GLENDALE, N.Y. -- Just two days before a contentious special election in New York's 9th District, the political attacks have fallen silent -- for the most part.
Campaigning in this Queens and Brooklyn district, which will elect a new representative just two days after the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, has paused to mark the occasion, quieting the contentious battle between Democrat David Weprin and Republican Bob Turner. Neither campaign has official events, and political ads have been taken down for the day. There is no door knocking or phone banking despite the fact that the election is now less than 48 hours away.
Campaigning in this Queens and Brooklyn district, which will elect a new representative just two days after the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, has paused to mark the occasion, quieting the contentious battle between Democrat David Weprin and Republican Bob Turner. Neither campaign has official events, and political ads have been taken down for the day. There is no door knocking or phone banking despite the fact that the election is now less than 48 hours away.
Weprin, in his capacity as a state assemblyman, and Turner will spend the day at memorial events around the region. Weprin attended a ceremony in Glendale and has another scheduled in Bayside Hills. Turner attended a memorial mass in Glendale this morning, and later this evening will attend remembrances in Brooklyn and Breezy Point.
Weprin did not speak at the Glendale ceremony that drew over 300 this morning, but there were still indicators everywhere of the approaching vote. An empty storefront directly across the street from the memorial park had a Turner sign in its windows, and several of the houses in the area had Turner signs out front or leaflets that had been left on their door.
But the attacks have been a flashpoint in the increasingly contentious campaign nonetheless. In early August, Turner released his first, and only, television ad, slamming Weprin for supporting the right of a mosque to be built near Ground Zero.
"It's been ten short years. Everyone remembers," the narrator says, as images of the burning World Trade Center play across the screen. "Some, though, want to commemorate the tragedy by building a mosque on Ground Zero. President Obama thinks that's a good idea. And so does Congressional candidate David Weprin."
The New York State GOP has also paid for a direct mail piece that raises Weprin's position on the mosque, and superimposes an image of the proposed Islamic Center over the World Trade Center site.
"Weprin stands with Obama -- and they stand together in support of the mosque at Ground Zero," reads the mailer. "The developer of the mosque is even trying to get $5 million in taxpayer dollars to fund his project - and only Bob Turner has promised to do everything in his power in Congress to stop it. Turner has taken a strong stance against the project and will always speak out against injustice." The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee purchased $500,000 in airtime in the race's final days. That ad generated immediate criticism for featuring a jet zooming over the NYC skyline. The Democratic campaign arm quickly scrubbed the skyline from a new version of the commercial. Their TV ads, along with ones from Weprin and the Democratic-aligned House Majority PAC, won't air this Sunday, but will resume on Monday. The barbs are being downplayed today, with each campaign stressing their silence and reverence. "Tomorrow, September 11th , we will be pausing our volunteer efforts. It is a rare occasion for a campaign to ask its loyal supporters not to help, but we ask you to take tomorrow to pause and remember those who lost their lives and our servicemen and women fighting to keep us safe," Turner wrote in a Saturday email to volunteers. "Monday, we will resume our campaign and finish strong by delivering an historic victory that will be heard across the country!" The brief showcase of political unity officially ends tomorrow, but in the increasingly competitive race, the opposition hits are still flying today. The latest: Leaks of a 25-year old custody battle between Weprin and his ex-wife. Republican activists are shopping court documents that detail a custody dispute between Weprin and his ex-wife Roselyn, which detail the years-long custody battle over their son, Steven. In the 1986 decision, his ex-wife accused Weprin of endangering the child's welfare, claiming that their son was returned with diaper rash, that he had often left the child with a doorman at his building and that Weprin had refused to pay child support for a time. The judge wrote that Weprin was "impossible to control" during the proceedings and "revealed himself as extremely temperamental, with a short fuse." Weprin was awarded only supervised visitations. But in a second decision in 1989 obtained as a rebuttal, another judge awarded Weprin full custody of their son. The judge wrote that Roselyn Weprin's accusations against David Weprin "have no basis in reality and should be curtailed" and that she had "refused to listen to reason" with counselors, and also was found to have secretly tape recorded conservations between Weprin and his relatives. "Accessing court records about a child, possibly illegally, is the ultimate in dirty politics. This document is full of false accusations disproven in a later court decision, in which the judge praised David for his devotion and awarded him full custody of his son," Weprin spokesperson Elizabeth Kerr said in a statement. "This is a shameful and desperate attempt by Republican Bob Turner and his Tea Party allies to distract from his plan to protect corporate tax loopholes while slashing Medicare and Social Security. Republican Bob Turner must order his staff and allies to stop engaging in these dirty tricks immediately. Voters deserve better."
http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/hotlineoncall/2011/09/in-ny-09-a-pause-but-attacks-quietly-continue-11
Weprin did not speak at the Glendale ceremony that drew over 300 this morning, but there were still indicators everywhere of the approaching vote. An empty storefront directly across the street from the memorial park had a Turner sign in its windows, and several of the houses in the area had Turner signs out front or leaflets that had been left on their door.
But the attacks have been a flashpoint in the increasingly contentious campaign nonetheless. In early August, Turner released his first, and only, television ad, slamming Weprin for supporting the right of a mosque to be built near Ground Zero.
"It's been ten short years. Everyone remembers," the narrator says, as images of the burning World Trade Center play across the screen. "Some, though, want to commemorate the tragedy by building a mosque on Ground Zero. President Obama thinks that's a good idea. And so does Congressional candidate David Weprin."
The New York State GOP has also paid for a direct mail piece that raises Weprin's position on the mosque, and superimposes an image of the proposed Islamic Center over the World Trade Center site.
"Weprin stands with Obama -- and they stand together in support of the mosque at Ground Zero," reads the mailer. "The developer of the mosque is even trying to get $5 million in taxpayer dollars to fund his project - and only Bob Turner has promised to do everything in his power in Congress to stop it. Turner has taken a strong stance against the project and will always speak out against injustice." The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee purchased $500,000 in airtime in the race's final days. That ad generated immediate criticism for featuring a jet zooming over the NYC skyline. The Democratic campaign arm quickly scrubbed the skyline from a new version of the commercial. Their TV ads, along with ones from Weprin and the Democratic-aligned House Majority PAC, won't air this Sunday, but will resume on Monday. The barbs are being downplayed today, with each campaign stressing their silence and reverence. "Tomorrow, September 11th , we will be pausing our volunteer efforts. It is a rare occasion for a campaign to ask its loyal supporters not to help, but we ask you to take tomorrow to pause and remember those who lost their lives and our servicemen and women fighting to keep us safe," Turner wrote in a Saturday email to volunteers. "Monday, we will resume our campaign and finish strong by delivering an historic victory that will be heard across the country!" The brief showcase of political unity officially ends tomorrow, but in the increasingly competitive race, the opposition hits are still flying today. The latest: Leaks of a 25-year old custody battle between Weprin and his ex-wife. Republican activists are shopping court documents that detail a custody dispute between Weprin and his ex-wife Roselyn, which detail the years-long custody battle over their son, Steven. In the 1986 decision, his ex-wife accused Weprin of endangering the child's welfare, claiming that their son was returned with diaper rash, that he had often left the child with a doorman at his building and that Weprin had refused to pay child support for a time. The judge wrote that Weprin was "impossible to control" during the proceedings and "revealed himself as extremely temperamental, with a short fuse." Weprin was awarded only supervised visitations. But in a second decision in 1989 obtained as a rebuttal, another judge awarded Weprin full custody of their son. The judge wrote that Roselyn Weprin's accusations against David Weprin "have no basis in reality and should be curtailed" and that she had "refused to listen to reason" with counselors, and also was found to have secretly tape recorded conservations between Weprin and his relatives. "Accessing court records about a child, possibly illegally, is the ultimate in dirty politics. This document is full of false accusations disproven in a later court decision, in which the judge praised David for his devotion and awarded him full custody of his son," Weprin spokesperson Elizabeth Kerr said in a statement. "This is a shameful and desperate attempt by Republican Bob Turner and his Tea Party allies to distract from his plan to protect corporate tax loopholes while slashing Medicare and Social Security. Republican Bob Turner must order his staff and allies to stop engaging in these dirty tricks immediately. Voters deserve better."
http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/hotlineoncall/2011/09/in-ny-09-a-pause-but-attacks-quietly-continue-11