Charles Whalen is a democrat running to oppose incumbent Rep. Tom Reed in November’s Federal Election. I have invited Charles and the other candidates to share Press Releases, Comments on political issues and other bits of information to help the NY23rd Constituents make an educated choice in the June 26 Democratic Primary, and the November 6 Greeral Election.
Meet Charles Whalen
The son of a machinist dad and a first-generation American mom, Charles Whalen knows the struggles of working families. His dad, who began his trade in the Marines, worked the night shift in a factory and a second job on weekends. His mom, whose parents emigrated from Italy, learned English as a second language and worked as a bookkeeper for small businesses.
Driven to make a difference in the lives of hardworking Americans, Charles worked his way through Cornell University — the first in his family to attend college. Since then, he’s earned national recognition for helping companies, working people, and community leaders in Western New York and across the country find ways to achieve business success and regional prosperity.
Over the past 30 years, while working in various settings, Charles’s aim has remained constant: to improve the lives of working people, retirees, and their families. He’s held countless late-night meetings with factory workers to help companies save and create jobs. He’s forged regional business and labor partnerships to promote economic development in seven Western New York counties. He’s gotten tax rebates on the national agenda when the economy was in recession. And he’s outlined policy options for lawmakers through work at the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Charles is married to his college sweetheart, Linda (Burns), a public health nutritionist for New York State. The couple lived initially in Steuben County, where Linda has deep roots and her grandfather ran a dairy farm. In 1990, after the birth of their daughter, Katie, the family moved to its current home in Geneva.
“I’ve devoted my career to fighting for working families. With your help, I’ll take that fight to Congress. My neighbors and yours have been overlooked for too long by Washington politicians. It’s time for that to change. I ask for your support, and look forward to working with you.” — Charles
Press Release (12/20/17)
Whalen Slams Reed’s Tax Vote as “Unprincipled Extremism”
Geneva, New York — Charles Whalen — a Democratic congressional candidate in New York’s 23rd district — denounced Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY23) for voting today in favor of the GOP’s “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.”
“For years, Tom Reed railed against the harmful effects of deficit spending. But today he voted to pass a huge tax giveaway for the rich that increases the deficit by $1.5 trillion. That’s unprincipled extremism,” says Whalen.
Whalen points out that by the final year of the GOP 10-year tax plan, most families in America — but not those with the highest incomes — will be paying more in taxes than under current tax rules (according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center).
“Meanwhile, rising deficits will weaken the economy, reduce job growth, and force deep cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, and vital public investments. All of that will hurt working people, retirees, and their families.”
Whalen also points out that companies moving jobs overseas don’t just get to keep existing tax breaks — they get other new tax advantages as well. Meanwhile, tax breaks for domestic production and research and development would be eliminated or scaled back. “It’s a Jobs Act all right — a jobs-destroying act. This twisted bill gives us the opposite of what we need to grow the economy and boost working families.”
And it gets worse: The bill also contains a provision that will destabilize the healthcare system, causing premiums to rise and endangering health insurance coverage for millions.
Republicans say their plan will help the economy as the benefits “trickle down.” But Whalen, who served as an economist at the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, says he was in the room some years ago when the Republican-appointed CBO director told the media and congressional staffers that tax cuts don’t pay for themselves. “Members of Congress know better. Residents of the 23rd district also know better — and in 2018, they’ll hold Tom Reed accountable for his unprincipled extremism.”
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For more information, call Charles Whalen at (315) 719-8799. Whalen, a resident of Geneva (Ontario County), New York. His website is: charleswhalenforcongress.com.
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About pystew
Retired Teacher, political science geek, village trustee. I lean a little left, but like a good political discussion. My blog, the New NY 23rd (http://newny23rd) is about discussing the issues facing the people of our new congressional district. Let's hear all sides of the issues, not just what the candidates want us to hear.
New NY 23rd 
Charles Whalen claims above:
The first and second points above are clearly true; we don’t know yet if the third is true–even those who know better may not care. “More for the rich and crumbs for the rest” is irresponsible, yet may still be effective especially for those trying to live on crumbs.
I wish Charles Whalen every success in explaining economic truths. He will need to overcome the challenge of “alternate facts.”
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