Local Reform Candidate Calls Out Liberal Carpetbagger Professor on Taxes, Iran Deal and Flip-Flopping on Clinton

KINDERHOOK, NY … October 14, 2016 — John Faso, who has been running a substantive grassroots campaign in his bid for the 19th Congressional District, picked apart his opponent’s policies, platforms and phony claims during a live one-hour debate at WMHT’s studio in Troy, N.Y.

Faso set himself apart from Professor Zephyr Teachout on a series of issues including growing the Upstate economy, eliminating burdens on business and protecting taxpayers. He called out Teachout for her opposition to the property tax cap, which saved New Yorkers $4.5 billion in 2015; her support of an energy tax that would cost families more than $1,700 a year; her support of President Obama’s disastrous Iran deal and her support for Hillary Clinton, despite calling her “corrupt.”

Faso also highlighted his record as a fiscal hawk, his deep roots in the district and outlined a series of policy proposals to reform Washington and kick-start the economy. The overarching issue, Faso consistently emphasized, is growing the economy.

“Our nation is in crisis,” Faso said. “We have to change the direction of the country.”

Faso spoke about how, throughout his travels in the district, people talk about the need for jobs, a better economy and lower taxes and regulations.

“If elected, I plan to bring a laser-like focus to those important issues and challenges and others, and will work with members of both parties for substantive change,” Faso said. “We cannot afford to be be distracted or get lost in other pie-in-the sky policies. We need jobs in this district, and that’s where my priorities will be.”

Faso also set himself apart from Professor Teachout on other issues such as foreign policy, national security, taxes and agricultural issues while also picking apart Professor Teachout’s radical ideas to have taxpayers spend hundreds of millions on negative TV ads and mailers, raise taxes on energy and a series of erroneous claims she has made about Faso’s record. He also called her out for only moving to the district recently from Brooklyn, and not voting in her local school board election.

“Ms. Teachout simply doesn’t get it,” Faso said. “She’s never paid property taxes; maybe that’s why she doesn’t get it.”

The debate, sponsored by WMHT, was held before a live audience and broadcast throughout parts of the district.

Faso, meanwhile, has lived in the district for more than 33 years. He has raised his family and worked here and represented it as minority leader in the Assembly.

He also referenced his time in the Assembly where he worked with both sides of the political aisle and pushed proposals that led to real balanced budgets – including the first reduction in state spending in decades while closing a $5 billion deficit.

He championed legislation that made a difference for tens of thousands of families such as the STAR program and education and real property tax reform. A former board member of the Rockefeller Institute of Government, Faso also served for three years as a member of the Control Board that worked to fix the financial and managerial issues of the City of Buffalo and its school system.

Faso is running on the Republican, Conservative, Independence and Reform lines in November’s general election.

Mr. Faso and his wife, Mary Frances, a registered nurse, are the proud parents of two children. They have lived in Kinderhook, New York, for more than three decades.

John Faso (R-Kinderhook) is former Republican leader of the state Assembly and candidate for Congress in the 19th Congressional district. To learn more about Faso, visit johnfaso.com.

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