Tom Reed has been my representative since November, 2010 when much of the NY23rd was the NY29th. One thing that Rep. Reed brags about is the number of Town Hall meetings he has held. Usually once a month he dedicates a Saturday to visits three locations around the district; he calls them his chance to listen to his constituents.
Sometimes people video records all or parts of these meetings. I recently received an email that points out that Rep. Reed will:
“likely to make countless statements that ignore his previous comments regarding advocacy against sexual assault, the importance of cutting the deficit rather than spending, etc. It would be great to have as many videos of him as possible. If several people could look back and find examples of what will likely end up being hypocritical statements, it would provide a solid based from which we could question and challenge him in the months ahead.”
I have recorded a few of his meetings. I will go through my collection to find statements that contradict his current thinking.
One meeting that comes to mind was the 2013 Dryden Town Hall meeting. I didn’t record the meeting, but ProgressiveTVvideo did and it can be found on Youtube. BoldProgressive.org reviewed the recording and caught Rep. Reed telling what we now call an “Alternative Fact”. The topic was about hydrofackinrg, and Reed was asked:
Where did your $126,000 from gas companies come from? Which lobbyists? Which companies besides Chesapeake and the other lobbyists?
Rep. REED: No idea. No idea. We don’t keep track of that. I don’t keep track of that.
Of course that is untrue. By law Rep. Reed needs to keep track of who donates funds to his campaign. In reality every politician knows where his money is coming from.
I like this snippet because in it our congressman said something that at the time didn’t seem too controversial, but it would come back and bite him. Rep. Reed said that he is a firm believer that the State (NY State, that is) has the right to regulate Hydrofracking. This was more than a full year before Governor Cuomo decided to ban Fracking. You probably remember the brouhaha Reed created when that happened. and proposed a law to over-ride Cuomo’s power to regulate. If you listen to the recording below remember what the question about Fracking was, and see how our Congressman didn’t answer it.
Another note about Town Hall meetings, Rep. Reed’s announces when and where is they are being held by mailing post cards inviting near-by constituents to attend. The cards are received about a week or two before the event. He then gives the rest of us a day or two notice; it is usually posted on his Facebook page. Please, if you receive a post card telling about a meeting near you, let us know. Help give the constituents who are willing to travel good distances to let Rep. Reed know how they feel on issues that they feel are important.
