Political fliers add distortion to heated House contest
Jon Powers isn’t quite the teacher he shows himself to be in a flier residents of the 26th Congressional District are receiving — but he surely isn’t the criminal Jack Davis says he is, either.
The recent flier calls Powers “a teacher challenging parents to turn off the TV and video games and read to their kids.” On another page, it shows Powers in a classroom with elementary school students above the headline: “Soldier. Teacher. Democrat for Change.”
But Powers let his teaching certification expire last week, state Education Department records show. That followed a personal financial disclosure form showing he earned $640 last year, meaning he worked less than three weeks.
Then again, Powers was not convicted of a crime in 2004 in Ohio, as a Davis Internet ad suggested.
Obviously, neither mailboxes nor cyberspace have been safe from the rhetoric in the race for the Democratic nomination to succeed Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds, R-Clarence.
Alice Kryzan, an Amherst lawyer who also is seeking the Democratic nomination, has not been advertising by mail or the Internet.
But her campaign, by no means, has been shy about commenting on what it sees — such as Powers’ recent flier and what it implies about his teaching career.
“There are serious discrepancies in Jon’s resume,” said Anne Wadsworth, Kryzan’s campaign manager. “His story keeps changing, and his explanations don’t add up.”
As recently as Sunday, on a radio debate on WBEN Radio, Powers, who has a bachelor’s degree in education from John Carroll University, referred to himself as a “social studies teacher” — even though his teaching certification expired a day later.
Powers let the certification expire in the rush of the campaign, said John Gerken, his campaign manager.
“He plans on renewing it after we win in November” because he doesn’t plan a lifetime career in Congress, Gerken said. “Clearly, he will not be teaching in the next few months before the election.”
Michael Preskop, regional staff director of the New York State United Teachers — which has endorsed Powers — expressed no concerns about how Powers was portraying himself.
“He was a substitute teacher,” Preskop said. “Did he teach every day? No. But the man was a teacher.”
Powers worked as a substitute in Clarence schools from October 2004 to June 2005 and again last year, the school district confirmed. Preskop said substitutes typically receive $50 to $75 per day.
Other Powers mailings attack Davis for hiring the wives of two Independence Party county chairmen in an effort to win the party’s endorsement. They also use years-old quotes from Davis indicating he wants to cut Social Security benefits even though he long ago repudiated that position.
While Powers has harnessed the Internet to raise funds, Davis has gone online to attack him, while sending out other attacks via snail mail.
“Powers Convicted,” the Internet ad’s headline says, before steering readers to a link to www.powersplatoon.com , Davis’ attack Web site. The ad refers to an incident Oct. 23, 2004, in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where a police officer accused Powers of making obscene comments.
Powers ended up pleading no contest to a “minor misdemeanor” of disorderly conduct. Under Ohio law, minor misdemeanors are similar to citations in New York.
“When a law enforcement officer is otherwise authorized to arrest a person for the commission of a minor misdemeanor, the officer shall not arrest the person, but shall issue a citation,” says the Ohio state law governing such violations.
In other words, Powers was given the equivalent of a traffic ticket, fined $25 and assessed $65 in court costs.
The Davis mailings are misleading in at least two other ways:
• A flier that arrived in mailboxes Friday says “Jon Powers is Playing Politics with Women’s Rights” and pairs his picture with those of President Bush, Republican Presidential nominee John McCain and Reynolds.
Despite confusion early in the campaign, Powers told The Buffalo News in March: “I’m pro-choice. The only reason I didn’t say so before is because I didn’t want my grandmother to read about it first in the paper.”
• An earlier flier, as well as a television commercial, chides Powers for receiving campaign contributions from Rick Snowden, the owner of Rick’s Tally Ho, a local strip club.
Powers accepted $2,300 from Snowden, a frequent donor to local, state and national campaigns. But the Powers campaign said the picture showing the candidate in a celebratory mode was taken while Powers was watching a Bills game in a Washington bar, not in Rick’s Tally Ho.
