POLITICS
Powers draws fire on eve of new ad in race for party nomination for 26th Congressional district
Congressional candidate Jon Powers didn’t even get his first broadcast ad on the air Tuesday before he was drawing fire from both Democratic and Republican rivals.
Democrat Powers, a former substitute teacher in Clarence and an Iraq War veteran, today debuts a 30-second spot called “Introducing Jon Powers” that portrays him as an Army captain in Iraq, discusses his concern about the forgotten middle class and briefly outlines the goals of creating a “new generation of jobs” and protecting Social Security.
It is accompanied by an Internet appeal aiming to raise $10,000 in 10 days to help introduce the candidate to Western New York voters, according to Brian Keeler of the Powers campaign.
But rival Democrat Jack Davis and the National Republican Campaign Committee issued statements even before Powers was slated to hit the airwaves today.
Davis spokesman Luke Vaughn noted the ad was already posted on several pro- Powers blogs and said it “makes false assertions and presents an image of Mr. Powers inconsistent with the truth we have been reading in recent news coverage.”
Vaughn took issue with Powers’ claim that he returned to Clarence as a “teacher,” claiming he is not certified to teach in high school as he claims he did in 2007-08. He also said Powers has a provisional certificate to teach prekindergarten, kindergarten and grades 1-6 and may work otherwise only as a substitute teacher.
Powers, however, has never claimed that he worked as anything but a substitute teacher in Clarence.
“Mr. Powers is currently unemployed and claimed less than $700 in income between May 2007 through May 2008,” Vaughn said. “Mr. Powers is presenting an image of himself that exaggerates his status in the workplace.”
Powers also has explained in the past that he worked in Clarence before he left for Washington to head a nonprofit organization called War Kids Relief, which aimed to build youth centers and orphanages for Iraqi youth in order to protect them from the influence of Islamic terrorists.
But national Republicans were quick to jump on Powers’ connection to the War Kids Relief organization. NRCC spokesman Ken Spain said that while Powers touted his role in War Kids Relief throughout the early stages of his campaign, he does not address it or the criticism that the effort failed to achieve significant success.
“First, Jon Powers came under fire for exaggerating the truth and now he’s trying to hide from it,” Spain said. “If Jon Powers is so proud of his work with the foundation he was paid to run, then why is he refusing to talk about it now?”
Republicans also noted that Powers’ Web videos formerly highlighted his War Kids Relief claims, while the new ad does not.
Powers has acknowledged that the organization failed to accomplish many of its original goals but said it succeeded in raising awareness of the plight of Iraqi youth and forced the U. S. government to also take heed of the problem.
