John Hall

Tonight is the first debate between freshman Democratic Representative Kirsten Gillibrand and her well-funded Republican challenger, Sandy Treadwell.

Treadwell says he will elaborate on his plan for a moratorium on earmarks.

Both candidates in this heavily Republican district are likely preparing for questions about how they line up with respect to their party's presidential nominee.  read more »

took office in 2006, everything has gotten worse," Covucci went on. "The only thing that got better was the surge in Iraq, and he opposed it."

In a somewhat desperate attempt to rebrand the candidate (again, shades of McCain), Lalor's campaign filed more than 6,000 signatures with the State Board of Elections to create a new party line called "Energy Security Now."

"That was a way to connect to people and to speak about that issue," said Cuvocci.

It didn't work out. Hall's supporters claimed the petitions didn't comply with state law and filed a lawsuit. Lalor's campaign disputed the charge, but withdrew the petitions anyway, saying the candidate would rather spend money exposing Hall's energy record than on expensive legal proceedings.  read more »

Citizens Against Government Waste published its annual list of congressional earmarks (they actually call it the Congressional Pig Book list).

Of course, what one person calls wasteful spending, another person calls bringing home the bacon, and now that Democrats are in the majority, New York was supposed to be getting more federal money.

The state made out with a good portion, particularly in the Catskills, where Maurice Hinchey brought in $43.7 million.

Here is a list of what some members from New York, and a few from elsewhere, brought their districts, according to the list. (It's in numbers of millions):  read more »

NBC News Forum host Jay DeDapper pressed freshman Representative John Hall on the Iraq war during the taping of the show today.

DeDapper notes that Hall and others won their seats in 2006 in part because of sweeping antiwar sentiment, but as he faces reelection, he may have to explain why the country is still engaged in combat in Iraq, even though Democrats have a majority in Congress.

The show airs Sunday, but here's a segment from a transcript the studio sent over:

DeDAPPER:…Democrats, including you, were elected to Congress in 2006, a lot of people believe because there was a public sentiment to get out of Iraq.

Rep. HALL: There still is.

DeDAPPER: You're not out of Iraq. The Democrats haven't been able to do
that.

More after the jump.  read more »

Yes, Isac Weinberger spends most of his work day at the D.O.T. calling political reporters - without the kind of retribution you'd expect - but he knows how to work the party circuit.

Here he is, on the right, with political operative Yoel Lefkowitz on the left.  The man in the middle is none other than George Soros, who hosted a fund-raiser in his Manhattan for freshman congressman John Hall.

Oh, to be Isac.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. endorses Hillary Clinton. [CNN]  read more »

John Hall, a freshman Democratic congressmember from the Hudson Valley, is having a fund-raiser at the home of Democratic super-donor George Soros on December 17, and Representative Charlie Rangel will be in attendance.Tickets start at $500.

The invite notes that Hall is a Democrat facing a tough re-election, and:

“won election by the closest margin of any N.Y. race last year. He was on Karl Rove’s now notorious target list and is already facing a multi-millionaire G.O.P. opponent.”

 

 

 

 

 

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Representative John Hall, a Democrat whose district is in the Hudson Valley, told me last night he is concerned that illegal immigrants who obtain a driver's license under Eliot Spitzer's plan could use it as a "breeder document to secure more documentation."

Hall, who was in town for the Empire State Pride Agenda fund-raiser at the Hilton, told me:

"I'm concerned with what kind of security measures will be in place to ensure that people receiving licenses are who they say they are and that it won't be used as a breeder document to secure more documentation. My wife was assistant state attorney general in Tennessee when they did the same thing and their experience in Tennessee was that more undocumented immigrants came to the state specifically because they knew they could receive a driver's license where they couldn't in other states. So, it does increase the traffic in the states that choose to do this. I haven't made up my mind yet but I'm concerned that the procedures to protect our security."

Hall did say that he's undecided about Spitzer's plan, but the concerns he raised are among the most critical and detailed yet from a Democrat in New York's delegation.

Hall is one of the three freshman Democratic congressman in the state that Spitzer, as head of the party here, has to help re-elect. (The others are Kirsten Gillibrand, who opposes the plan, and Michael Arcuri, whose office hasn't returned several messages about the issue.)

Representative Anthony Weiner, a likely mayoral candidate, has also been critical of the plan, saying in a statement that it raised "legitimate problems."

If you’re following where everybody stands on Eliot Spitzer’s plan to allow illegal immigrants to obtain a New York State driver’s license, update your score cards.

Adolfo Carrion supports it. Speaking on NY1 News last night, Carrion said, “I support this initiative until there is a national, rational response to this, which I think we need to deal with.” Earlier, Carrion had gone with a statement that was less specific.

On the show, Carrion described Spitzer plan as a “limited response” and a “practical solution,” which Democrats are grappling with. Carrion said Spitzer “is going to take a hit, and he’s taking a hit. And there are Democrats in this town, in this very city and across the state, who feel now that they’re painted into a corner.”

Among the Democrats who, as far as I'm aware, still haven't taken a position on the issue: Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer and Representatives John Hall, Mike Arcuri and Tim Bishop.

If anyone knows anything about where they stand, please let me know.

In January, New York sent four freshmen to congress. So far, they have authored a total of 23 bills.

Nine came from Michael Arcuri upstate. Another nine came from John Hall in the Hudson Valley. And the last five came from Kirsten Gillibrand from Glens Falls.

Yvette Clarke of Brooklyn, so far, has not authored any. (After a reader pointed this out to me, I checked it on Library of Congress web site.) I emailed Clarke's office to ask if that was accurate. A spokesperson from Clarke's office, Vanessa Milara, emailed to say, “Yes that site is accurate. She has not introduced legislation, however she has co-sponsored a variety of legislation."

Freshman Representative John Hall got a boost during his campaign from his days as a bare-chested rock and roller with the group Orleans. But now, a few months into his first term, a Republican has stepped up to challenge him, criticizing not only his position on Iraq, but his ties to the music industry.

Kieran Michael Lalor, a former marine who served in Iraq, has launched an exploratory committee to run the 19th congressional district in the Hudson Valley, which Hall represents. Among his complaints:

Hall's campaign was supported by the likes of Susan Sarandon, who is so radical she was uninvited to a 2003 event at the baseball Hall of Fame because she was actively undermining the morale of American troops in Iraq. Musician Bonnie Raitt, who in 1999 traveled to Cuba to play for Castro and bash the United States in the Karl Marx Theatre, played a concert to raise money for the Hall Campaign.

-- Azi Paybarah

Here is singer-turned Democratic congressman John Hall discussing his opposition to the troop surge in Iraq. "No amount of wrongs is going to make the president's policy towards Iraq right," he said.

And here is newly-elected upstate Democrat Michael Arcuri: "I think victory in Iraq means bringing as many of our troops home alive as possible."

-- Azi Paybarah

The Forward has a nice piece this week on how U.S. Rep. John Hall, rocker-turned-Congressman in the Hudson Valley, anchored his narrow victory over Republican Sue Kelly last year by winning the burgeoning Kiryas Joel compound of Orthodox Jews to his side, over a water-rights issue.

Good reporting. The Forward notes that the Israel issue doesn't matter that much to the Satmars, and I would add that Neturei Karta, the anti-Zionist Jews who actually care about atrocities against Arabs (and yes, went to Tehran recently for Ahmedinejad's anti-Holocaust show), is based in Monsey—in Hall's district, I believe. I hope Walt and Mearsheimer write about them; maybe that way the mainstream media would finally do the story.

A fun rumor that's been bouncing around for the last day or so says that Ari Fleischer, the former White House Press Secretary, is considering a run for Congress. Fleischer comes from the Westchester County district long represented by Republican Sue Kelly. But Kelly went down in November, narrowly losing to Democrat John Hall, a liberal activist best known as the lead singer of the '70s neo-doo-wop band Orleans. A race between Fleischer and Hall would make for all sorts of interesting contrasts, such as: Does Fleischer possess as many hairs on his head as Hall sports on his chest on this famous album cover?

(In Fleischer's defense, Hall seems to be a bit of a cue-ball now, too.)

Let's add the caveat here that Fleischer hasn't actually said anything publicly about running. The rumor seems have originated from a story on the conservative magazine Human Events' webpage, in which "friends" of Fleischer note that he "has done just about everything congressional" except run for Congress. But the speculation that Fleischer might make a run has followed him ever since he announced he was quitting his White House job and planning a move back home. All of which leads us to this story from April 2001, from the New York Times' Westchester Weekly, "Native Son: Pound Ridge Still Beckons." It's behind the TimesSelect wall now, so let's summarize a few key details:

--Fleischer hung framed prints of Bedford Village on the wall of his White House office.

--The Westchester County Republican Committee named him its 2001 "Man of the Year." (Come on--Al Pirro can't win every year!)

--Fleischer's parents are avid Democrats. Of her son's Republicanism, his mother says: "He'll grow out of it."

--During his years as a Washington up-and-comer, he often "brought 20 of his Washington friends up [to Westchester County] for a July 4th party at his parents' house and fireworks in the town park."

Hmmm... Sounds like someone's been laying the groundwork for a while.

--Andrew Rice

A reader passes on this photo of the New Hampton Lumber Co in New Hampton, where the store owner offers his congratulations two groups on the election of Democrat John Hall to Congress.  read more »

-- Azi Paybarah

It's freshman orientation week in Washington, when all the newly elected Representatives get to meet the party leaders and get intensive training on how to put a staff and congressional office together.

The freshman get to bring along one person -- a sort of chief-of-staff-in-training, to help out and learn the ropes. John Hall has tapped Darren Rigger, who he faced in a Democratic primary before going on to defeat Sue Kelly, as his orientation aide.

Rigger just told me that Hall hasn't officially hired anyone just yet but that he's "honored and flattered" to be a part of the orientation. "He's learning, I'm learning. We're learning how to staff your office, and then how you put together a transition team. People are stunned here when they find out we were in the primary."

But, according to Rigger, people are more stunned to see singer songwriter Hall "a celebrity -people recognize him from his music." Rigger said that Hall's only competition for star of the freshman class is Heath Schuler, a former quarterback for the Washington Redskins who was elected to represent a district in Western North Carolina.

"They are the ones that the staffers get excited about meeting," he said before cutting the call short. "Nancy Pelosi is coming to the room - cool."  read more »

--Jason Horowitz

Here is one of the graphs MoveOn.org just sent out.

On the left is the number of phone calls their supporters made to voters on behalf of Democratic challenger John Hall in his race against Rep. Sue Kelly.

On the right is the margin by which Hall won.

Message: MoveOn put Hall and other Democrats over the edge.

In an email to supporters, the group goes on to say:

"It's not an overstatement to say that MoveOn members may have turned out the extra votes that put the Senate over the top."

Maybe. But Kiryas Joel would probably say the same thing.  read more »

UPDATE: Here's what they sent out. (pdf)

-- Azi Paybarah

The village of Kiryas Joel is claiming credit for John Hall's victory in the 19th Congressional District over Sue Kelly .

From Ari Felberman, the government relations coordinator for the village:

"Numbers don't lie. The numbers are very clear, there was a chunk of votes taken out of one column and put into the other. It was basically a doubling of the votes, and John Hall won within that margin."

The Hall campaign doesn't disagree. As spokesman Tom Staudter told me, "Obviously it was an important block for us."

The reason for their endorsement of Hall, Felberman said, was a call from Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

"Shelly Silver asked that we give him every consideration possible," Felberman said. "Democrats will be able to do more if they have a united ticket, this will be a clean sweep."

Then there was the little matter of water pipelines.

In March 2004, Kelly withdrew from a Congressional bill a $20 million federal funding authorization for the building of a water pipeline from New York City's reservoir to Kiryas Joel. The town had aggressively lobbied for the aqueduct to meet the needs of its fast growing Satmar community. At the time, Kelly said the authorization was contingent on the pipeline serving more than one municipality, and withdrew her support at the time because, according to a spokesperson, "it's becoming more and more clear that there's not a regional consensus for this project."

There was, in fact, sharp opposition to the project, including an anti-pipeline Web site - www.stopthekjpipeline.org. and an online petition protesting the aqueduct.

After Kiryas Joel shifted their support from Kelly to Hall right before this year's election -- they were initially considered to have been behind Kelly becuase TK -- voters began receiving robo-calls suggesting that John Hall must have agreed to a secret deal on the pipeline.

Hall's office denies it. "John made no deals, made no promises," Staudter said. "She courted their votes as avidly as John did." Kelly's office didn't return calls for comment.

Felberman, for his part, said that the calls put out by the Kelly campaign bordered on anti-Semitism and played on the county's fear of a growing Jewish community.

Asked what the community expected, pipeline-wise, to get from Hall, he offered this somewhat vague response:

"Put it this way, just to be treated fairly, as equal citizens."

--Jason Horowitz

Republican Rep. Sue Kelly's is sending out the attack-bots.

In an automated call that has been going out to Westchester voters today, an anonymous male speaker connects the support of Kiryas Joel for Democratic challenger John Hall to a commitment to a "mammoth, new 13-mile pipeline" they wanted.

"There's a reason why KJ is block-voting for John Hall today, and it isn't because he said 'no,'" the caller says. He goes on to give Hall's campaign phone number, and says Hall is "trading the votes of Kiryas Joel in return for a mammoth pipeline that will damage our quality of life in Orange County."

At the end of the message, a voice says that the call was authorized by the Sue Kelly campaign. I'm still waiting to hear back from them.

The call is here.

-- Azi Paybarah

According to Isac, the Jewish community in the town of Kiryas Joel has backed Democratic challenger John Hall over Republican Sue Kelly in the 19th Congressional District, despite the lobbying of Mayor Michael Bloomberg for Kelly.

Eliot Spitzer and Hillary Clinton, Isac says, lobbied the community for Hall.

--Jason Horowitz

Here's a clip of John Hall's appearance on last night's Colbert Report.

About half-way through the interview, host Stephen Colbert told the novice politician, "You have actually got a shot in this race. You might actually win. And I oppose everything you stand for. But you were willing to talk to me and your opponent, Sue Kelly, was not. So let's move your numbers right here. Let's smear your opponent."

That's when the "smear cards" come out.

Let that be a lesson. Even fake reporters need to get their interviews.

-- Azi Paybarah

A source at RNN says they'll announce at 8 p.m. their endorsements Hillary, Eliot Spitzer, Mark Green and former rocker turned-congressional candidate, John Hall. Do other TV stations make endorsements?

Green got criticized by the Working Families Party, and puts out a critical ad of, who else!, Andrew Cuomo.

Streetsblog gets a hold of a letter from Dan Doctoroff and reads into it some significant policy shifts.

This poll of mostly rich white homeowners on The Brownstowner has David Yassky and Chris Owens basically tied in the 11th, Charles Barron leading Ed Towns in the 10th and Bill Batson beating Hakeem Jeffries for Assembly.

Tom Suozzi says he's fighting the good fight like the webbed-wonder, Spiderman.

Ten journalists got paid by the federal government to undermine another government, proving that there is money in the news business.

About that ABC movie stuff: Former 9/11 Commission member Bob Kerrey said if President Clinton was distracted from dealing with terrorism, he wasn't alone. "Members of Congress who focused on impeachment bear some significant responsibility," he tells Greg Sargent.

Another well-paid newsman, Rupert Murdoch, has a $50,000 pad on Park Avenue that is paid for by his company.

The Real Estate thinks that the new plans for Ground Zero look like old plans.

My old colleague at The Sun is looking to crash some upcoming fundraisers and parties.

Follow the Leader discusses the upcoming football season.  read more »

And pictured above is a book from a former State Senator due out the day after the primary. Room 8 excerpts a review.

-- Azi Paybarah