letters

Farm Team

I am pleased to announce that the New York Farm Bureau has recently named Sen. David Valesky to our annual “Circle of Friends” list. This legislative award is granted based upon his record of legislative support for New York agriculture and the Farm Bureau, a non-partisan organization that does not endorse elected officials or political candidates.

Sen. Valesky joins a number of other legislators in the Senate and Assembly that have a superior voting record on issues and have shown strong support for the New York farm industry during the 2010 state legislative session. Each member of the New York Farm Bureau “Circle of Friends,” such as Sen. Valesky, has demonstrated an understanding of the important issues affecting farmers and the considerable impact the industry has on our economy and quality of life.

New York Farm Bureau, the state’s largest general farm advocacy organization, works closely with the state Legislature to strengthen and enhance the agricultural industry in New York State. This year’s legislative session proved to be a challenging one for farmers, but with significant support from key legislators such as Sen.

Valesky, agriculture will continue to be one of New York’s most important industries.

We are pleased to provide the “Circle of Friends” designation to Sen. Valesky to thank him for his hard work on behalf of farmers in his district and across New York state.

—Dean Norton President, New York Farm Bureau Batavia

Farm Team, Take Two

Agriculture is a key component to any economy. Local farmers supply the building blocks of our communities. If they die out then so will many other local industries that rely on their products. We need legislators that will support our farmers.

Dave Valesky has fought against legislation that would be detrimental to upstate family farms and has been embraced as a friend of farmers across New York state. He understands their importance to both the economy and community. We must keep people like Dave in office in order to ensure our farms continue to grow.- Barbara Shaw Chittenango

Ethic Cleansing

An open letter to Congressman Dan Maffei: Back when you ran for Congress, you and many others of your Democratic congressional cohorts embraced the remark made by House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi to “drain the swamp” of political corruption and ethics violations. Do you still feel that way, sir? Your lack of action does not show it.

If that is the case, please explain Rep. Charlie “Flim Flam” Rangel of New York? You have said a number of times that he is a mentor of yours. You worked for him as his press secretary on the Ways & Means Committee for more than six years. When the ethics charges came out against Rangel months ago as revealed by the media, you delayed your responses to the charges. Since you have known Rangel for a long time and worked with him closely, would you not have intimate knowledge of some of his mis-dealings?

It is also reported that Rangel invited members of Congress to his Dominican Republic estate. Were you one of them? Also, you have received more than $80,000 from the Rangel campaign for your re-election. That is an awful amount of tainted money coming from outside our local congressional district. Can you reveal to us what promises you made for that sizable cadre of cash? Will you give it back? A number of your Democratic congressmen already have. It is reported that one of your campaign staff has said that you refused to give the ill-gotten money back. Is that so?

Congressman Maffei, I have asked you to call for an independent investigation into the illegal campaign tactics employed by the Obama White House into the sweet deals they tried to swing with Rep. Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania and Colorado legislator Andrew Romanoff. How was it that former President Bill Clinton was involved in these affairs? You have completely ignored this while saying you stand with Nancy Pelosi in trying to run “the most ethical Congress in history.”