Click the link below or the image below to view the Full Debate Video.
If the News12 link is problematic, view the video on YouTube by clicking HERE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fYqbtEHaqI
https://westchester.news12.com/full-debate-new-yorks-th-congressional-district
Candidates Sean Patrick Maloney, Chele Farley, and Scott Smith participate in a debate hosted by News12 and USA Today.
Below are my full, unedited responses to the questions:
Westchester Magazine Reports on SAM and Highlights the Smith Campaign
That’s not how it works, that’s not how any of this works.
A significant focus of the discussion surrounding the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has become the fate of the Affordable Care Act(ACA). If whether the ACA survives depends on who sits on the Supreme Court, then that conveys two things. First, that the court has been perverted from its intended purpose, and second, that the ACA is and always has been flawed and questionably enacted legislation. This all serves to highlight how problematic, and perpetual, acts that skirt the objective constructs of our system of government can become. The ACA should have been returned to Congress when its flaws became apparent, however it wasn’t. Had it been returned they would have had the responsibility to act, and the voters would have had the opportunity to reward or reject their efforts. Instead the process was short-circuited and damage was done. The echoes of those actions live on to complicate the debate today.
Further, the will of the voters has become a major focus as well. What one must recognize however is the distinction between the “will” of votes cast versus the “will” of votes anticipated. Some argue that we should wait and see what voters will say this November, others that we should honor the will of the voters as conveyed in recent elections. In doing the latter, votes already cast and counted would be honored. While doing the former is an effort to act in accord with what one presumes voters may say.
The elected and appointed, they are but temporary fixtures in government dwarfed by the legacy of the US Constitution and the American experiment. Yet, they never fail to drape themselves with such importance, as when they seek to defy or disfigure the structures of our government, always failing to see, or content to accept, the damage they inflict upon our institutions and the American people. What’s next, deathbed decrees for legislation, “As his dying wish Senator Jones requested that the Jones Act be passed. His colleagues in Congress will now pass his bill though it stood no such chance while he lived.” We do not follow rules that Senators create to satisfy themselves, we do not adhere to the dying wishes of the elected or appointed, that’s not how this works.
What is required is that every Senator make their position clearly known on the matter and that they conduct themselves in accordance with their oath of office, the constitution they’re required to uphold, and the promises they made to their constituents in earning the seat they occupy. The voters will then have an opportunity to make their thoughts clear on the conduct of each Senator and their parties on November 3. Any of the elected who stray from that course, whether to serve party or protect their own reelection, have no business holding office in the first place.
Though this schedule was shared with the press/media outlets, not one reported it. The next forum will be 10/6 at 6:30 PM at the Woodbury Diner in Central Valley.
As both major political parties continue to attack each other and blame the other side for not working on the problems affecting our country, Scott Smith, a common sense candidate running on the SAM-NY line, kicked off his congressional campaign on Sept 8 at Thomas Bull Memorial Park in Montgomery. Smith, who was joined at the event with his wife, Alissa, and three daughters, McKenna, Ashlyn, and Tierney , as well as a crowd of supporters, presented a new choice for Hudson Valley residents in the 18th Congressional District in NY.
Scott Smith Seeks to Change America’s Course
Thank you to WAMC Radio for reporting on the campaign!
Thank you to the Yonkers Times for reporting on all three candidates in the race for NY-18!
This Press Release was distributed to the local News/Media Outlets covering the 18th Congressional District Race.
Scott Smith, a candidate for Congress in the 18th District of New York, will appear on the SAM party line this November. The 18th Congressional District includes northern Westchester, Putnam, Orange and Southern Dutchess Counties in the Hudson Valley.
Smith, whose website, mrsmithforcongress.com, alludes to the iconic Frank Capra movie Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, wants to bring common sense solutions, and an independent voice to the House of Representatives, much like Jimmy Stewart’s character in the movie.
“Scott Smith understands what more and more New Yorkers are coming to realize: that there is a need for a third party, and for representatives who support transparent and accountable government, and solving problems with facts and data. SAM believes in endorsing candidates who will make decisions based on the needs of citizens and not the needs of party bosses. We encourage all residents in the 18-NY Congressional district to vote for Scott Smith on the SAM Party line on November 3,” said SAM-NY Chairman Michael Volpe.
Scott Smith is very much a regular American who wants to continue his public service and is running against the two-party monopoly in Washington that he believes no longer solves the problems of the people. “The political establishment has worked very hard to convince us that we have to choose between Republican or Democrat. The time has come to move away from both parties and begin a new day” said Smith, who is far from a career politician.
He is a middle school teacher, soccer and basketball coach, and a lifelong resident of the 18th district, who grew up in Washingtonville and has lived in Middletown and now Goshen, with his wife and three teenage children. “My philosophy of governing is simple. I believe in public service above self-interest. I believe that honesty, openness, and trust are essential to good governance. For me, the good of our country will always come first,” said Smith, who served two terms on the Middletown City Council, representing the Second Ward.
Mr. Smith has been unaffiliated to any party for his entire life, until recently, when he registered as a member of the SAM party. He supports term limits for members of Congress, and will self-impose a term limit on himself, if elected. “I will not become a lifelong politician and will, after serving, return to my career as a teacher. I will never work as a lobbyist. I do not run to serve government, and I do not run to serve party. I run to serve you for the good of our country.”
Smith said that the latest Coronavirus troubles in our country point to a need for a non-partisan solution to the issue facing Americans today. “In government, politics has become the main event, doing the actual work is a distraction. If we don’t get past the same routine then 10 years from now there will be another pandemic threat and we’ll get to watch it all over again”
“The test of us as a nation, is not this contemporary pandemic, but rather the next one. There is something much more lethal to us all as individuals and to our nation than Mother Nature or COVID-19 . That pathogen is politics,” said Smith.
If elected, Smith would work to repatriate production of medical supplies and vaccines to the US. He is also asking “all of use who have had a decrease in commuting expenses by staying home to consider spending that money on takeout or gift certificates to support your local restaurants and cafes and small businesses. Or help someone out that you know will be economically affected by all of the closures.”
Smith has run for Congress before, as an independent in 2014, receiving 2.4% of the vote, which was more than the margin of victory between the democrat and republican candidates. But Smith is not running to be a spoiler for either major party candidate. His objective is a fair and open competition, and debate between all candidates. “I’m running to win. We the people have a House in desperate need of cleaning, and this November, voters will have an alternative to the tired two choices of the past.”
Smith is well known in the district, based his 5 decades of living in Orange county and his service to the community. Kevin Raddy, SAM-NY Orange County Chair said, “Scott Smith is a breath of fresh air in an often-toxic world of politics, where the majority of voters are tired of our broken political system. They want someone doing the people’s business and Scott exemplifies everything that so many of us want in our elected officials: Honesty, transparency, and a hardworking neighbor who will find solutions through cooperation for the greater good.”
On November 3, voters in the 18th Congressional District of NY will have the option of voting for Scott Smith, and sending Mr. Smith to Washington. To learn more about the SAM Party of NY, visit joinsamny.org
Dan Murphy-SAM-NY Communications -dmurphy@joinsamny.org–914-714-4370
The site USelections.com recognizes the Smith Campaign, listing Scott Smith among the candidates declared for NY’s 18th CD. Thank you USelections.com.
The Washington Times recognizes the campaign, listing Candidate Scott Smith in NY’s 18th CD Race for 2020.
The campaign received coverage on the blog “The Fray”. I feel compelled to clarify a few points made. First, I have never been registered with a party. When I ran in Middletown I ran on my own independent line and was then endorsed by the local Democrats, an endorsement I accepted not because of the party, but rather because of the local people who approached me. The reporter is welcome to follow up on who they were and can ask them what motivated them. Second, although the vote counts are correct in the piece, I would caution against presuming where votes for me would have gone in my absence. Finally, it is pointed out that I registered, but ultimately did not campaign in 2016 and 2018. It seems like a somewhat incomplete point without inquiring why, unless the intention is to imply a certain lack of seriousness. I can assure you of my seriousness.