Possible Senate Candidates Visit Buffalo
Eric Ortner
North Buffalo Rocket / West Side TimesFebruary 2000: This past week the two most likely candidates for the New York State Senate seat, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, paid visits to the City of Buffalo.
Hillary Rodham Clinton visited the Historical Society last Wednesday. In her case, what became most notable really did not relate to any issues of substance. Instead, the most remembered subjects resulted from a WGR radio talk show host. He questioned her marital fidelity and whether she has ever used cocaine. This brought some national attention to the City of Buffalo, and as usual it is negative. The incident was mentioned on Face the Nation and several other nationally broadcast media news shows.
The Mayor of New York came to visit Buffalo on Saturday. He said, "I'm here for the Roswell Park Cancer Institute." Roswell Park was holding a fund-raiser called All-Star-Night at the Adam's Mark Hotel, and Giuliani was a guest speaker there. He seemed to blend in with all of the other well dressed participants.
However, Giuliani was on a somewhat different playing field. Prior to his speech in the fund-raiser, he met with various members of the news media to discuss his expected candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat which will be vacated by Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
Giuliani was questioned about the difficulties he may face in gaining the support of voters in Up-State New York. He responded, "I'm not from Arkansas! I was born in New York and have lived in New York For most of my life. I've served in public office for seven years, and have a record that people can trust. I've been in Buffalo many, many times. I know the state well and am enormously committed to it."
Giuliani believes Pataki's budget is in Up-State New York's interest. He said, "I support the tax cuts and the budget. Tax cutting works, it can stimulate the economy." He continued, "The toughest issue will be restoring the economy." He hopes to do so by meeting with 100's of businesses. Giuliani also commented that he would support more federal tax cuts if elected as Senator.
Hillary Clinton is expected to officially announce her candidacy on February 6. Giuliani is more reserved on making such an announcement. He said, "I will when I'm ready, the last time I announced too early, I lost."
Although, Giuliani and Hilary differ on most issues, there are at least two that they have in common. The first is that he will not answer personal questions. The second, is that both candidates are pro-choice. This should be an interesting campaign to watch, and a historic one at that. Hopefully, the media will act responsibly and ask the questions that matter.
