Turner Tours Queens in Bid to Unseat Weiner

By Eric Yun

Congressional candidate Bob Turner toured various areas of Queens and Brooklyn on Tuesday to drum up support for the campaign. Turner is running against Anthony Weiner (D-Kew Gardens) for the US Congressional 9th District seat.

Organized by the New York GOP, Turner and other Republican candidates stopped at various locations in Queens to talk to concerned residents.

At a stop in Middle Village, Turner spoke about the need for change in Washington. Rallying against cuts and extraneous spending, Turner fought back against Weiner’s remarks that he is out of touch.

Weiner recently challenged many of Turner’s policies. According to Weiner, Turner is in support of privatizing social security, weakening public schools, giving tax breaks to companies that outsource American jobs and against the right for women to choose.

“Bob Turner is completely out of touch with the district,” Weiner’s campaign said in a statement. “Anthony Weiner has spent his career fighting for the middle class people of Brooklyn and Queens on issues that matter, issues that Bob Turner is on the wrong side of.”

Turner fought back against the attack. Citing issues such as Weiner’s refusal to debate and ignoring projects in the district, Turner said Weiner is the one out of touch with con- stituents. “Someone is out of touch, and I don’t think it’s me,” Turner said.

Also at the event were Republican State Assembly candidates Anthony Nunziato and Alex Powietrzynski.

Powietrzynski, who is challenging Democrat incumbent Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi, said incumbent New York politicians are taking their positions for granted. “Politicians are treating their jobs as a business and not as a public service,” he said. “You’re here to serve us, and we deserve better.”

Nunziato, who is challenging Marge Markey, gave his full support to Turner. Politics is about “real people who look out for their constituents,” Nunziato said. “The Republican
Party is the party of the American people.”

Turner Denies Young Dems Campaign Finance Allegations

By Eric Yun

There are plenty of esoteric rules and regulations governing political campaigns, and it can quickly get hectic for newcomers. Republican candidate for Congress Bob Turner is discovering this fact after allegations arose about improper finance reports to the Federal Election Committee (FEC).

Turner is challenging Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Kew Gardens) in the 9th U.S. Congressional District, which covers parts of Brooklyn and Queens.

The Queens County of Young Democrats (QCYD) pounced on a request for additional information the FEC sent to Turner’s campaign and filed a formal complaint letter outlining alleged missing information from Turner’s campaign finance reports.

Among the complaints from the QCYD, Turner has not reported anything other than rent as campaign expenditures. They questioned why newspaper ads, staff salaries and other expenditures were not listed with the FEC.

“I am worried that Mr. Turner is not in compliance with clear, well-understood campaign finance rules. Knowingly and willfully violating these rules is a crime,” wrote Costa Constantinides, President of QCYD.

Turner’s campaign con- tends these allegations are simply not true, and, according to files from the FEC website, Turner’s campaign does have listed ex- penditures for more than just rent. “All our campaign expenditures have been filed with the FEC and any question by the FEC will be re- sponded to in a timely basis,” said Matt Turner, spokesman for the Turner campaign.

The initial request for additional information from the FEC, according to Turner’s campaign, involved missing addresses on personal checks donated to the campaign. The FEC has given a deadline of October 26 to respond, and Turner said the campaign would comply with that deadline.

“To suggest we’re ignoring the FEC is ridiculous,” said Matt Turner, adding that this is just a smear campaign run by Weiner and the QCYD to escape a debate on real issues.

Ulrich Backs Turner in Challenge to Weiner

By Eric Yun

With the primaries over, political candidates are getting prepared for their November battles. Bob Turner, the Republican challenger to incumbent Democrat Anthony Weiner for the U.S. House of Representatives 9th Dis- trict, which includes parts of Brooklyn and Queens, visited Howard Beach and was en- dorsed by Council Member Eric Ulrich (R- Ozone Park).

Standing outside of Tuscany Deli at Lindenwood Shopping Center on 153rd Avenue, Ulrich gave his full support towards Turner’s campaign. “Washington has really gone astray,” Ulrich said, “And the only way to change that is to send people like Bob Turner to Congress.”

“With the help and support of the people who put me in the 32nd Council District, we can send Bob to Congress,” Ulrich continued.

Turner thanked Ulrich for his support, and he stressed that he’s a businessman—not a politician. “There are so many things wrong with the direction this country is taking,” Turner said. He promised to use his business sense to eliminate waste and spending, and to “get us back on track.”