Accusations were unfounded
Congressional candidate throws hand grenade into Dem race
The Front Page
Morning Update
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
By Ken Tingley
At its core, political party decisions are based on one overriding principle - How to win.
Democratic congressional candidate Matt Putorti has leveled charges that Democratic party leadership around the 21st Congressional District has an anti-gay bias. What is shocking is that he made the accusations against fellow Democrats. Remember, it was just 10 years ago that local Republicans stood in lockstep to try to keep same-sex marriage from being law of the state. You may remember, that one of their own - Roy McDonald - crossed over with a key vote for same-sex marriage and local Republican leaders lined up against McDonald and ended his long and distinguished career over his vote.
So if Putorti is looking for anti-gay bias around the region - I have no doubt it is still there - but I’m not sure if the problem is with the leadership of the Democrats.
In strong language, Putorti’s campaign issued a statement saying he had not been endorsed by local Democratic leadership because he is gay.
Perhaps, Putorti should take into consideration that the endorsed candidate is not only a straight man, but has some excellent credentials. Matt Castelli has previously worked for the CIA in counterterrorism.
Apparently what set Putorti off was that local officials thought enough of him to suggest that instead of staying in the congressional race, he throw his energy into a campaign against state Republican senator Dan Stec.
The reality is that Putorti has a better chance of beating Stec than Castelli does of beating Rep. Elise Stefanik in the congressional race.
The goal of the leadership of any local political party is to win elections. With several good candidates - including Putorti - in the congressional race, it makes sense that the Democrats would try to be competitive in the state Legislature races as well and try to win more than one race.
Lynn Boucher, the local Warren County Democratic leader, told Maury Thompson that Putorti’s experience rebuilding housing after disasters in Haiti and New Orleans would make him a better fit to address state issues.
That makes sense to me as well.
I have no doubts that there is still anti-gay bias throughout many of our communities, but the fact that Democratic leadership wanted to find a place for Putorti to be successful indicates it is not among the Democratic leadership.
Lobbing a hand grenade like this into a political race is something Putorti should be more careful about without specific proof.
Pandemic benefits
As the designated grocery shopper in our house, one of the things I have always detested was waiting in line at the deli counter.
The pandemic has produced an improvement in that regard. The deli folks now package a variety of our favorite meats of different weights and leave them out for us to sift through.
I no longer have to take a number and wait for them to cut my order. It’s one good thing that came out of the pandemic. I am sure there are others.
SAG winner
The Screen Actor’s Guild gave out their honors Sunday night. The highlight for me was Michael Keaton’s lead actor win for his performance as an Oxy-addicted doctor in the mini-series “Dopesick.”
I’ve written extensively on the Sachler family and their promotion of OxyContin as a pain medication even after they learned of its addictive properties.
The series, based on a book of the same name by a Virginia journalist, is worth a look on Netflix.
Alden thwarted again
Lee Enterprises, which owns The Post-Star and has been targeted for takeover by Alden Global Capital, got some good news this week when Alden was thwarted for a second time from placing two representatives on the ballot for the Lee board of directors.
Alden is encouraging Lee stockholders to vote no on Lee’s board of directors candidates, including former Lee CEO Mary Junck.
60 Minutes
“60 Minutes” did another piece on the plight of small community newspapers Sunday night that also addressed the takeover attempts by hedge funds like Alden Capital.
Correspondents Jon Wertheim told the Poynter Insittitue. “It’s not stop-the-presses news that the newspaper industry is in decline,” Wertheim said, “but I thought this angle that there are all these external forces of being cannibalized from within was a story that hasn’t been told so much.”
The story is worth a look.
"...Putorti’s experience rebuilding housing after disasters in Haiti and New Orleans would make him a better fit to address state issues.". Thank you for pointing this out, I had no idea what his accomplishments, or background, encompassed. His tweets always start with his opponent's name, and my eyes glaze over! I've even written to him, indicating that the approach of "I'm not _______" ( fill in the blank) did not work for the Democrat in the Virginia gov race, and that he needed to focus on what potential constituents want that they're not getting from Stefanik. Apologies for going off topic, but I find that approach really frustrating.
Excellent piece re Purtorti. Stefanic gets much of her money from out of State. I urge Purtorto run against Stec.