report are carrying the article.

Oddly, one Web site that does not appear to carry the news about the phone sex ad bruhaha is the National Republican Campaign Committee. The organization's Web site doesn't even have Ray Meier listed in the section labeled "Our Candidates."

Employment tops list of issues on the minds of voters

2006-10-22T09:31:00.000-04:00

The Observer-Dispatch has a Sunday package of stories about the front-burner issue on voters' minds: jobs. The paper explores the candidates' take on the employment situation in an article, and provides links to a collection of videos of candidates answering questions posed by residents in the Mohawk Valley.

Hall of shame advertisement?

2006-10-21T08:47:00.000-04:00

Can a party organization create an advertisement so odious that even the television stations won't touch it?

Short answer: Yes.

The Republican National Campaign Committee did that with an ad about a $1.25 call to an alleged phone sex line by Arcuri's office. Meier says he thinks the ad went to far. Arcuri quickly moves to show that the call wasn't made by him, and that it appears to be a misdialled number.

Of course, the call in question only lasted one minute, so it's hard to imagine that whoever made the call got to much more than hello.

The Observer-Dispatch has a story and its Ad Watch feature on this. The story is getting picked up nationally as well.

Associated Press via LA Times.
Article by AP via Austin American-Statesman explores other attack ads that are gunking up the airwaves.

Negative ads irk Boehlert

2006-10-20T09:36:00.000-04:00

Retiring Congressman Sherwood Boehlert isn't happy with the negative advertising that has dominated the race for his successor, reports the Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin.

"I've watched television. I've read the paper. I've listened to all the chatter.
I know what people are against," said Boehlert, R-New Hartford, Thursday during
a press conference at his party's headquarters in Binghamton. "I want to know
what people are for."

Can you spell N-A-I-L-B-I-T-E-R?

2006-10-19T19:50:00.000-04:00

The race for Sherry Boehlert's seat in New York's 24th Congressional District isn't the only nailbiter across the land. The precarious position the Republican Party finds itself in is best illustrated by the growing list of vulnerable House seats the party has to defend. Once thought to be about 25 at most, the list seems to be expanding each day, says NPR's political junkie, Ken Rudin.

Are polls always a fair barometer?

2006-10-19T19:43:00.000-04:00

Questions are being raised about the reliability of an untraditional polling technique being used for the first time to evaluate 55 hotly contested House races, including the 24th District, says a Gannett News Service report in the Ithaca Journal.

Money is no object

2006-10-19T19:35:00.000-04:00

One thing the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has is money, and it's spending it with wild abandon to get GOP candidates elected, reports CQ Politics.com One of the most hotly contested seats is in New York’s 24th district, where the RCCC already has spent $1.40 million.

D-oh! Pass the doughnuts

2006-10-19T15:59:00.000-04:00

Republican congressional candidate Raymond Meier may have the Homer Simpson vote locked up. In his latest TV ad, he declares his love for doughnuts.
WSTM in Syracuse has the story.

Arcuri a "tax-and-spend liberal?"

2006-10-18T09:20:00.000-04:00

The flier says taxes are going up because Oneida County District Attorney Michael Arcuri has increased spending by 183 percent. It also says that while in office, Arcuri has "spent taxpayer money frivolously" on dinners, a gift to a friend, travel and other unnecessary activities.
What's the real story? Check out Ad Watch in the Observer-Dispatch and find out.

DFAS union goes for Meier

2006-10-17T08:03:00.000-04:00

It should come as no surprise that Republican Ray Meier has gained the support of AFGE Local 201. That's the union representing workers at the Defense Finance and Accounting Service in Rome, workers Meier advocated for as state senator a year ago during the Base Realigment and Closure process, says News 10 Now.

Decrying negative advertising

2006-10-17T07:28:00.000-04:00

Ray Meier and Michael Arcuri say they aren't happy with the negative campaign ads that have blanketed the airwaves. The duo battling for the 24th Congressional District seat say they are disappointed by the tone of the ads and blame the national party apparatus for the move. Newsday has the story.

Will the next Boehlert please stand up?

2006-10-17T07:23:00.000-04:00

Syracuse Post-Standard has a story that discusses which candidate best fits with U.S. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert's approach to politics. Among the comments:

"I've been calling myself, much to my opponent's chagrin, a Boehlert
Democrat," Arcuri says with a smile.

"Sherry (Boehlert) and I both acknowledge this: I'm a little more conservative. But I think I'm temperamentally a lot more like Sherry Boehlert," Meier said. "I recognize there are different views and you have to move toward the middle to get things done."

Late surge in fundraising for Arcuri

2006-10-16T07:31:00.000-04:00

Michael Arcuri pulls ahead of Ray Meier in the race to collect campaign cash. Arcuri has $1.2 million to Meier's $1.07 million, according to campaign finance reports filed Sunday.

The article in the Observer-Dispatch notes that Arcuri is also outspending Meier as well as both candidates enter the final weeks of the campaign.

Unions looking for swing votes

2006-10-15T07:43:00.000-04:00

Pro-Democratic unions are bringing out some new weapons in hope of going after some Republican members whose votes might be just what's needed to swing favor to Michael Arcuri.
Instead of relying solely on phone banks that use membership lists, Rusty Brown, a Republican who heads the political action committee of a United Mine Workers local that supports Arcuri , dispatched volunteer teams across Herkimer County that were armed with maps on where members live, detailed demographic information about each of them and their families, and the likelihood that they would vote.

"Now we have all of the union households ... and we have targeted a lot of the
(union's) Republican base," Brown said in the Observer-Dispatch. "We
couldn't do that before."

Columnist's order: Mental tests for candidates

2006-10-14T14:04:00.000-04:00

Syracuse Post-Standard columnist Dick Case chides both candidates for becoming the standard-bearers for negative campaigning. He says he's ordering mental testing for both candidates as a result.

What does the posturing call to mind for Case?

"All I can think of is that jerk at the party who calls attention to himself by loudly blowing his nose, and then picking it."

Uh, OK. Interesting analogy, that.

Who says looks won't take you far in life?

2006-10-14T12:13:00.000-04:00

Washington Post article examines the role of beauty in politics. It specifically mentions Michael Arcuri as one of a number of good looking candidates on the ballot this year. The article specifically mentions "his piercing Italian eyes and runner's physique."

"He is pretty good-looking," observed Paula Ferrin with admiration, as the 47-year-old district attorney worked the crowd at a local senior center."What we want is brains, honey," scolded her friend Rose Oliver."True," Ferrin answered, "but handsome doesn't hurt."

What's next, Project Runway?

Analysis of RCCC's Arcuri rape ad

2006-10-13T16:20:00.000-04:00

The Republican Congressional Campaign Committee ad slamming Democrat Michael Arcuri is the latest to be analyzed by the Observer-Dispatch.

No clear favorite in 24th, CQ says

2006-10-12T19:12:00.000-04:00

CQPolitics.com reports that congressional races in New York continue to heat up, with Republicans defending six incumbents and one open seat against Democratic challenges of varying intensity.
In the 24th District, both parties are pouring resources into the tossup race to succeed retiring 12-term moderate Republican Rep. Sherwood Boehlert in central New York’s 24th District.
Last week alone, the National Republican Congressional Committee spent $186,000 on attack ads aimed at the Democratic nominee, four-term Oneida County District Attorney Michael Arcuri. Its partisan counterpart, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, spent $161,000 in ads against the Republican candidate, state Sen. Raymond A. Meier.
Running in a district represented by one of the least doctrinaire House Republicans for nearly a quarter of a century, each candidate is trying to frame himself as the real moderate. Democrats charge Meier’s record is more conservative than Republicans admit, while the GOP has tried to erode Arcuri’s reputation for integrity in his position as a prosecutor.

“Mike Arcuri has a less-than-stellar record, and it’s not what we need in
Washington,” state GOP official Moses said.

CQPolitics.com rates the race as No Clear Favorite.

Arcuri's timing just right

2006-10-12T16:23:00.000-04:00

Michael Arcuri is a Democrat in the right place at the right time.
Veteran Rep. Michael McNulty of Green Island sees the opportunity ripe to gain some seats for his party in the House of Representatives, so he's reaching deeper than ever into his campaign fund to help fellow Democrats take on Republicans in neighboring districts.

"I think things are looking very good," McNulty told the Albany Times-Union
earlier this week. "We need to pick up 15 seats, and our leadership is telling
us that the prospect is that we will win more than 15 seats."

Among benefactors is Arcuri, who is battling GOP state Sen. Ray Meier to succeed retiring moderate Republican Sherwood Boehlert in the 24th Congressional District.
Previous challengers to Boehlert saw scant, if any, support from McNulty, who cites a series of unusual circumstances this year for his eagerness to share the wealth.
The retirement of Boehlert, whose moderate positions and willingness to sometimes break ranks with GOP leaders made him an occasional ally to Democrats, creates a rare open seat in Central New York and an opportunity for Democrats, he noted.

Tompkins Co. keeps eye on 24th

2006-10-12T07:49:00.000-04:00

Tompkins County relies heavily on the person who represents the 24th congressional district.
For example, In the early 1980s, Rep. Sherwood Boehlert had a discussion with Cornell University faculty about the lack of access that researchers had to high-performance computing.

He joined the effort in the U.S. House of Representatives to create a national program to support super computing in the U.S. The program led to the creation of the Cornell Theory Center.
The 24th district includes all of Tompkins County except the Town and City of Ithaca and the Village of Danby.

And you can be sure they'll be watching the race between Republican Raymond Meier and Democrat Michael Arcuri very closely. Both candidates told The Ithaca Journal recently that they understand the seat's importance to Tompkins and are ready to assume the challenge.

Arcuri's the man, says Esquire

2006-10-11T12:10:00.000-04:00

Esquire magazine, in its November issue's "EsquireEndorsesAmerica," has thrown its support to Democrat Michael Arcuri in New York's 24th Congressional District. Says Esquire:

"It will be impossible to replace retiring Republican Sherwood Boehlert. Few representatives of either party have his intelligence and even fewer his principled independence of thought. Candidate (Raymond) Meier is a do-little member of the do-nothing New York statehouse; his vague policy statements suggest he'd do little in Washington, too. Candidate Arcuri, the Oneida CountyDA, has a record of law enforcement and drug control."

Candidates plan debate at high school

2006-10-10T08:57:00.000-04:00

Ray Meier and Michael Arcuri plan to face off before a tough audience of high school students in New Hartford on Oct. 25. The event is 7 p.m. in the school's auditorium, according to the Observer-Dispatch.

Attack ads useful ... for candidates, professor says

2006-10-09T21:34:00.000-04:00

They plant seeds of doubt in voters' minds, says Syracuse University professor Jeff Stonecash.
"For voters who don't know much a lot of this will come across as, 'Gosh, must be true. Is it true?' And if you can plant that thought in enough voters' minds, then you can drive them away from the opponent and to you," Stonecash said.

Meier tells News 10 Now that he's concerned about the negative advertising and advises those judging the candidates to base their knowledge on the words that come out of his mouth, not what they see on the television screen.

Big Bang Boom. The candidates on North Korea

2006-10-09T21:28:00.000-04:00

Both Meier and Arcuri told a Syracuse television station they were concerned over North Korea's apparent detonation of a nuclear device. Story notes Meier wants sanctions against the country to bring them in line, while Arcuri used the question as an opportunity to stick it to the Bush administration for not addressing real military threats and instead stretching armed forces' resources too thin.

Rural voters worry over jobs, quality of life

2006-10-08T08:32:00.000-04:00

Thirty-five percent of Oneida County's voters live in rural areas. So what do they want out of the 24th's next congressional candidate? A lot of the same things everyone else wants, it seems: Jobs, access to health care and gas prices. Oh, yeah. And they worry about milk prices in a way that urban dwellers probably don't. The Observer-Dispatch has the story here.

Cash-a-palooza for 24th race

2006-10-07T10:14:00.000-04:00

The New York Times reports that the National Republican Congressional Committee spent $7.8 million on Friday. Among races targeted: The 24th. The NRCC spend $186,035 in the district race.

"The overwhelmingly majority (97.6 percent) of the $7.8 million was coded on
the FEC report as spending in opposition of the Democratic candidates. Just
$184,375 of the NRCC’s Friday outlays, or 2.4 percent of the total, were
identified on the report as money spent in support of GOP candidates."

Foley? Oh, that Foley....

2006-10-07T10:07:00.000-04:00

The Daily Star notes candidates' responses to the growing page scandal involving House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

Arcuri's campaign: Meier defends Hastert.
Meier's campaign: Foley's behavior was outrageous and the comments by Arcuri's camp are despicable.

And the fun continued at a Cayuga County debate between the two. According to The Citizen, Meier said whoever ran a series of ads questioning his judgment owed his parents an apology. The Arcuri ad criticized Meier for not calling for Hastert's resignation.

Â(Whoever wrote the release) owes my parents an apology because they did
teach me right from wrong,Â Meier said.
ÂObviously, there are some people in Washington who do not know the difference between right and wrong, or they do know the difference between right and wrong, but they don't care because politics are more important to them than doing the right thing,Â Arcuri said.

And so it goes ...

Senior citizens push voting rate higher in Mohawk Valley

2006-10-07T10:01:00.000-04:00

The Utica Observer-Dispatch reports that the area's high number of elderly residents translates into voting power for the area. But despite that fact, the area still has relatively few voters as compared to other parts of the state. The story is here.

"The local turnout in presidential elections tends to be close to 70 percent. But gubernatorial races don't boast such high turnout numbers. Only 50 percent of local voters came to the polls in the George Pataki-Carl McCall race."