I was at the the school building poll site for election districts 8,9,10 in Tonawanda this morning and turnout was very high. Poll workers estimated that turnout was on pace for 90 to 95%. 625 votes had already been cast as of 11:30 this morning.
That is outstanding. If you haven’t gotten a chance to vote please note that the polls close at 9PM. If you are in line at 9PM you will be allowed to vote.
I’d go vote just to get outside in this great weather.
Thanks to Robert Harding over at TheAlbanyProject.com for taking this great photograph. I think it sums up what today is all about nicely.
Mesi’s “17 towns in 17 hours” was a smashing success today drawing large crowds and several members of the media as his campaign continued it’s late surge.”
Said Mesi, “We’re going against an incumbent if you will, Mike’s name has been out there for over 20 years now. But I think voters are looking for change and I have a good feeling about tommorow.”
Visibility efforts for Joe Mesi were met with such a strong and positive response that television cameras soon arrived to capture the moment. One of our wonderful (and well spoken!) volunteers succinctly explained how the campaign is going and why he was out there in the cold sunshine for Joe:
Joe Mesi kicked off his 17 towns in 17 hours campaign this morning with stops in Leroy, Pavilion, Bethany and Darien. Despite the rain Mesi drew large and enthusiastic support. Said Mesi, “Voters are excited about tomorrow and I believe my message is resonating with them.”
As part of the early morning tour Mesi met with the Leroy Town Supervisor Tim McCulley:
Mesi will be continuing his tour later today:
AMHERST — Emma Wolfe, campaign manager for State Senate candidate Joe Mesi issued the following statement:
“With the polls showing a neck-and-neck race, Joe Mesi’s campaign is heading into the final 48 hours with a wave of momentum from endorsements by Senator Hillary Clinton and Governor David Paterson. Joe Mesi will be fighting to the finish – talking to families across Western New York – with a marathon ‘Countdown to Change’ campaign blitz through each of the 17 towns of the Senate District in 17 hours on election eve.“
No rest ’till victory!
Today we knocked on over 11,000 doors. Our knuckles are sore but our spirits are high. Deploying from the UAW hall following Governor Paterson’s endorsement of Joe they were fired up and optimistic about returning to their district a Senator that will work for the interests of middle and working class men and women all across this great area.
Well respected web site Five Thirty Eight take a high-tech statistical model approach to political predictions, and their fancy math agrees with what we more simple folk know in our hearts– door knocking is the single most effective thing you can do to win an election.
For every twelve voters who you talk to at their doors, one voter goes and votes who would not otherwise have voted. If you’re asking: “how can I be most effective in helping my candidate win the election?” then an organizer’s answer is going to be: knock on doors.
We know that our opponent cannot match the hard work of our volunteers, our staff, and most of all Joe himself.
That is why we are on the verge of victory come Tuesday.
Announces Endorsement in Amherst, Citing Need for Fiscal Responsibility
The surging Joe Mesi campaign was the beneficiary of added momentum in the final days before the November 4th election, as New York Governor David Paterson visited the headquarters of the United Auto Workers (UAW) Region 9 to endorse Mesi’s candidacy for the New York State Senate.
“Western New York, and the whole state, needs Joe Mesi’s discipline and toughness to help us get through the current fiscal crisis in Albany,” said the Governor. “Joe has the perfect set of skills which we need in these difficult financial times. The State of New York is the epicenter of an extraordinary financial crisis, and we need leaders with the toughness, discipline and strategic vision to take bold and aggressive action to reduce spending.”
“We need to be aggressive and thoughtful in how we deal with the current financial crisis,” said Mesi. “In order to turn the Western New York economy around and fix the state’s finances, we need serious responses to serious problems, not glib sound bites and easy answers.”
Mesi has spelled out his platform for fiscal responsibility — cutting taxes and wasteful spending while investing in job growth in Western New York — in a 16-page booklet titled, “A Plan for Change-Specific New Ideas for Our Future.” Mesi’s plan for change includes investments in green jobs and education, a middle-class property tax cut and reductions in wasteful spending. Mesi’s “A Plan for Change” is being distributed door-to-door. (You can view the online booklet here.)
“Joe knows what it means to struggle, to face adversity,” said Sam Williams, Education Representative for Region 9 of the UAW. “He understands in his gut the everyday struggles of ordinary, hard-working Western New Yorkers. In tough times, that is the perspective we have to have in our representatives to change Albany.”
“From sky-rocketing property taxes and inflated gas prices to a local economy which isn’t creating enough jobs to the need for affordable health care and reform, we need new leadership that believes in the future of Western New York,” said Mesi. “That’s why I’ve offered very specific proposals to create new jobs, retain existing ones, cut taxes and wasteful spending, and invest in our future.”
We have the most amazing team here at Mesi HQ and in order to prepare for what will be the biggest get out the vote program of any statewide race, volunteers and staff are working 12 and even 16 hour days as no stone is left unturned as we prepare for Tuesday. I’d like to thank all of our volunteers and staff by putting their disheveled faces on the Internet. (Hey, we are nothing if not honest around here!)
