The Fighting 29th

All about New York's 29th Congressional District

The $1.18 million grant received by Tom Reed's LLC is the result of a process detailed on this Empire State Development web page. The application [pdf] for the grant is 34 pages long and requires environmental and historical preservation review.

The list [pdf] of grants shows that Reed's is one of sixteen given in the Southern Tier. With $15.9 million in total awards for the region, Reed's is slightly bigger than the region's average of just under $1 million. Awards ranged in size from $200K to rehab a building in Norwich to $2.2 million for a neighborhood impact program in Binghamton.

WETM reports that Reed's application was approved by the Bath town board. The video attached to the story also has some footage of the exterior and interior of the building.

Joe Dunning's story on Tom Reed's press conference is online. It contrasts Reed's comments about the stimulus as a "slush fund" with the stimulus funds Corning has received.

Matt Kernan of Shortsville, NY is the first write-in candidate for the 29th seat. Matt's website is http://mwkernanforcongress.com/.

In 2008, Alan Merklinger of Hopewell waged a write-in campaign. Apparently Ontario County is a hotbed of write-in candidacy in the 29th district.

Today's Reed press conference had two topics. First, Larry Sabato has moved the 29th race to a "toss up". Reed believes this move is an indicator of the strength of his campaign.

The second topic, raised by me and followed up by Joe Dunning of the Corning Leader, was Tom Reed's receipt of a $1.18 million grant for renovations of the Bath Masonic Temple.

There's a lot to digest here, and I'm going to try something new and post the audio of the whole back-and-forth at the end of this post. In summary:

• Reed has a business of buying "distressed" properties and rehabbing them. He's done it in Corning, Elmira and Bath, and the Bath project is the only one done with public funds.
• The grant Reed got was via Restore New York, which has been around for 3 years and has distributed money all over the state.
• Reed says that the Restore New York program, which issued the grant, was not stimulus money. I asked him whether the use of stimulus to cover a budget shortfall in New York is relevant, and he said no, because he believes that stimulus money was supposed to be tagged for infrastructure projects.
• Reed says that the stimulus has become a "slush fund", and claimed that Massa has been representing that he can bring home money from that fund.

Here's 20 minutes of press conference for the real political junkies. The other person asking questions is Joe Dunning of the Corning Leader.

Download reed_call_bath_portion.mp3 (3Meg)

Reader Elmer sends today's Corning Leader story about Tom Reed's grant [pdf] (and here's the jump[pdf]).

The Leader also covered Massa's no vote on the Wilson matter [pdf].

The Star-Gazette has a back-and-forth on Reed's grant. The S-G also reports that Massa voted against a reprimand of South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson, the "you lie" guy.

WXXI's story on the New York delegation's view of the war in Afghanistan includes some remarks by Massa who wonders what the goal is there.

Tom Reed's campaign has issued a press release (reprinted in full after the break) where he accuses Eric Massa of "mudslinging".

Here's a choice quote:

“Anyone who has actually taken the risks to begin and operate businesses in New York knows how difficult it is to create jobs in our state,” Reed continued. “Job creators find some of the highest taxes and most severe regulatory burdens."

“When Massa criticizes folks for taking advantage of public incentives, it clearly demonstrates that he doesn’t understand these challenges.”

I don't know what Massa said at his press conference today, but the notion that someone getting a $1.18 million grant from New York State is a victim of high taxes and regulatory burdens is a laugh-out-loud statement.

A person getting those grants is a perpetrator. Small businessmen like me, who aren't looking for a state handout to make a profit, are the victims, since we're paying higher taxes to support recipients of this kind of crony welfare.

It's not too tough to put together a group of investors to "risk" $820K to get $1.18 million in free money. Those investors know full well that there's an excellent chance that they'll make a profit when the newly renovated Bath Masonic Temple is sold, since your money and mine is serving as a $1.18 million cushion to protect their investment.

Here's the press release:

The Steuben Courier reports that Tom Reed was the recent recipient of a "Restore New York" grant facilitated by State Senator George Winner. Reed, who owns the Masonic Temple in Bath, will match that grant with $820,000 of private funding.

I won't be able to attend Reed's press conference tomorrow, but t The obvious question is how long Reed has owned the building, and how much he paid for it. If the answers are "not long" and "not much", then he has a huge problem. As it stands, unless there's some innocent explanation (e.g., Reed chairs a non-profit development group and isn't really the "owner"), this looks like a case of Southern Tier crony "capitalism".

Also, I would imagine that Reed's previous statements about fiscal responsibility and the need to limit stimulus funding will get closer scrutiny in light of this grant.

Rick Miller at the Olean Times-Herald has a long story about Eric Massa's visit to St Bonaventure. Massa addressed a group of pre-med students in the company of Dr. Andrew Coates of Physicians For a National Health Care Plan. The topic was single-payer healthcare.

The Messenger-Post reports a Massa announcement of $2 million for Rochester's airport.

Today's Corning Leader story lays out what Massa would like to see in a healthcare bill. The Star-Gazette coverage includes Tom Reed's response.

On yesterday's Fox and Friends, Massa appeared with Wyoming Senator John Barasso to discuss healthcare reform. Video after the break.