Diana Kastenbaum, the Democratic Congressional Candidate for NY-27, has called upon Rep. Chris Collins to step forward and declaratively disavow Trump’s recent statements that the election is rigged. As a an elected official himself, Mr. Collins should persuade Mr. Trump that he should accept the outcome of the election if Secretary Clinton wins. That is what we know in this country as a peaceful transfer of power. That “peaceful” transfer of power is the very essence of what a democracy is all about.

“There used to be civility amongst opponents running for public office. However, the tone the Trump campaign and all of its surrogates have set forth, including Mr. Collins, is anything but civil. The time has come for all patriotic Republicans to speak out against this unprecedented attack on our core beliefs and our fair election process.”

I write this letter to you, your readers and your viewers because I am sickened by the comments that have been made by Donald Trump regarding women. They have also been reinforced by his surrogates who continue to defend him and his misogynistic old boys’ club. Even my opponent, Rep. Chris Collins (R), stands by his man.

There is a particular type of ugliness when women are made fun of, degraded and dismissed. However, we shouldn’t be surprised because we’ve seen it before throughout Donald Trump’s campaign. What is most disturbing though is the merry band of men and women who support him and echo his words. Some may not say it out loud, but their very support of him speaks volumes.

He crossed the line years ago when he accused President Obama of not being a U.S. citizen. He crossed the line when he called Mexican immigrants rapists and murderers. He crossed the line when he mocked a disabled reporter. He crossed the line when he said John McCain was not a hero and that POWs were not heroes because they allowed themselves to be captured. He crossed the line when he disparaged a Gold Star family. And yet, his defenders tried to tell us how we misinterpreted or misread his statements. We waited patiently for the press and media to question him, call him out on his bigotry and prejudices, but the lies kept coming and his surrogates kept getting their sound bites.

Now the attack is on all women -- our daughters, our mothers, our grandmothers. Finally people are getting angry and saying they have crossed the line for the last time. But have they? Mr. Collins has not. In spite of the now growing list of Republicans saying they cannot support a President who says such things, Mr. Collins has said “there is no change in my support of Mr. Trump as our nominee."

This latest degradation of women should offend everyone, even Chris Collins, and it is amongst a long list of abusive behavior. I am a Mom who has a daughter. My instinct is to immediately try and shield her from these horrible comments, just as my Mother would have done for me and my grandmother before her. I ask myself, “who brought this man up? Who raises these people to hate women so?"

Mr. Trump and Mr. Collins, women are 51 percent of the population and we vote. We are married to men who respect their wives, their mothers, their daughters and they vote. We have sons and daughters whom we have brought up to be fair, open, non-prejudiced, wonderful human beings who want a better world without bullies, bigots and misogynists and they vote, too.

The time has come for all the voters in NY-27 to take a long, hard and unbiased look at the candidates and when you cast your vote I hope you take into consideration the kind of country you want to leave to your children. It has to be about issues, but it must also be about a person’s character as well. We should all keep in mind the words of Billy Graham, “when wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost.”

Diana Kastenbaum, the Democratic candidate for NY-27, received a major endorsement this week by New York State’s 2.5-million member AFL-CIO. The endorsement came at the State Federation’s 33rd Constitutional Convention in New York City.

Mario Cilento, president of the New York State AFL-CIO, said, “The decisions made in Washington DC impact the lives and economic well-being of all working men and women which is why the Labor Movement will do everything within our power to elect candidates committed to putting the interests of working people first.”

Kastenbaum said, “I am deeply honored and grateful for the endorsement of New York State’s AFL-CIO. My husband and I have been proud members of two unions in the AFL-CIO family. American workers are the backbone of our country and I intend to fight for working families to see that we achieve our goals of growing our economy with more jobs, a livable wage, healthcare and education.”

After being interviewed by the Western New York Council of the Communications Workers (WNY CWA), Diana Kastenbaum was endorsed by the union on Wednesday, Aug. 17th. She is the Democratic candidate in the NY-27 Congressional District race.

Kastenbaum is an avid supporter of the CWA and marched in solidarity with Local 1133 in a rally at Mercy Hospital in Buffalo earlier this month.

“I am honored to be endorsed by a union that does so much to help working families throughout my district," Kastenbaum says. "I stand with the WNY CWA in their fight for fair contracts, wages, and for bringing jobs back home.”

This is the third union to have endorsed Kastenbaum. She has also been endorsed by NYSUT and the UFCW Local One.

In a rally yesterday in Wilmington, N.C., Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump insinuated that “Second Amendment people,” take violent action against Hillary Clinton if they disliked her Supreme Court nomination. This remark came after Trump made claims that Clinton believes in abolishing the Second Amendment and would nominate a judge who would do so.

This isn’t the only time Trump and his supporters have advocated violence against Secretary Clinton as chants of “lock her up” pervade at all of his rallies.

Diana Kastenbaum, the Democratic candidate for NY­27, says, “The amount of violence Mr. Trump incites seems to know no bounds. Trump’s remarks were not only hateful, but insulting as he reduced gun owners to no better than murderers.

"I'm sure Chris Collins is waiting in the wings for his next appearance on the networks and cable today to tell us how the liberal media and Democrats have once again misconstrued Mr. Trump’s statements. However, this is no joking matter and blatant threats, such as this, should be taken seriously.”

Mr. Collins’ appearance today on MSNBC was insensitive to the Khan family and self-serving. As the representative of the people of NY-27 and a so-called advocate for Veterans it was even more thoughtless and uncaring.

Diana Kastenbaum said, “Collins continued to be Trump’s surrogate by reiterating the insults to the Khan family in his interview. To have a talking point, which he used not once but twice, saying that it happened 12 years ago made it seem somehow irrelevant. My response to Mr. Collins is - the loss of a child has no expiration date for one’s grief. Collins also stated that Mr. Khan is not immune from anything as he has entered the political fray; therefore he leaves himself open to condemnation and criticism. I would ask Mr. Collins, is that how we treat the memory of our heroes and Gold Star Mothers among us?”

Mr. Collin’s defense of the Trump attacks on the Khan family was another opportunity for him to stand by the Republican nominee and the divisiveness that he is inflicting on our country. 

UPDATE: Democratic leaders from the 27th District have also put out a statement:

The Democratic chairs of the eight counties that comprise New York's 27th District condemn in the strongest terms Rep. Chris Collin's outrageous statement on MSNBC this afternoon. As he desperately attempted to defend his chosen candidate's criticism of the Kahns, the Gold Star family who criticized Donald Trump's proposal to ban Muslim immigrants since it would have prevented their son who died heroically in the service of our nation from even entering the United States, Rep. Collins went way over the line.

Incredibly, he accused Mr. Kahn of using his dead son as a "shield" from criticism and suggested he deserved anything he got, since he had dared to enter the fray.

Veterans and their families make up a proud part of this congressional district. All of them understand better than Mr. Trump or Rep. Collins what sacrifice actually means. Capt. Khan died defending his men and our nation. His family deserves our thanks and our compassion.

Rep. Collins brags about his role as a surrogate for Mr. Trump, even saying a few weeks ago that he had appeared on cable television for Mr. Trump's campaign over 100 times. We have to wonder how much he is even concerned with New York's 27th district, in the midst of this whirlwind of activity. We understand that Rep. Collins desperately wants his candidate to become president, since, as he admits, he hopes to be named

Secretary of Commerce. Today's comments prove there are no depths to which Mr. Trump can sink that he will not gladly follow. The voters of NY 27 deserve a representative who has as his priority the people of the district, not his own advancement. The many veterans and service families of NY 27 also deserve someone who understands and appreciates the sacrifices they made and continue to make. Rep. Collins clearly does not. 

Jeremy Zellner, Erie County Democratic Chair
Nick Forster, Niagara County Democratic Chair
Jeanne Crane, Orleans County Chair
Lorie Longhany, Genesee County Democratic Chair
Harold Bush, Wyoming County Democratic Chair
Judith Hunter, Livingston County Democratic Chair
Jamie Romeo, Monroe County Democratic Chair
John Hurley, Ontario County Democratic Chair

Lorie Longhany, the Genesee County chair, when sending over the press release, also included two relevant links:

• MSNBC video
• Talking Points Memo

Tonight, Rep. Chris Collins will address the Republican National Convention and will “second” Donald Trump’s Republican Party nomination for President. Pinnacle Manufacturing CEO Diana Kastenbaum, Collins’s Democratic Party opponent for Congress, issued the following statement:

“At the RNC Convention tonight, Rep. Chris Collins, the first Congressman to endorse Donald Trump, will address millions of Americans with more empty political rhetoric. I can guarantee that Collins won’t speak about his vote to underfund Veterans Affairs by $1.4 billion or his pledge to have a 100% pro-life voting record. I’m offended that Collins does not support our Vets, and I’m equally offended that Collins has not stood up to Trump for his outlandish remarks against women made over the course of the Republican Party Primary. We can do better.”

Today, Democrat Diana Kastenbaum announced her candidacy for New York’s 27th Congressional District.  \Kastenbaum is the CEO of Pinnacle Manufacturing Company, Inc., in Batavia, N.Y.

“As a small business owner from Batavia, I am well aware of the realities that face middle-class families. Using my years of experience as a businesswoman, I will bring new ideas and solutions to the problems we face in Western NY,” said Kastenbaum. “We need a member of Congress who will fight for Western NY on the issues that matter most; good paying jobs, ending income inequality, making college more affordable, and providing access to affordable healthcare. Where Congress has failed us, I will lead.”

Kastenbaum’s family has owned and operated Pinnacle, a zinc and aluminum dye casting manufacturing company, since 1972. She is a graduate of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Kastenbaum is heavily involved in many community organizations in Western NY.

Diana is married to actor and comedian Hiram Kasten. Their daughter, Millicent, is a senior Government major at Cornell University.

New York’s 27th Congressional District includes all of Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming, and Livingston counties and parts of Erie, Monroe, Niagara, and Ontario counties.