November 5, 2018
CHEMUNG COUNTY, NY – Congressman Tom Reed (R, Corning) says that he was not allowed in to the Elmira Correctional Facility this morning, because of a telephone call that came in ahead of time from the Deputy Commissioner in Albany. Reed was visiting Elmira Correctional, as part of his tour across the 23rd Congressional District, with law enforcement.
Update: 12:48: Reed says the name of the Deputy Commissioner who prevented him from getting in to Elmira Correctional is James O’Gorman.
We called the spokesman for the NYS Dept. of Corrections, and were told that an email response would be sent to us. As soon as the email comes in, we will publish it.
Update: 6:21pm
Response From the Corrections Department:
The Department has consistently prohibited its facilities from being used for the purposes of a political campaign. The Congressman’s unscheduled appearance at Elmira Correctional Facility today was not approved due, in part, to the political nature of the request coming a day before an election. Further, even assuming the purpose was to greet staff, the Congressman failed to provide adequate advance notice to the Department, as is required.
