Hawkins fumes while D&R candidates debate
Syracuse Post-Standard
Mike McAndrew
October 10th, 2008
One Syracuse congressional candidate fumes while two others debate
Democratic congressional candidate Dan Maffei and his Republican opponent Dale Sweetland disagreed about how healthy the region's business climate is today at a public forum where the sponsors would not let third-party candidate Howie Hawkins participate.
Hawkins, the Green Populist Party candidate, stood quietly in the back while his opponents debated for an hour at a luncheon organized by the Greater Syracuse Area Chamber of Commerce and the Manufacturer's Association of Central New York.
Maffei and Sweetland took opposing sides on the proposed Employee Free Choice Act, legislation being pushed by labor unions which experts would increase the number of unionized companies.
At private companies, employees now can unionize by getting 30 percent of the work force to sign cards seeking union representation and then having a majority of workers support unionization in a secret-ballot election. The legislation would allow employees to unionize without the vote if more than half of the workers sign the cards.
Sweetland said he's against the act. Maffei said he supports it.
They also had different suggestions for how to protect and increase the regions hi-tech manufacturing jobs.
Sweetland suggested that as a congressman he would change how the federally-mandated Medicaid system is funded so that counties in New York could reduce their property taxes. Maffei said he'd lower corporate tax rates and get rid of tax code loopholes that encourage manufacturers to move jobs off-shore to avoid U.S. taxes.
About 65 business leaders attended the $35 per plate forum at the Holiday Inn in Salina. In his opening remarks, the moderator, News10Now senior reporter Bill Carey, said the sponsors erred by not allowing Hawkins to speak at the forum.
Hawkins, who has unsuccessfully run for public office 13 prior times, distributed campaign leaflets to many of the attendees and ripped the Chamber of Commerce for excluding him.
"Being excluded by the leadership of the Chamber of Commerce is a badge of honor. The Chamber is the only organization in Syracuse that lobbied against the city's living wage ordinance. I'm not going to get the votes of those who want to pay poverty wages. Let the Maffei and Sweetland compete for the pro-poverty vote," said Hawkins in a news release.
Chamber official Deborah Warner said the sponsors have historically invited only major-party candidates to their debates because the events only last about an hour.
Maffei and Sweetland disagreed about the health of the region's economy. Maffei said that a lot of young people don't see Syracuse as a place where they can have a career and raise a family. Sweetland said there are many jobs available here, but some leaders prefer to only talk about Syracuse's negatives.
But the two candidates agreed on many issues. Both called for repealing the alternative minimum tax. Both called for getting tough with China over free-trade issues. Neither supported universal health care for all Americans provided by the government.
Jack Rudnick, a senior vice president of Blue Highway LLC, a spin-off of Welch Allyn, and Nick Dereszynski, president of Brown & Brown Empire State insurance, asked the candidates the questions.
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