Lobster and politics
By Jeffrey Morse
Sun Staff Writer
NORWICH – Music came from the stage and lobster came from the kitchen. Nearly 600 people paid the $60 entrance fee to convene at the Canasawacta Country Club in Norwich Sunday, where state GOP candidates for every position used Lobsterfest as an opportunity to talk about the issues and the state of their campaign.
“This is a Chenango County tradition. There has been a lot of reminiscing,” state Senator Raymond Meier said. “This is American politics as it is practiced in places like Chenango County.” Meier, who is vying to take the position of retiring Republican Congressman Sherwood Boehlert this fall, said the issues that residents brought to him at the fundraiser were what he expected: jobs, the economy, taxes, and the possibility of a high power line running through the county.
Meier recently enjoyed the support of Vice President Dick Cheney in Utica. He said he had a 20 minute to half hour conversation with the country’s number two that gave him a chance to discuss all the issues that he talked about with Chenango County residents this weekend. He said New York Regional Interconnect’s proposal and many other local interests were topics of that discussion. This weekend, his ears were tuned locally.
Referring to Democratic challenger Michael Arcuri’s contention that the 24th Congressional District “is the A race in New York,” Meier said he spent Sunday listening to local opinion of issues important to a race that has, indeed, gotten considerable attention beyond the boundaries of the upstate district.
“It’s not about what they are talking about in Washington, it is about what they are talking about here,” he said.
As temperatures drew beads of sweat from many, gubernatorial candidate John Faso made the rounds beneath the shade of outside tents. Faso and his wife Mary Frances greeted a number of party representatives, listened to local concerns and voiced opinion on Faso’s main competition for the state’s top seat.
Faso, who said he has memories of his attendance at the first Lobsterfest, talked of Democratic challenger Elliot Spitzer’s plan to close the Westchester County Indian Point Nuclear Production Plant. In the shadow of NYRI’s proposal to build the cross-state high power line and recent deadly 95 degree heat in New York City, Faso has challenged Spitzer in several public statements recently regarding the plant. He said Sunday that closure of a plant that produces 11 percent of the state’s energy needs is not the answer considering the state of the energy grid.
“I was amazed at Spitzer’s position that Indian Point should be closed... We need more production, not less,” he said. In addition, he said he is “deeply skeptical” about the NYRI proposal, saying its advocates “need to go back to the drawing board.”
For Madison County Court Judge Dennis K. McDermott, the day turned out differently. Running for the 6th Judicial District of the State Supreme Court, McDermott said he is limited in what he is able to talk about with constituents. He is not your typical politician.
“We are the only candidates who are ethically prohibited from discussing the issues, besides our own qualifications,” he said. The judge spent much of the day circulating at the fundraiser and introducing himself. Like the other candidates, he used the opportunity to spread his message.