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26TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT Powers makes bid for Congress Former U.S. Army Captain Jon Powers held a town hall meeting in Caledonia Monday night, March 3, looking to get the ideals of his grassroots campaign out to the public and to expand support for his Democratic bid for the New York 26th Congressional District, held for the past ten years by Rep. Tom Reynolds. Powers, a newcomer to politics, has already earned the endorsement of Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming County Democrats as well as the Town of Clarence Democrats, Retired Four Star General Wesley Clark, former U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey, veteran and organized labor groups. More county Democrats are expected to follow in the near future with their endorsements. Like his opponent Reynolds, Powers is a native of Clarence. The social studies teacher and Iraqi war veteran says he never intended to enter politics until he realized that the country was divided and he believes government leaders are the ones contributing to the division. Referring to his experience as a platoon leader in Iraq, Powers told the crowd that a leader should lead by example not rank, as is commonly seen in Washington. Moved by his experiences in Iraq, Powers organized and founded War Kids Relief, a nonprofit organization that brings relief to Iraqi youth. As a civilian, Powers returned to Baghdad where he worked to educate Iraqi children and help them avoid recruitment by radical terrorist organizations. Art Benedict, a Caledonia farmer, attended the town hall meeting to hear what Powers had to say. "I wanted to see where he stands, how he's setting his policies," he commented. Others from Caledonia attended for similar reasons; saying they were interested to hear if the new politician is offering any real solutions to the issues facing people and businesses in this area. In his travels, Powers said he consistently heard from residents who are concerned that their families are forced to leave Western New York in order to find employment. Business owners said they couldn't afford to do business in WNY. Powers acknowledged that the two defining issues facing Western New York is jobs and how to create new opportunities and healthcare. He cited bio, medical and green technologies as some of the ways to create job opportunities in Western New York. If elected to Congress, Powers said he would work to reunite the two great urban centers of Rochester and Buffalo in his efforts to stimulate the economy in WNY. "The government needs to create a foundation for small businesses to grow and stay here. We need to use our universities to help create opportunities," Powers told the crowd gathered at the Caledonia Town Hall. He spoke about fiscal responsibility as a key to lowering taxes for individuals and businesses. For example, Powers said five percent, $22 billion, is unaccounted for in the Defense Department. "That costs all of us," he said, asking what impact a fraction of that money invested in education would have on schools. He said the NCLB (No Child Left Behind) federal mandate on schools is unfunded and has led to an increased the high school drop out rate. "I think NCLB will be eliminated or reformed in 2009," he said. A decorated Iraq war veteran, he calls his grassroots campaign the Powers Platoon. "We have the power to change Washington and bring energy back to Western New York"
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