PENN YAN—Democratic Congressional Nominee Tracy Mitrano (NY-23) released the following statement today officially pledging not to accept money from corporate political action committees (PACs) in her campaign against Republican Representative Tom Reed.
“I am proud to take the pledge not to accept any campaign donations from corporate PACs,” said Mitrano. “Government should serve the people, not just the people with overflowing pocketbooks. I’m not running to serve special interests, and I am certainly not running to represent the occupants of corporate boardrooms who donate under the cloak of a PAC or super PAC. I’m running to represent the people of the 23rd District, and it is their voices and interests that will guide my votes.
“Since January 2017, Representative Reed has accepted $146,500 from PACs affiliated with the insurance industry,” Mitrano said. “He has accepted $91,550 from PACs affiliated with the pharmaceutical industry. He has accepted $93,000 from PACs affiliated with the oil, gas, and electric utility industries. He has accepted $50,000 from PACs affiliated with commercial banks, and another $73,150 from PACs affiliated with securities and investments firms. Less than half of all donations made to his campaign, in fact, are coming from individual donors. All these numbers are from the Center for Responsive Politics, by the way, and I encourage all voters to check them out at OpenSecrets.org. They force us to ask the question: who does Reed represent? Who does he feel responsible to when he casts his votes?
“I have to conclude, based on the Congressman’s voting record, especially on matters of health care, health insurance, banking, and the environment, that these groups are getting their money’s worth. But I have too much respect, and too much care, for the people of this district to let any special interests outweigh their interests. Democracy works better when money matters less than the voices of real constituents, and if I am elected to Congress this November, I will be a strong advocate for broad campaign finance reform.”
