Syracuse, NY -- At Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Syracuse Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Senate candidate Joe DioGuardi said he wasn’t riding his daughter’s coattails. Just the same, as he introduced himself to lunchtime patrons, blank stares melted when he invoked the name of Kara DioGuardi — a former “American Idol” judge. “Now you know how to pronounce my name,” he said, again...
Syracuse, NY -- At Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Syracuse Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Senate candidate Joe DioGuardi said he wasn’t riding his daughter’s coattails. Just the same, as he introduced himself to lunchtime patrons, blank stares melted when he invoked the name of Kara DioGuardi — a former “American Idol” judge.
“Now you know how to pronounce my name,” he said, again and again.
DioGuardi, the Republican and Conservative candidate, stopped earlier at Rural/Metro Medical Services in Syracuse.
Incumbent Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand made a campaign stop in Syracuse Tuesday at SRCTec in Cicero.
Both candidates made their pitches at separate Post-Standard editorial board meetings.
DioGuardi, a former congressman (1985-1989) from Westchester County, made his case as a dedicated public servant. He touted his role saving Albanians from slaughter in the Serbian war, said he had made 30 trips there as a private citizen, and referred to himself as “in part, the father of Kosovo.”
A certified public accountant, he said he would take “a sharp pencil to Washington” to “keep spending on a short leash.” He decried the multitrillion-dollar national deficit, which he said is leading the nation toward disaster.
Pressed on how he would reduce the deficit, he said it would not be through higher taxes. “Let’s be inventive,” he said. “Let’s come up with something inventive that we can produce here.”
He called for scaling back and “redefining” federal government — for example, getting the federal government out of educational funding. He said he would not cut or privatize Social Security or Medicare.
Like DioGuardi, it is Gillibrand’s first time running for the Senate seat. She was appointed to the Senate by Gov. David Paterson when Hillary Rodham Clinton was appointed secretary of state. Gillibrand was twice elected to the U.S. House, serving from 2007-2009.
Gillibrand noted that while in Congress, she bucked the majority of her party by voting against the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which helped financial institutions, because the law did not restrict issuing dividends, executive bonuses or lending requirements.
Recently, she voted for the comprehensive health care overhaul and a $30 billion small-business lending bill. She pushed unsuccessfully to end the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy barring those who are openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual from military service, and said she expects the bill could pass in December.
Gillibrand has a clear financial advantage. As of Tuesday, she raised $11.2 million and had $4.5 million in the bank. DioGuardi raised $1.5 million with $946,000 left.
Contact Dave Tobin at dtobin@syracuse.com or 470-3277.