U.S. Senator Charles Schumer swung through the Hudson Valley Thursday, endorsing a few Democratic candidates — some seemingly facing long odds in November.
New York’s senior Senator stopped in Poughkeepsie to endorse fellow Democrats state Senator Terry Gipson and Assemblymember Didi Barrett before heading across the Hudson River to New Paltz in Ulster County to endorse 19th Congressional District candidate Sean Eldridge.
“This is not Democrat versus Republican,” Schumer says. “This is a special person who could really enrich the lives of the people of this district as opposed to someone I’m not going to say anything bad about, but doesn’t have that specialness that we really need today in this area and in the Congress.”
Schumer, Eldridge, and Ulster County Executive Mike Hein stood in front of a store called The Cheese Plate at Water Street Market. They eventually strolled in and met the owners.
Schumer noted that he had worked with Eldridge, who is founder of Hudson River Ventures, a Kingston-based small business investment fund, two years ago to secure financing for the expansion of Bread Alone, to open a baking facility and store in Lake Katrine, creating jobs.
“This district is a district that could grow in terms of jobs,” says Schumer. “It has beauty, it has good people, it has a mix of a labor force, and all it needs it somebody who can sort of put it all together in a creative, thoughtful, and caring way. And Sean Eldridge is that person.”
Schumer and Eldridge spoke about the farm bill that Schumer supported and Eldridge did not, saying he would have fought against the cuts to food stamps. Here’s Eldridge.
“I certainly want to fight for our farmers. We need to make sure that farmers have access to land that’s affordable, access to training and credit that they need,” says Eldridge. “The farm bill that came out of the House of Representatives, the committee that Congressman Gibson sits on was where these cuts same from, not from the Senate, they came from that House committee. And I would have fought back against those cuts. And I think we can do both. I think we can support the family farms in our region and make sure we’re not balancing our budget on the backs of working families and kids who go to school in the morning and are hungry.”
Republican Congressman Chris Gibson has been touting the farm bill as one of his major accomplishments. Stephanie Valle is a campaign spokeswoman for Gibson.
“Senator Schumer voted for the bipartisan farm bill. Senator Schumer voted for the bipartisan budget. And Senator Schumer and Congressman Gibson have the same position on fracking, that it should only be done if it’s found to be safe in New York, and at the end of the day it always comes down to whether or not a local community will support it.,” says Valle. “So I really hope that Sean Eldridge took the opportunity to talk to Senator Schumer during their visit yesterday and learn why it’s important to support the bipartisan farm bill, support the bipartisan budget when you’re running for Congress in upstate New York.”
Schumer and Eldridge do agree on immigration reform. Here’s Schumer.
“This district needed it. Our farmers needed it. Our high-tech businesses needed it. It had the support of the Catholic Church. It had the support of the evangelical Protestant churches and all the others in between,” says Schumer. “To not have the courage to stand up and vote for this bill would be an indication of the ability to break free of party labels and do something that was right for the district and right for the country, so I’m not naming anyone specifically.”
And here’s Eldridge.
“We had an historic opportunity when Senator Schumer working in a bipartisan way, tackling a very difficult, very complex problem, passed a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill in the Senate that was supported by the labor community and the business community that would have solved this problem instead of continuing to kick the can down the road,” says Eldridge. “And then the House of Representatives wouldn’t even let it come up to a vote. And our Congressman Chris Gibson opposes that legislation.”
Gibson has previously noted that the immigration system is broken and in need of reform, but advocates a different plan than what was on the table. Again, Valle.
“But the Senate bill, the nonpartisan CBO, Congressional Budget Office, found that it would only reduce illegal immigration by one-third. That’s not securing the border and that’s not a policy that works in the long term,” Valle says. “We can do better than that, and the congressman has been on record supporting immigration reform that secures our border and makes the reforms we need so that immigration works for upstate New York, particularly our agriculture community.”
A Siena College poll from early September showed Gibson with a 24 point lead. And Gibson, who is seeking a third term, released a poll October 16 conducted for his campaign showing a 26 point lead. Gibson and Eldridge meet for their final debate October 22, to be televised on Time Warner Cable News.
