NYS Independence Party rebukes Arcuri's claim of being "Independent"

Story Created: Oct 6, 2008 at 11:12 AM EST

Story Updated: Oct 6, 2008 at 11:49 AM EST

The New York State Independence Party Vice Chairman John Dote slammed Congressman Michael Arcuri and his campaign spokesperson, Jordan Karp's claims in a local newspaper of being "independent."

"We feel strongly about an independent voice for the people. Mr. Arcuri has proven over the past two years that politics are more important to him than truly representing the voters of this district. The fact that he attaches his name to the word "independent," is truly misleading and frankly insulting to our party and the voters who he fooled once already. We state below some facts we considered, which ultimately led our Executive Committee to its decision NOT to endorse Mr. Arcuri."

Here are some reasons why Michael Arcuri was not endorsed for Congress by the New York State Independence Party, Dore said:

1)      During his first term in office he stated that if his party had the majority in the House, he would only vote for funding the war if there was a timetable for troop withdrawal, but he voted for funding with only benchmarks.

2)      Taking a firm stance on no drilling for new locations for oil, we watched gas prices climb to record-breaking levels. Only after the outcry from the average person and with public pressure, and only then, did Mr. Arcuri vote on a spin bill that only looks like it's for drilling – but on his terms. 

3)      When running for office, Mr. Arcuri told us that he would devote his time to improving government so that there would be increased growth in our job market. Instead, he spent much of his time campaigning for other party members including the Mayor of Utica, the Oneida County District Attorney and a U.S. Senator who was running for President.

4)      Mr. Arcuri has voted over 95 percent of the time with his party leadership. In all fairness, a small number of those votes did represent issues in his district, but the majority he supported didn't seem to matter when the federal government put thousands of acres of land into trust for the Oneida Indian Nation. Even though it was one of the most crucial priorities he campaigned on. He, again, didn't keep his promises.

5)      Mr. Arcuri never disclosed to our committee anything about his private corporations. After finding out that he was involved in two different LLCs, we learned that while he held the office of District Attorney and Congressman his corporations had contracts with the New York State DMV for just under $1 million dollars and the New York State Police for just under $100,000 dollars. This was all while receiving a paycheck from the taxpayers for over $120,000 as DA and $170,000 as our Congressman. How can anyone call themselves an independent when all their money is taken out of the taxpayers' pocket?
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