Other news in the 20th

Newsday cites the race in today's For Dems, New York a state of opportunity.

Several other GOP incumbents are in competitive races, according to nonpartisan political analysts. Among those are: Sue Kelly of Westchester, John Sweeney of Clifton Park, James Walsh of Syracuse and Randy Kuhl of Hammondsport.

NYS election dynamics are going to be a big factor in the Gillibrand/Sweeney race. The state's GOP party is in a shambles, Rs are angry with Bush, and the NY GOP has no one on the ticket for Republicans to come out and vote for. The primary races here had GOP voters turn out to vote in a record low of just 5.6%.

Gillibrand has Sweeney on the rails over his latest attack piece. It looks like one of the many things Sweeney has learned from his great pal George W. is to ignore the truth whenever it doesn't support your personal pretended reality. Sweeney went to law school, let's see if he can tell us since when does a special counsel have control over the management of funds in a government agency?

Fact Check: Sweeney’s Latest Attack on Gillibrand’s Record with HUD

Sweeney has repeatedly refused to run on his eight-year record as a Congressman; instead, he has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on attacking his opponent and her family, lying and breaking the law.

The Facts on Gillibrand’s Tenure with HUD:

Gillibrand worked at HUD between May 2000 and January 2001 as Special Counsel to HUD Secretary, Andrew Cuomo.

While at HUD, Kirsten worked on a piece of legislation called America's Private Investment Companies (APIC) developed to help distressed communities. President Clinton said APIC “will help revitalize communities so that they can take advantage of the strength of the economy and help those left behind in our economic boom.” (Clinton remarks, 10/20/1999).

She also worked on the enforcement of the Davis-Bacon Act.

Yet, the Sweeney ad makes at least two patently false accusations about her public service at HUD. The “facts” the ad cites have nothing to do with Gillibrand.

The advertisement states that Gillibrand played a role in the Erie Canal Corridor Initiative; however, this initiative was started in 1997 and transferred to Governor Pataki’s control in 2000.

Kirsten was not at the agency during the creation of this initiative and she never worked on or managed the project.

The advertisement also claims that Gillibrand was responsible for the mismanagement of funds at HUD in 1999. Kirsten was not part of the agency during this time period, nor did she have any control over funds within the agency.