Steve Hawley hosted a number of constituents in Albany last week for "Gun Day," a day in which 2nd Amendment supporters traveled to Albany to oppose new restrictions on gun ownership. Hawley's office sent along the picture to the right. Click on the picture for a larger version.
This is how our fine assemblyman does "the peoples' work". What a joke! Hawley is starting to get a little like Senator George Maziarz. Don't ever get between him and a camera...you might get run over.
Hey Steve! Can you tell us what you've done *OF SUBSTANCE* for the people you represent in Albany?
Seriously...not the 'split New York in two' kind of crap. What have you really done for us lately?
I'm thinkin' it'll be a short list.
Why even post this "news" in the 1st place. Sometimes I get the feeling "The Batavian" is running the PR division of Hawley's office. Why is it Howard that you felt that this "news" was newsworthy enough to report on in the 1st place? We already all know that Hawley is in the pocket of the NRA lobby. It's interesting that this assemblyman, when confronted with a choice between the NRA lobby & our country's law enforcement agencies over the many issues issue they disagree on, always supports the NRA position. As for your comment on constituent services, that's all fine but why did you choose to report on something so trivial as the NRA photo op. It gives me the impression you're bending over backwards to give him free publicity on this website. How much money does the NRA give this politician anyways? It would be interesting to know who the big financial contributors to his campaigns are. Now that is something you can research and report Howard that would be far more interesting & informative than his endless flag waving photo-ops.
David, this is a web site. I have unlimited space. If it's interesting and related to Genesee County, I do my best to get it on the web site in a timely manner (this actually came in yesterday, but I've been pretty busy). Just because it doesn't agree with your political views doesn't mean it isn't interesting to other people. You can expect we'll post anything Hawley sends us, or Ranzenhofer, if it's related sufficiently to Genesee County.
And the Democrats have equal access to the site under the same terms.
When and if I have time and find it sufficiently interesting, I'll see about getting his list of campaign contributions. But there's nothing stopping you, either, from looking that up and publishing what you find here.
You know Beth, I'm glad you mentioned that deal about the money for Christmas decorations. That was another 'member item' that Steve was able to secure and guess what. HE HAD HIS PICTURE TAKEN WITH THE CHECK. Yeah...that's doing the peoples' work all right.
Now I like Christmas decorations as much as the next guy and I very much appreciate the job done by the Lions Club putting them up. But it's not the responsibility of the taxpayers of the state of New York to buy them. If the Lions had a little article in the paper soliciting donations for decorations, you'll never convince me that they wouldn't be able to raise the $2000 that Steve gave them.
I know that I'll be criticized for criticizing him for this but this is just one small example of the irresponsible spending by this dysfunctional legislature that HAS TO STOP. Our state is in debt up to its a$$ and Steve and every other member of the legislature takes great pride (and pictures) giving away money like it's theirs. It's not theirs...it's ours and they were elected to be good stewards of it. It's time they were held accountable.
All of Hawley's contributions and expenditures going back to 2006.
You can find this information for any state or local elected official, political party or political committee in New York by going to elections.state.ny.us, hovering your pointer above "campaign finance", then clicking on disclosure reports. You can then search for "committee by name" to find a candidate or organization or search for a particular donor.
BTW: I like how people often attribute a politicians political positions purely to contributions. For example, Hawley must be pro-2nd Amendment merely because he gets contributions from the NRA. It could never possibly be because that's what he really believes.
You see this kind of thinking on the left and right all the time -- Democrat who's pro-choice, must be in the pocket of Planned Parenthood, according to GOP detractors. It isn't possible for an elected official to just actually believe in the pro-choice position.
I only looked at a couple of reports and didn't see any money going to Hawley from the NRA, but even if he did, rather than buying his position, maybe they would contribute because they appreciate his position.
It's always a case of white hats vs. black hats in partisan politics -- the other guys are always in black, and we're always in white. That's why I don't belong to a political party and hate the whole political party system. It's a totally destructive and non-productive system and a major factor in why this country is in the state it's in.
Pro-second amendment is one thing but AK 47 machine guns for hunting game in upstate NY is a very different subject. You sound like the NRA is synonomous with the 2nd amendment right to bear arms. It's not. The NRA is not infallible. The vast majority of Americans who support the 2nd amendment, do not necessarily support other extreme positions of the NRA on several issues, especially when they conflict with the recommendations of our nation's various law enforcement agencies.
David, at what point did I say the NRA is synonymous with 2nd Amendment? At what point did I say it was infallible? At what point did I even mention an AK-47? You're the one who brought up the NRA, not me, nor Mr. Hawley, so how does the NRA even enter into it in the first place?
This post was very simple: A group of sportsmen visited Hawley in Albany on "Gun Day" and Hawley's office sent a picture to us, which I posted. You seem to think that represents some sort of conspiracy to push an NRA agenda, which I think I roundly debunked above. The NRA was not part of this thread until you bought it up.
I personally could careless about the NRA, but Mr. Hawley has a right to hold whatever positions he wishes to hold. If you don't like them, I would say don't vote for him, but you don't live in the district. It's your right, of course, to vote for people in your district who hold views counter to Mr. Hawley's, but it's a little bit ridiculous to accuse him of disingenuousness merely because you don't support his politics.
I sent an e-mail to Steve Hawley and invited him to respond to the "in NRA's pocket" charge, and here's his response:
"I have never received a contribution from the NRA. I also have a personal limitation on how much I will accept from any individual, business or lobby group in any calendar year....and have actually returned $ which have exceeded that limit. I also will not hold fundraisers in Albany believing that these should be held in one's district."
This is how our fine
This is how our fine assemblyman does "the peoples' work". What a joke! Hawley is starting to get a little like Senator George Maziarz. Don't ever get between him and a camera...you might get run over.
Hey Steve! Can you tell us what you've done *OF SUBSTANCE* for the people you represent in Albany?
Seriously...not the 'split New York in two' kind of crap. What have you really done for us lately?
I'm thinkin' it'll be a short list.
Shhhh. Be vewy, vewy qwiet.
Shhhh. Be vewy, vewy qwiet. He's hunting for that wascally wabbit.
Geez, if he didn't do
Geez, if he didn't do constituent services, Hawley would get bashed for that.
David - don't forget that Mr.
David - don't forget that Mr. Hawley got Batavia money for Christmas decorations. Now how much more substance do you get than that?
Why even post this "news" in
Why even post this "news" in the 1st place. Sometimes I get the feeling "The Batavian" is running the PR division of Hawley's office. Why is it Howard that you felt that this "news" was newsworthy enough to report on in the 1st place? We already all know that Hawley is in the pocket of the NRA lobby. It's interesting that this assemblyman, when confronted with a choice between the NRA lobby & our country's law enforcement agencies over the many issues issue they disagree on, always supports the NRA position. As for your comment on constituent services, that's all fine but why did you choose to report on something so trivial as the NRA photo op. It gives me the impression you're bending over backwards to give him free publicity on this website. How much money does the NRA give this politician anyways? It would be interesting to know who the big financial contributors to his campaigns are. Now that is something you can research and report Howard that would be far more interesting & informative than his endless flag waving photo-ops.
David, this is a web site. I
David, this is a web site. I have unlimited space. If it's interesting and related to Genesee County, I do my best to get it on the web site in a timely manner (this actually came in yesterday, but I've been pretty busy). Just because it doesn't agree with your political views doesn't mean it isn't interesting to other people. You can expect we'll post anything Hawley sends us, or Ranzenhofer, if it's related sufficiently to Genesee County.
And the Democrats have equal access to the site under the same terms.
When and if I have time and find it sufficiently interesting, I'll see about getting his list of campaign contributions. But there's nothing stopping you, either, from looking that up and publishing what you find here.
You know Beth, I'm glad you
You know Beth, I'm glad you mentioned that deal about the money for Christmas decorations. That was another 'member item' that Steve was able to secure and guess what. HE HAD HIS PICTURE TAKEN WITH THE CHECK. Yeah...that's doing the peoples' work all right.
Now I like Christmas decorations as much as the next guy and I very much appreciate the job done by the Lions Club putting them up. But it's not the responsibility of the taxpayers of the state of New York to buy them. If the Lions had a little article in the paper soliciting donations for decorations, you'll never convince me that they wouldn't be able to raise the $2000 that Steve gave them.
I know that I'll be criticized for criticizing him for this but this is just one small example of the irresponsible spending by this dysfunctional legislature that HAS TO STOP. Our state is in debt up to its a$$ and Steve and every other member of the legislature takes great pride (and pictures) giving away money like it's theirs. It's not theirs...it's ours and they were elected to be good stewards of it. It's time they were held accountable.
http://www.elections.state.ny
http://www.elections.state.ny.us:8080/plsql_browser/getfiler2?filerid_i…
All of Hawley's contributions and expenditures going back to 2006.
You can find this information for any state or local elected official, political party or political committee in New York by going to elections.state.ny.us, hovering your pointer above "campaign finance", then clicking on disclosure reports. You can then search for "committee by name" to find a candidate or organization or search for a particular donor.
$17,000 worth of donations in
$17,000 worth of donations in support of a state assembly campaign without an opponent.
And who is<b> "UNITEMIZED"</b>, anyway?
Good link, Dan. Thanks. BTW:
Good link, Dan. Thanks.
BTW: I like how people often attribute a politicians political positions purely to contributions. For example, Hawley must be pro-2nd Amendment merely because he gets contributions from the NRA. It could never possibly be because that's what he really believes.
You see this kind of thinking on the left and right all the time -- Democrat who's pro-choice, must be in the pocket of Planned Parenthood, according to GOP detractors. It isn't possible for an elected official to just actually believe in the pro-choice position.
I only looked at a couple of reports and didn't see any money going to Hawley from the NRA, but even if he did, rather than buying his position, maybe they would contribute because they appreciate his position.
It's always a case of white hats vs. black hats in partisan politics -- the other guys are always in black, and we're always in white. That's why I don't belong to a political party and hate the whole political party system. It's a totally destructive and non-productive system and a major factor in why this country is in the state it's in.
Pro-second amendment is one
Pro-second amendment is one thing but AK 47 machine guns for hunting game in upstate NY is a very different subject. You sound like the NRA is synonomous with the 2nd amendment right to bear arms. It's not. The NRA is not infallible. The vast majority of Americans who support the 2nd amendment, do not necessarily support other extreme positions of the NRA on several issues, especially when they conflict with the recommendations of our nation's various law enforcement agencies.
David, at what point did I
David, at what point did I say the NRA is synonymous with 2nd Amendment? At what point did I say it was infallible? At what point did I even mention an AK-47? You're the one who brought up the NRA, not me, nor Mr. Hawley, so how does the NRA even enter into it in the first place?
This post was very simple: A group of sportsmen visited Hawley in Albany on "Gun Day" and Hawley's office sent a picture to us, which I posted. You seem to think that represents some sort of conspiracy to push an NRA agenda, which I think I roundly debunked above. The NRA was not part of this thread until you bought it up.
I personally could careless about the NRA, but Mr. Hawley has a right to hold whatever positions he wishes to hold. If you don't like them, I would say don't vote for him, but you don't live in the district. It's your right, of course, to vote for people in your district who hold views counter to Mr. Hawley's, but it's a little bit ridiculous to accuse him of disingenuousness merely because you don't support his politics.
Man the Daggers are flying on
Man the Daggers are flying on this post Howard. Not touchin this one..
I think I've been nice. Just
I think I've been nice. Just trying to stick to the facts, so to speak.
I sent an e-mail to Steve
I sent an e-mail to Steve Hawley and invited him to respond to the "in NRA's pocket" charge, and here's his response:
"I have never received a contribution from the NRA. I also have a personal limitation on how much I will accept from any individual, business or lobby group in any calendar year....and have actually returned $ which have exceeded that limit. I also will not hold fundraisers in Albany believing that these should be held in one's district."