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WGXC Congressional Report 20200120

Jan 20, 2020 12:01 am
This is WGXC's Congressional Report, tracking the votes, words, and actions of Rep. Antonio Delgado, a Democrat from Rhinebeck representing the 19th Congressional District, and Paul Tonko, a Democrat from Amsterdam from the 20th Congressional District. The Fivethirtyeight.com website reports that, so far, the first-term Congressperson Delgado votes with Donald Trump's positions 4.6 percent of the time. Since Democrats took over the House of Representatives Tonko also votes with Trump's positions 1.5 percent of the time. In the previous Congressional session, Tonko voted with Trump 22.6 percent of the time. Click here to play or download an audio version of this report.

• On Jan. 15 both Hudson Valley Democrats Paul Tonko and Antonio Delgado voted to move the impeachment to a trial in the U.S. Senate. Tonko, who represents the 20th Congressional District, and Delgado, who represents the 19th District, both also voted for the two articles of impeachment in December. The vote to send impeachment to the Senate was 228-to-193, almost entirely on party lines. The Senate trial will start on Jan. 21.

• Also this week both Tonko and Delgado voted Jan. 15 for a bill that amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to establish an unlawful employment practice when the complaining party demonstrates that age or participation in investigations, proceedings, or litigation under such Act was a motivating factor for any unlawful employment practice, even though other factors also motivated the practice. That passed 261-to-155. Delgado and Tonko also voted for reversing a Department of Education regulation on student loans, which passed 231-to-180. Neither bill is likely to pass the U.S. Senate, or even be given a vote there by Republican leadership.

Chris Churchill reports in the Times Union that Tony German, the retired two-star general running in the Republican primary to take on Rep. Antonio Delgado, announced Jan. 13 an end to his campaign. German, a former adjutant general of the New York National Guard, said he hasn't raised enough money to keep his campaign operating. That leaves just Michael Roth, who lives in Ellenville and Brooklyn, and runs a nonprofit charity called Ulster Heights Kingdom, which received no contributions and generated no in revenue in 2018. Roth has seven followers on Twitter. The other candidate is Ola Hawatmeh, a fashion designer who grew up in Poughkeepsie, but has lived in St. Louis most of her life and moved back to Dutchess County four months ago. Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro said last week he will not run for this Congressional seat. Churchill writes that Bartle Bull, a writer and businessman in Dutchess County, "is being mentioned," though he does not say by whom, as someone who might also run for the 19th Congressional seat. Republican Donald Trump won the 19th District by seven points in 2016. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Emilie Munson reports for the Times Union that Rep. Paul Tonko has a fundraising lead over his Republican and Democratic opponents. In the fourth quarter of 2019, Tonko raised $179,920, giving the six-term incumbent $771,510 in campaign cash. Republican Liz Joy, a Schenectady-based real estate agent, said she raised $57,765 in the fourth quarter, giving her $115,730. Republican Michael Seney, a Rensselaer Country sheriff's deputy, said he raised $40,202 in the fourth quarter, and now has $27,702 in campaign cash. But before Tonko faces either Republican, he must defeat Riley Seaburg in a June primary. Seaburg, a military veteran who owns a marketing company, just declared his candidacy on Jan. 1 and has not filed any fundraising reports. Seaburg is Tonko's first primary challenge since he was elected to Congress in 2009. “I think competition is good for the soul," Tonko said. "Obviously, the general public deserves a choice." Read more about this story in the Times Union.

• Paul Tonko does list any public events this week on his website. Antonio Delgado lists public appearances on his website only if his staff organizes the events. He has none listed this week.
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