August 7, 2020
From The Reed For Congress Campaign:
The Mitrano for Congress campaign has proven once again that voters can’t trust Tracy. After taking a pledge to not accept PAC contributions, Tracy Mitrano has collected thousands of dollars from a liberal out of state PAC along with thousands more from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s PAC.
Below are PAC contributions received by Tracy Mitrano for Congress this cycle:
• 9/30/19- $2,500 from L PAC, 2120 L St NW Ste 850, Washington, DC 20037-1550
• 2/7/20- $1,000 from Off The Sidelines PAC, 124 Washington St Ste 101, Foxboro, Massachusetts 020351368
• 6/23/20- $1,000 from Off The Sidelines PAC, 124 Washington St Ste 101, Foxboro, Massachusetts 020351368
“Just days after learning that Tracy is profiting off her campaign, we now know Tracy has accepted PAC contributions which she swore she wouldn’t take. Voters can’t trust Tracy in congress, said Matt Coker, spokesperson for the Reed campaign.” Reed defeated Mitrano in a decisive victory in 2018 when voters decided they couldn’t trust her after she expressed support for open heroin injection sites and disrespect for law enforcement. Mitrano’s recent support for Gov. Cuomo’s dangerous bail reform law signals to voters that they can’t trust her to keep them safe.
Response From Tracy Mitrano:
The Tom Reed campaign has sent out another misleading press release, this one charging his challenger with breaking her promise not to accept donations from political action committees (PACs). It’s the second press release misrepresenting her from the Reed campaign this week.
Democrat Tracy Mitrano (NY-23rd) vowed not to accept donations from corporate PACs in 2018, the first time she ran against the Republican incumbent. Mitrano said she has kept that promise: The three Reed cites: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, L PAC and Off the Sidelines; are not corporate PACs.
Reed recently claimed that his is a grassroots campaign, funded by donations from individuals. The second-quarter report for 2020 showed that such “small-dollar” donations comprise only 35 percent of his campaign funds, versus 93 percent of Mitrano’s.
“Unless his campaign team are willfully ignorant, they haven’t distinguished difference between corporate PACs and PACs comprising special interest groups and sitting elected officials,” said Mitrano. “Or they know the distinction and are seeking to sow confusion and distract attention from where Reed gets his money.
“I am against corporate PACs,” she added, “and that is where Tom Reed is as dirty as can be. He is politically corrupted by corporate money.”
Wednesday, the Reed campaign accused Mitrano of misusing donations by charging her campaign $500 a month to store furniture and hold meetings in her former home. Reed has a similar arrangement with his offices in Corning. Both are within the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) rules.
Today’s Reed campaign release repeats the misinformation from Wednesday’s FEC release, along with other debunked claims about her supposed support for heroin injection sites and bail reform, and is anti-law enforcement. Mitrano reiterated her true positions: She does not advocate heroin injection sites; she supports law enforcement as evidenced by her own family’s current service in the military and as deputy sheriffs in this district; and while she agrees that bail reform for non-violent petty crimes honors the American tradition of “innocent until proven guilty,” she believes that the current New York State law was passed in haste and is need of substantial revision to be consistent with public safety.
“Tom Reed is doing same thing with PACs today as he did with his charges about the FEC Wednesday; he is manufacturing a controversy unsupported by the facts,” said Mitrano. “If I were the incumbent, I would hope to run on my record. Since Reed obviously can’t do that, having neglected this district for the last ten years, I guess throwing mud into clear waters is all he has left.”
