Challenger Tracy Mitrano hammers GOP as campaign continues in 23rd
– By Gabriel Pietrorazio
Clearly, it’s an election year in the aftermath of President Donald J. Trump’s State of the Union address as Democrat challenger Tracy Mitrano rematches Rep. Tom Reed [R-NY] in 2020 for the 23rd Congressional District seat.
In the fallout of the State of the Union speech after President Trump’s acquittal regarding two articles of impeachment in the Senate, ripples from the national discourse have resonated throughout the Finger Lakes and even into this congressional district.
In a conference call with reporters on Wednesday, Rep. Reed shared his thoughts regarding the Commander and Chief’s speech from Tuesday.
Reed witnessed a pure partisanship that he described as “ripping up speeches and things like that and handshakes,” which was in reference to House of Representatives Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
Reed, who was recently named as the honorary campaign chair for President Trump’s re-election campaign in New York.
In response to Reed’s comments, Democrat challenger for the 23rd Congressional District Mitrano issued a statement to FingerLakes1.com regarding the State of Union address and her opponent in Reed.
Throughout the 90-minute speech, Mitrano reminisced about Trump’s former life before his public service career as a television personality, which placed “so much focus on theatrics.”
For Mitrano, this move for Trump to embrace the political spectacle from a partisan perspective was “not surprising but disappointing,” in her opinion.
She also explained that political corruption is at the core of the current politics in Washington D.C., which has been apparent starting at the “top from Mr. Trump on down to our congressman.”
Characterizing this trend as “all part of the same pattern of political corruption that defines Washington D.C.,” Mitrano sees a political opportunity to mobilize against the longstanding 10-year incumbent.
As for the voters, Mitrano believes that now is the “time to think good and hard about their choice in November.”
In relation to the 2020 national race for the White House, she considered, “Do they want to be entertained? Do they want to be fooled and tricked or do they want government in service of their needs?”
As for moving forward as a nation, Reed claimed during the call that recent bipartisan accomplishments along the issues trade agreements and criminal justice have been overshadowed.
“There are a lot of things we can build on going forward,” Reed said, especially for medical healthcare costs relating to prescription drug prices.
Mitrano, who recently hosted a five-city healthcare listening crisis tour was frustrated with how Reed championed the healthcare issue even after voting against a major piece of legislation, H.R. 3 on December 12, 2019.
Related Read: Mitrano says major shift necessary in healthcare as listening tour stops in Geneva
The Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act sought “to establish a fair price negotiation program, protect the Medicare program from excessive price increases, and establish an out-of-pocket maximum for Medicare part D enrollees, and for other purposes.”
The bill also addressed issues relating to lowering prices through fair drug price negotiations, prescription drug inflation rebates, improving the Medicare program for low-income beneficiaries as well as offering dental, vision and hearing coverage under Medicare.
While the bill ultimately passed 230-192 in the House of Representatives during a voting session in Congress during December, Mitrano noted that Reed who opposed this piece of legislative voted against the medical measure and by extension, the interests of constituents that he represents from his own district.
Mitrano called Reed, “a representative that specializes in hypocritical statements” and outright does not trust him as a servant of the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes for Congress, further claiming her case for a congressional rematch bid against him from the 2018 midterm race.
Gabe covered health and indigenous affairs in the Finger Lakes between 2019 and 2022. His award winning coverage was cited by the federal government and provided residents with an invaluable service during the coronavirus pandemic.