Jon Powers: More Hype Than Heft?
You may find this interesting. It is from the Rochester Blog, Women With Opinions
Jon Powers: More Hype Than Heft?
Jon Powers is running for a seat in the US House of Representatives representing the 26th District. Alice Kryzan and Jack Davis are also running, and the three will face off against each other in the upcoming Democratic primary on September 9th.
Compared to Kryzan and Davis, Jon Powers has an exceedingly thin resume. He joined the army to get the education benefits and was sent to Iraq. After he returned to civilian life, he became a part-time substitute teacher.
The one thing that he could really boast of in his campaign was a nonprofit organization he started called War Kids Relief, meant to help Iraqi youth. Now, the Buffalo News reports that the War Kids Relief isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Read their story HERE. Seems Powers puffed up things to grab the interest of the media and may have profited from the project more than he should have.
This is not the first time Powers’ campaign has stumbled. Previously it was revealed that Powers used several thousand dollars of campaign money to pay the rent on his apartment, which is a violation of election law. He had to pay back that money.
My question is, why is Jon Powers even running for Congress? Imagine, if you will, a young woman Powers’ age (He is not yet 30.) asking for serious consideration to represent us in the US House of Representatives, and her main work experience was being a substitute teacher, part-time at that. She would be laughed at, mocked. It’s more of that double standard business, I guess.
Oh, one more thing about Powers. He’s a flipflopper par excellence. Example: At the start of his campaign, he told Democrats for Life he was on their side about abortion. Didn’t believe in it, couldn’t support it. Then, when he talked with Planned Parenthood, he told them he was pro-choice all the way.
That ploy came back to bite him. The head of Dems for Life in New York had contributed money to his campaign. When she found out Powers was telling folks he was pro-choice she asked for her money back.
Posted by Linda Stephens on August 07, 2008
Joanne L. Capone Says:August 17th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Thanks for the article. Jon is indeed a lightweight and should think about building a resume instead of seeking a congressional seat at this time.
Jon has compromised his beliefs and has stretched truths. He sought to raise a good deal of money outside our area and changed his positions in three areas that I know of…he was pro life…now he says he is pro choice (despite receiving the Hibernian Award in 2003 which is given to Irish faithful Catholics (i.e.not pro abortions fans)…he was for marriage between a man and a woman (which by the way is Obama’s position) and now Jon thinks the Sacrament of Marriage should be available for same sex couples.
Jon also fails in the area of the economy as he is an “unabashed supporter of free trade” (same position as John McCLain. Jon fails to understand that the Clintons were responsible for seeing NAFTA signed into law and NAFTA is critically flawed and has cost our area thousands of good paying jobs.
The only viable candidate on the Democratic side to help our area reclaim lost jobs is Jack Davis in my opinion.
Joanne L. Capone
Executive Director
Capone-DeSimone Institute for Peace and Social Justice
Robert Harding Says:August 17th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
I must disagree with Ms. Stephens assessment:
“My question is, why is Jon Powers even running for Congress? Imagine, if you will, a young woman Powers’ age (He is not yet 30.) asking for serious consideration to represent us in the US House of Representatives, and her main work experience was being a substitute teacher, part-time at that. She would be laughed at, mocked. It’s more of that double standard business, I guess.”
The glaring omission there is the fact that Powers served our country in Iraq. Just look at Tammy Duckworth in Illinois. Her main employer leading up to her congressional run in 2006 was her service in the Illnois National Guard, which meant service in Iraq for her also.
I guess we could downplay Powers’ service in Iraq, but doing so would be very ignorant of us. I had a friend who used to drive ammo in Iraq. They would drive for days with very little (if any) break. I’d challenge anyone to do that if they don’t think that is real life experience.
MIke Wrona Says:August 18th, 2008 at 4:14 am
Robert being a War Veteran does not qualify you to be in Congress.
Jon supported going to War in Iraq and only changed political parties when he decided the president wasn’t fighting the war in a way that satisfied him. He still thinks going to war with that country was a good idea. And apparently so do you.
Since he has been out of the service what has Jon done with his life to pay his bills and put food on his table?
Does Jon have a full range of experiences or is Iraq the only song on his play list?
As for Tammy Duckworth Robert, try getting in the habit of doing some research rather than blindly repeating what someone told you:
1. Tammy is 11 years older than Jon.
2. She gave both her legs to Iraq in 2004.
3. Prior to Iraq -
She graduated from high school after only 3 years with honors.
Received a B.A. from the University of Hawaii in political science
Received an M.A. from George Washington University in International
Affairs
Was a PHd candidate from at Northern Illinois University in
Political Science centering on Economics in Southeast Asia.
4. There is a hell of a lot more substance in the background history of
Tammy Duckworth than there is with Jon Powers.
MIke Wrona Says:August 18th, 2008 at 4:33 am
This is some of the shallow and immature writing that Robert Harding puts on the internet.
He asks what skills? First off this 22 year old genius takes 30 years of work experience and discounts it.
He wrote this on his Albany Project Blog:
“What skills? She has no political experience. Being a lawyer is a lot different than being a politician. To play the experience card here is a little ridiculous. Powers has been a part of this process with VoteVets and his work with War Kids Relief. In fact, politically speaking, Powers has more experience than Kryzan does.”
Jon Powers couldn’t be bothered to find a job over the past 3 years and that is OK with Robert. Go figure.
Buffalopundit Says:August 18th, 2008 at 4:53 am
I’d like Joanne Capone to answer a question - why would she support Jack Davis, as he’s pro-choice?
Nick Says:August 18th, 2008 at 7:04 am
Wrona’s reproduction of Harding’s post brings up an interesting issue - the quality, not just the quantity, of the experience the candidates bring to the table. Harding is dead wrong that being a lawyer is a lot different than being a politician; there’s a reason why so many politicians were lawyers first. Lawyers are advocates who represent their clients by researching the facts and issues surrounding a case, determining what the ideal outcome for their client would be, and then advocating for that outcome before a court. Elected officials do very similar work: their constituents are their clients, and their courtroom is the body in which they serve, in this case the House of Representatives.
There’s no doubt that Powers’ experience as a veteran is laudable, and I’m sure that he went through challenging and harrowing experiences that those of us who have not served cannot imagine. But it isn’t so clear that that experience translates into politics, and a seat in the House of Representatives is not an appropriate reward for military service. In fact, Powers’ missteps regarding his record and his positions, as well as the failure of War Kids Relief in Congress, suggest that military experience has not translated into political skill. Whatever you think about Kryzan, you have to admit that she has much, much more experience as an advocate.
Buffalopundit Says:August 19th, 2008 at 4:33 am
Representing Hooker Chemical when the Love Canal victims sued it. You know, defending the chemical company against charges of toxic waste killing and injuring people. That’s definitely a record to run on. That, and her political contributions to Tom Reynolds. She must have thought he was doing a bang-up job, because I don’t know about you, but I don’t contribute to politicians I oppose.
Nick Says:August 19th, 2008 at 7:27 am
I’ve seen this Love Canal issue come up before, and I think it represents why it’s important to have experienced advocates in office: they understand that solving problems is more complicated than “us vs. them.”
The Kryzan website has this quote posted:
“Alice Kryzan was very helpful in resolving the litigation on behalf of her client and the Love Canal residents. As an active environmentalist, I’m proud of the environmental work that Alice has accomplished on behalf of our District already.” — Richard Lippes, former lead counsel for the Love Canal residents
So, she did represent the chemical company, and in that capacity worked toward a solution. I think that’s a whole lot better than keeping your distance from a problem just because it’s a tough situation. Also, check out her record as an environmental lawyer in the years since.
Anyway, this article was about the Powers campaign. Sorry to go off on a tangent.
Buffalopundit Says:August 19th, 2008 at 7:42 am
Penance.
Buffalopundit Says:August 19th, 2008 at 7:42 am
And I wonder why Ms. Capone still hasn’t answered my question about why she’s supporting the pro-choice Jack Davis?
MIke Wrona Says:August 20th, 2008 at 5:29 am
One would think any attorney would have learned in Law school that we have trials by jury in this country and the even the most heinous criminal has his day in court before a jury of his peers with legal counsel.
Apparently with this line of thinking every attorney who defends a person who is accused of a crime is sympathetic to the criminal and the crime. What has legal education come to?
So better to support a former Republican for congress who has no had a paid full-time job since he left the military in 2005. I hope he wasn’t on welfare.
Buffalopundit Says:August 21st, 2008 at 5:34 am
I’ll support the person I think will best represent the 26th District and can defeat the effete Lee. Kryzan’s campaign is MIA, and Davis is a xenophobe.
Joe Says:August 28th, 2008 at 2:24 am
On Jon Powers new mailer there is not one mention of the War Kids Charity he ‘founded’ - I take that as a clear confession that oops, guess I did sort of exaggerate that resume afterall.
In same mailer he says he is a ‘Teacher’. I’d like to know how many days he has actually taught. He misrepresented his role with the charity - this should be checked out too.