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Opinion: Refusal of PAC money shows who Cobb will serve, says Colton resident

Posted 8/17/18

To the Editor: Republican Elise Stefanik and Democratic challenger Tedra Cobb have both been true to form as the congressional campaign launches. Stefanik is running scared, resorting to name-calling …

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Opinion: Refusal of PAC money shows who Cobb will serve, says Colton resident

Posted

To the Editor:

Republican Elise Stefanik and Democratic challenger Tedra Cobb have both been true to form as the congressional campaign launches.

Stefanik is running scared, resorting to name-calling and “alternative facts.” The accusations which claimed Cobb “raised taxes 20 times” as county legislator were debunked in Richard Hayes Phillip’s guest commentary which appeared in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise after being rated factually accurate by the Watertown Daily Times: http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/opinion/guest-commentary/2018/07/stefanik-and-company-dont-know-what-theyre-talking-about/

These were flagrant attempts to mislead. What does Stefanik have against putting tax-exempt property back on the tax rolls when it no longer qualifies? When many of these votes were unanimous and most weren’t even tax rate votes, this was nothing but an effort to smear. Did these facts slow Stefanik? No, she released an attack ad this week which was fact-checked by the Post Star, and the majority of claims were rated “questionable to wrong.”

(Reprinted in Press Republican as well.) Don’t expect Stefanik to be stopped by a fourth news source finding or printing her claims inaccurate, though.

Another trick was a “gotcha” video done at a meeting last May involving a teenager using a false name and lying twice about his phone being dead, including when asked if he was taping. Within a month he was being paid by the Republican National Campaign Committee and was working as an intern and getting photographed with Stefanik, who claimed little knowledge of him.

Push polling, done more to sway than gauge opinion, has been done where people are called and asked if they would still support the candidate even though the candidate did something that may be exaggerated or flat out untrue.

These attacks are reminiscent of negative tactics Stefanik used against her Democratic opponent in the 2016 election, including a television ad that insincerely touted the Green candidate as the true progressive in a transparent attempt to siphon votes from the Democrat.

Meanwhile, when all this unfolded, as one of Tedra’s over 1000 volunteers, I received an e-mail saying the campaign had expected this, would take the high road, and would remain focused on Tedra’s lifetime of service to her neighbors and how she will extend this service to all the people in District 21.

Refusing corporate PAC money, unlike Stefanik, indicates whom Tedra Cobb will serve.

Voters are tired of the tactics Stefanik uses. Tedra gets my vote.

Ginger Storey-Welch

Colton