Spotlight on the NY 29th Congressional District

Submitted by IP on Sat, 2010-04-17 05:21
Republican Winner, Tom Reed
The 29th Congressional District of New York covers the portion of the Appalachian Mountains in New York known as the Southern Tier. All of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chemung, Schuylet, Steuben, and Yates Counties as well as portions of Monroe and Ontario Counties comprise NY 29. Democrat Eric Massa won the seat in 2008, but resigned in disgrace on March 8, 2010. NY Gov. David Paterson refused to call for a special election to fill the vacancy, leaving over 600,000 NY residents without a voice in Congress. The NY 29th is one of the most Republican districts in the entire state of NY and one of only four NY districts where McCain won. When former Mayor of Corning, Tom Reed, announced his intention to pursue this seat, he became the overwhelming favorite to win and defeated former CIA agent Matt Zeller handily, 56% to 44%.
Tom Reed
  • Native of Corning, NY
  • Graduate, Alfred Univ., Political Science
  • Law Degree, Ohio Northern University College of Law, 1996
  • NYS Bar, 1997
  • Attorney in private practice for over 10 years
  • Co-owner of real estate and mortgage brokerage businesses
  • Elected Mayor of Corning, 1997
  • Issues: Reduce lowest individual tax rates from 15% to 10% and from 10% to 5%, allow small business to take a tax deduction equal to 20% of their income, reduce spending at all levels of government, subject health insurance to competition in the free market, fully tap into all of our own domestic sources of energy
“I still believe that the power of our nation, is not in the government we create, but rather the honest individuals who show up day in and day out and work for a living. We must again become a nation of personal accountability. One where our government does not guarantee success to everyone, but rather simply guarantees the individual is given the opportunity to succeed.”
Tom Reed Video Newsletter
The Spotlight On reports are overviews of actual Republican primary winners or top Republican primary contenders. Spotlights should not be interpreted as recommendations to support specific candidates. Before supporting any candidate, do thorough research to confirm that the candidate shares your views on issues you deem most important.