Who's running the Sweeney Campaign?

John Sweeney's Campaign seems to be confused, The Post Star recently reported that Sweeney denied responsibility for a press release that was issued by Sweeney For Congress which attacked Kirsten Gillibrand for attending a union rally (and accused Gillibrand of lying).

The press release, issued June 27 by Sweeney for Congress, criticized Democratic congressional candidate Kirsten Gillibrand for attending a union rally...

Sweeney, in a telephone interview on Thursday, repeatedly insisted his campaign did not issue a press release on the topic.

His congressional spokeswoman, Melissa Carlson, later said the campaign issued the release without Sweeney's knowledge....

The first Capitol Confidential blog post on this failed to mention that Gillibrand was one of several politicians and candidates at the rally. As the Hillsdale Independent did:

...speakers at the rally Saturday included: Kirsten Gillibrand, candidate for the Democratic nomination for the 20th Congressional District; state Senate Minority Leader David Paterson, (D-Harlem) candidate for lieutenant governor, who is running with Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the leading Democrat in the race for governor; John Hall, a singer-songwriter turned congressional candidate for the 19th Congressional District; Hudson Mayor Richard Tracy; Hudson Second Ward Supervisor Ed Cross; Kinderhook Supervisor Doug McGivney (D); and Alderman and Hudson Common Council Majority Leader Quintin Cross (D).

Mr. Paterson, who said that his treatment at CMH after a serious car accident was "the reason that I am standing before you today" promised that if he and Mr. Spitzer won their election, they would "come to Hudson and talk to the people who wouldn't talk to you."...

The Post Star story quoted Gillibrand:

Contacted Friday, Gillibrand said her appearance at the rally was appropriate.

"I think it's important to stand up for working families. It's important to our community," she said.

SEIU Local 1199 has endorsed her congressional campaign. The union's national organization had backed Sweeney in previous elections.

Gillibrand said her appearance at the rally was intended to emphasize the importance of both sides working together to resolve the dispute.

Sweeney, Gillibrand said, has frequently claimed her campaign is only focused on national issues.

"Here's an example of a local issue that is also a national issue," she said.