Our Choice
Syracuse Post-Standard
October 29th, 2008
Maffei for Congress
As a recent headline noted, Central New York's next congressman will be a rookie. The departure of veteran Rep. James Walsh, R-Onondaga, leaves a vacuum in the 25th Congressional District, which stretches from Onondaga County to Rochester's eastern suburbs.
Seeking the seat are Republican Dale Sweetland of Fabius, a former farmer, crop insurance salesman and chairman of the Onondaga County Legislature; Democrat Dan Maffei of DeWitt, who served as a congressional aide for Sen. Daniel Moynihan and for Rep. Charles Rangel's powerful House Ways and Means Committee and now works as a senior vice president for Pinnacle Capital Management; and the Green Populist Party's Howie Hawkins of Syracuse, a political activist who works for UPS.
It's a lopsided race: Maffei has raised nearly $2 million, one-third of it from out-of-state; Sweetland is at about $350,000, while Hawkins recently boosted his donations past the $5,000 mark.
Maffei took on Walsh and nearly defeated him two years ago. Now he faces a candidate who originally supported another Republican for the job before Peter Cappuccilli Jr. withdrew for health reasons.
Sweetland paints Maffei as a career Washington insider who hasn't spent enough time in Central New York and is beholden to Democratic power-brokers. "He believes in kissing the ring," he said.
Maffei's response: "I worked elsewhere. I came back to make a difference." Message: Isn't that what Central New York wants its young people to do?
Sweetland is well-known and knows local issues. He has worked with former Onondaga County Executive Nick Pirro to hold down taxes and helped lead a pioneering effort to curb Medicaid fraud. He is less well-versed on national issues. He rails against the ineffectiveness and free spending of Congress but offers few specifics on how to cure that gridlock, or how to cut spending beyond curbing Medicaid fraud, "earmarks" and other "waste and dysfunction."
Neither Sweetland nor Maffei will be able to equal the earmark dollars Walsh's seniority and savvy enabled him to bring home. Maffei calls Sweetland's anti-earmark position political posturing and says he'll focus on bringing back as much funding as he can.
Maffei calls himself a "radical pragmatist." He has both detailed positions and forward-looking ideas, including an "Apollo-like program" for energy independence and a new "GI bill" to educate the workforce. He and Sweetland both favor medical insurance for more children and adults, more alternative energy and higher fuel-efficiency standards. But Maffei conveys a deeper knowledge of those issues and how to get action on them in Congress.
Hawkins brings a progressive perspective to the race. He prescribes an immediate end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, massive cuts in defense spending, major new public investment in "solar-powered sustainability," universal health care, and taxes on carbon and securities transactions. He brings a deep knowledge to these issues and has at times outshone both of his opponents in their joint appearances. But he acknowledges his chance of victory are miniscule; he says he would be happy to get 6 percent of the vote.
In a House dominated by Democrats, Maffei's voice would be amplified. His time away from the community may have weakened his connection to his potential constituents, but his knowledge of the ways of Washington is a plus. His grasp of both the issues and "the system" will help him get things done for Central New York.
If he does go back to Washington, Maffei must remember where he comes from. More than that: During the next two years, he must "embed" himself in Central New York, making himself accessible, listening to the people's concerns. He will have to be accountable first to his constituents, not his party leadership in Washington, if he wants to succeed as Central New York's congressman.
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