05/07/2012:
Campaign Headquarters Opening Party on Thursday, May 17th
Dr. Richard Becker will be holding an Campaign Headquarters Opening Party on Thursday, May 17th from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Come by and meet the candidate as well as his staff and hear how they plan to take back the district! Free food and beverages will be served. The address is: The Old Beacon High School, 211 Fishkill Avenue, Beacon, NY 12508 (map).
03/21/2012:
TELL NAN HAYWORTH: “JUST SAY NO” TO THE RYAN PLAN REDUX: SIGN THE PETITION AND PASS IT ON!
A year after trying to cut taxes for billionaires and big oil while ending Medicare as we know it, Republicans are doubling down on the Ryan Budget. This extreme plan would place almost the entire burden of deficit reduction onto the middle class without asking any significant sacrifice at all from the wealthiest among us.
For the past year Americans of all stripes have been making clear that this isn’t okay with them, but clearly Republicans like Nan Hayworth – who staunchly supports the original Ryan Plan – haven’t gotten the message.
This time, let’s make sure Hayworth actually listens. Sign this petition and tell Nan that you do NOT support Paul Ryan’s attempts to turn Medicare into a voucher program.
Tell her that you do NOT support Paul Ryan’s decision to cut Veteran’s benefits by 13%.
But most of all, tell Nan that she shouldn’t support these draconian cuts, either, and that we can’t balance the budget on the backs of the middle class.
Nan Hayworth is pretending to be a moderate. Tell her that there’s nothing moderate about the centerpiece of her domestic policy. Thank you for your strength and dedication,
– Richard
PS - In case you missed it, the Orange County Democratic Party endorsed us this past weekend!This was an incredible honor, and our entire campaign is looking forward to continuing to work with Orange County Democrats to build the Democratic Party up and down the ballot. As part of that commitment, all of my campaign staff took the day off yesterday to volunteer with Frank Skartados in his Assembly race.
My staff knocked on doors in Beacon and Newburgh, and made phone calls all day long. I’m honored that we were able to play a small part in his overwhelming victory yesterday. Combined with Didi Barrett’s apparent win in the 103rd District – which includes some of our district – and Shelley Mayer’s election in Yonkers, yesterday was a very good day to be a Hudson Valley Democrat.
03/19/2012:
ORANGE COUNTY DEMS OVERWHELMINGLY ENDORSE DR. RICHARD BECKER
Dr. Richard Becker scored a pivotal victory yesterday, earning the overwhelming endorsement of the Orange County Democratic Committee in the Congressional Primary in the new 18th District.
At the nominating convention Sunday afternoon, Dr Becker secured 13,224 weighted votes, 66% of the total ballots cast. Matt Alexander received 3820.5, 19%, Tom Wilson of Orange County received 3060.5, 15%, and Sean Patrick Maloney did not receive any votes despite attending the convention and securing a spot on the ballot. Under the new Congressional maps, Orange County is entirely within the 18th District and includes more than half of the District’s total population.
“Watching my mother-in-law, a longtime Goshen resident, officially nominate me – and seeing the tremendous response – was an incredible experience,” said Democratic Congressional candidate Dr. Richard Becker. “Orange County Democrats have a rich tradition of successful civic activism, and it’s a real honor to have been endorsed by them. Together, we’ll end
Nan Hayworth’s career of lobbyist funded, Tea Party politics-as-usual and replace her with a Congressperson who represents us.”
“We face unique opportunities and challenges here in the Hudson Valley,” Becker continued. “With Orange County now entirely within one Congressional District, it deserves a Representative who’ll always put us first – like Maurice Hinchey does and John Hall did. I’m a problem solver with a record of creating jobs, defending the middle class, and protecting the environment, and that’s exactly the approach we need in Washington – and it’s exactly what Orange County Democrats responded to yesterday.”
03/12/2012 New Video: Becker Discusses Congressional Run on YNN’s Capital Tonight with Liz Benjamin
Click on the image to watch the video clip.
03/08/2012 New Video: Richard Becker speaks at the Mt. Kisco Forum March 6, 2012 (excerpt)
“Nan Hayworth doesn’t represent the people of this district. She is not in tune with our needs. She lacks the passion, she lacks the compassion. That’s why I’m running. I will listen to you and I will be a strong voice for you in Congress!” – Richard Becker
Watch and Share the Video:
03/07/2012 New Video: Local college student Jordan Beberman on why she supports Dr. Richard Becker for Congress
Watch and Share the Video:
03/05/2012 RICHARD BECKER BLASTS “NO COMMENT NAN” FOR ABANDONING HUDSON VALLEY WOMEN AND MEDICAL ETHICS
Prepared remarks of Democratic Congressional Candidate Dr. Richard Becker at his press conference on Rep. Nan Hayworth and women’s issues, Monday, March 5th, 2012.
Thank you all for coming out to stand with me today. This incredible turnout is a clear sign that the people of this district are fired up to elect a new Representative who’ll actually be there for us. Yesterday, I had the honor of spending the afternoon at a “Women for Becker” event with a lot of strong leaders here in the Hudson Valley. I saw there what you’re all seeing today; that this district is fired up to change Washington and elect a new Representative.
We are here today, on the 5th day of the month of March, Women’s History Month, in front of Representative Hayworth’s office to draw attention to the new Republican War on Women. From the 19th Amendment to Roe v Wade to the recent Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, we’ve come a long way. But nothing is guaranteed. The current Republican ‘War on Women’ reminds us that, more than ever, we need a Representative who is fundamentally pro-women. Nan Hayworth is not that Representative.
To her, we are just votes to be bought with money from lobbyists and Right Wing party bosses in Washington. We need a Representative who understands what we’re going through – each and every one of us – from working class folks who are just hanging on by their fingernails to uninsured families who pray every day that no medical emergency happens, to women who need and deserve access to healthcare.
This is more than just a press conference for a political candidate. The stakes are too high, the need too great, and the situation is unraveling too quickly just to give lip service to women’s issues in this election. Just this past Friday, Republicans in Washington showed their true colors when Rush Limbaugh, the mouthpiece of the far-right in America, called Sandra Fluke, a women testifying before the senate on Women’s Reproductive Health, well – he used derogatory words that a woman should never be called and which I refuse to repeat here.
This is not a simple press conference – this is a rallying cry! And comments like Rush Limbaugh’s are just the latest in the Republican War on Women. Back when Nan was running in 2010, she went around and told all of us in Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, Orange, and Dutchess that she was Pro-Choice because she knew that she couldn’t win in this district unless she was pro-choice.
But a funny thing happened on Hayworth’s way to Washington. All of a sudden, it was “I’m pro-choice, unless… you’re a person struggling with finances.” And, “I’m pro-choice, unless… your employer doesn’t agree.” And, “I’m pro-choice, unless… you need these specific procedures.” That’s just absolutely bogus: either you’re pro-choice, or you’re not.
Time and again, Nan Hayworth keeps making it clear that she’s not pro-choice, not when it counts. That’s why Planned Parenthood gave her a mere 17 points out of 100 on its pro-choice rating scale. We deserve better in a Representative. We deserve someone who will stand up for us when we need them to.
And it’s not any one, isolated incident, either. Every single time women’s access to reproductive care has been under attack by the Republican leadership and the Tea Party, Nan Hayworth has been right there with them. The very first bill this Congress passed called for defunding Planned Parenthood, and Nan voted with them. And when the Susan G. Komen Foundation outrageously tried to do the same last month, she stayed quiet.
That’s not the least of it. Just last summer, she voted for one of the most radical anti-choice bills in recent memory: HR 358, the “Let Women Die Act.” Hayworth’s vote would have let doctor’s deny women life saving reproductive care if the doctor personally didn’t want to provide it. The idea of forcing a woman suffering severe medical complications to run from hospital to hospital until she could find someone who’d care for her is not only absurd, it is unconscionable. One Democratic Congresswoman said that this bill might very well have killed her, and that’s not an exaggeration. This bill was a direct assault on choice, and Nan Hayworth voted for it. That’s something you just wouldn’t do if you were really pro-choice. You just can’t thread that needle.
And this goes beyond the issue of choice alone; it goes to the heart of who she is as a woman and a doctor, and the heart of her approach to women’s issues. I’m a doctor, too. We swore an oath to “first, do no harm,” which is why I would never turn away such a patient, and why I get so incensed when I hear that Nan supported this bill which would have let doctors do just that. Our Representative completely disregarded that pledge and pandered to the extreme right, and that’s absolutely disgraceful.
But this is about more than just our Representative in Washington. The extreme right is waging an all-out war on women. Right now, they are trying to throw up roadblocks to women’s access to contraception. Eric Cantor and John Boehner are trying to make access to birth control contingent on who you work for. That’s a stance that the vast majority of Americans – and the vast majority of us here in the Hudson Valley – don’t agree with.
But Nan Hayworth would rather run away from this controversy. When the Republican Congress was hearing testimony on this issue, who did they get to speak? A panel without a single woman on it. Not one! In a debate on women’s health care! That’s absurd, but what’s even more insulting is that Nan Hayworth – a woman and medical professional – was nowhere to be found. When she was finally cornered at a town hall, she compared this key debate over contraception to the right to eat bacon. We deserve better than to have important issues be trivialized like that. If Nan wants to stand against the women here in the Hudson Valley, she should have the courage to say so and not try to invent insultingly flippant analogies.
And now, the Republicans are continuing the attack, which is why Sandra Fluke was sitting before the Senate, testifying for women, while Rush Lim-bah beat up on her. It is wrong! And where was Nan? She could, quote, “not be reached for comment,” unquote. We deserve better than that.
Enough with “no comment Nan.” Enough with the hypocrisy. Enough with fighting for the few at the expense of the rest of us. We all deserve a fair shake in life. We deserve a congressperson who will fight for us in Washington – who will stand up against the special interests and lobbyists. Someone who will be a leader and a problem solver. A coalition builder who will put their constituents first. Who will stand up for my daughter and for all of ours. Who will respect the values of the 19th District not the 19th Century. That’s the kind of Representative I will be, and with your help, we will make it happen!
Thank you.
Remarks of local college student Jordan Beberman at Dr. Richard Becker’s press conference on Nan Hayworth and women’s issues and the stakes for her generation
I want to live in a society that respects all women’s rights to make fundamental decisions about their own lives. I want to know that my real concerns are taken seriously by my government and my Representatives. Nan’s votes and comments say loud and clear that she does not share that belief.
Nan Hayworth just compared equal access to birth control to eating bacon. That comparison is just wrong.
Republican leaders should also not be attacking women who feel like I do and speak out. That kind of behavior is straight out of the 18th century and does not belong here in the 21st. Nan Hayworth had a chance to stand up to this kind of hateful and disgusting behavior, and instead she ran away from the opportunity and hid behind “no comment.”
Those actions aren’t the actions of a leader, and they’re not the actions of someone who’s putting women first. We need a Congressperson who will lead, and who will put women first. That’s why I’m proud to support Richard Becker. Thanks you.
02/29/2012 BECKER STANDS WITH CWA AGAINST CORPORATE GREED
On February 28, we joined with CWA 1103 to protest corporate greed. Many large companies, including Verizon, pay no income taxes despite making billions. Nan Hayworth not only opposes efforts to get them to pay their fair share, but wants to keep letting them take federal subsidies while shipping jobs overseas. That’s wrong, and we were happy to spread the word. Watch the video below:
02/22/2012 RICHARD BECKER ENDORSED AS “COMMITTED ADVOCATE” FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Dr. Richard Becker, Democratic Candidate for the 19th Congressional District, announced the host committee for a “Women for Becker” event to be held on March 4th during the first weekend of women’s history month. The event will take place from 1-4 pm at Kathleen’s Tea Room at 979 Main Street in downtown Peekskill, and and costs $75 to attend.
The host committee includes Assemblywoman Sandy Galef, Peekskill Mayor Mary Foster, Cortlandt Town Supervisor Linda Puglisi, Westchester County Legislator Catherine Borgia, Peekskill Councilwomen Drew Claxton and Kathleen Talbot, Croton-on-Hudson Trustee Ann Gallelli, and prominent area activists Nancy Shatzkin, Patty Peckham, and Catherine Gorycki. The event invitation, and quotes from the host committee, can also been viewed HERE.
“The 19th District can’t afford a Congressperson who’s helping her party roll back long-held and hard-fought victories for women. Our community doesn’t support the Republican War on Women, and we deserve better than a loyal foot soldier for the Tea Party. Hayworth follows orders from the financial elite and her party leaders, but I’ll be there for all the residents of the 19th district,” said Richard Becker.
“This is a pivotal election for women. We need a Representative who’ll stand up for all women in the Hudson Valley. Richard Becker is a committed advocate for the rights we take for granted but that are now at risk. He’s a leader with a clear record of accomplishment, and I’m proud to support him,” said Assemblywoman Sandy Galef (D – Ossining) of the 90th District.
“When Hurricane Irene struck, people throughout the 19th district needed help immediately. Rather than stand up for her constituents, the current Congresswoman fell in line behind Eric Cantor and stalled federal aid. As a local elected official, Richard Becker understands the need to put us first,” said Westchester County Legislator Catherine Borgia (D – Ossining).
“I’ve been a leader in the fight to protect our environment for over a decade. Nan Hayworth, though, hasn’t said a peep about the danger posed by Hydrofracking. Our Congressperson has to be there for us whenever the environment is under attack, not just show up when its convenient. Richard Becker’s taken tough stands for the environment, and he’ll keep doing so once he’s in Congress,” said Councilwoman Drew Claxton (D – Peekskill).
“Growing up in Peekskill, I’ve seen how the decline of manufacturing has hurt our community. Last year, Nan Hayworth had a chance to stand up to Chinese currency manipulation and give local manufacturers a chance. Instead, she caved in to the GOP leadership and helped to vote the measure down. Richard Becker will fight to make sure we have enough good paying jobs so that anyone can raise a family in the Hudson Valley,” said Councilwoman Kathleen Talbot (D – Peekskill).
“As a village Trustee, I’ve worked hard to keep taxes low and find creative ways to fund necessary programs. Nan Hayworth has blindly voted to cut programs that help women and families and voted to hike taxes on the struggling middle class. Richard Becker will protect important initiatives and won’t try to balance the budget on our backs,” said Trustee Ann Gallelli (D – Croton-on-Hudson)
“For years, I’ve been helping seniors stay in the community and live near their families. Nan Hayworth’s voted to make that harder. Ending Social Security and Medicare as we know them would devastate seniors and hurt their families. That’s not a pro-family or pro-woman agenda. Richard Becker will defend these cornerstones of the middle class,” said Croton Housing Network President Nancy Shatzkin.
“Dr. Richard Becker will be a strong force in Congress for a clean environment. A vote for Nan Hayworth is a vote for the radically anti-environment House Republican Majority. At every turn, they’ve tried to undermine key environmental safeguards and support big polluters and dirty energy. Richard Becker’s been fighting against these kinds of abuses during his entire career in public life,” said host committee member and area activist Patty Peckham.
02/20/2012 UPDATE FROM RICH: BECKER CALLS FOR INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION OF GRIMM: ASKS HAYWORTH TO DO THE SAME
Dr. Richard Becker, Democratic Candidate for the 19th Congressional District, today seconded the New York Times call for an independent investigation of Rep. Michael Grimm, and demanded Nan Hayworth take a public stand on the issue.
“New Yorkers have had enough of out-of-control insiders and political corruption,” Becker said. “Now, there are credible reports that another Representative has broken the law. Nan Hayworth can either lead the charge for a more ethical Congress and join the growing chorus calling for an independent investigation of these serious charges, or she can follow the orders of the national GOP and ignore an expanding scandal. With so many troubling allegations, Nan Hayworth’s silence is speaking volumes.”
This morning, the New York Times called for Congress and the Department of Justice to launch an investigation into shady fundraising practices uncovered by the paper’s reporting. According to the article, Grimm routinely broke federal campaign finance laws during his 2010 campaign and served as business partner with a man convicted of fraud. When asked about the controversy last week, Hayworth admitted that she hadn’t looked into the issue or discussed it with her colleague. Both Hayworth and Grimm are members of the freshman Republican class in the House and serve together on the Financial Services Committee and one sub-committee together. Both have also campaigned on behalf of Mitt Romney here in New York.
02/03/2012 UPDATE FROM RICH: We Raised The Most To Beat Hayworth – You Made It Happen
Friends –
Just giving you a quick update on the campaign. Last week, I spoke to the Peekskill Democratic Committee right here in Westchester. Everyone in the room was buzzing with enthusiasm to support a strong Democratic Candidate to replace Tea Party Republican Nan Hayworth. Our message of focusing government on serving everyone equally, not just the privileged few, continues to resonate with the voters of the 19th Congressional District.
However, the biggest news came out yesterday with the latest FEC filings: our campaign raised nearly $230,000 – four times as much as our nearest competitior, and it’s all thanks to you. Both the Journal News and the Times Herald Record were buzzing about our new front-runner status. I cannot thank you enough for your hard work and dedication that have gotten us this far.
But we’re not done yet! First of all, Nan Hayworth has raised over $200,000 from PACs and special interest groups in an effort to silence your voice. Second, a federal judge ruled last week that our primary must be moved up to June 26th! That means our whole primary process has been moved forward, from petitioning to canvassing. So please, sign up now to volunteer.
The excitement about this campaign is catching on all over the district, and this latest news is really spreading fast. But I know we wouldn’t be here without you. With your help, we are taking a stand against obstructionism and favoritism, and I know that if we keep pushing like this, together, we will win on election day.
Thank you for your strength and dedication.
- Richard
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01/24/2012 UPDATE FROM RICH: PRESIDENT OBAMA’S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
In the State of the Union address, President Obama outlined a blueprint for a job-creating economy built for the long term and designed to lift everyone up. One where hard work and responsibility are rewarded, and where everyone plays by the same rules.
The people of the 19th Congressional District are hanging on by their fingernails, yet when they point out the consequences of this broken system, they are turned away by leaders like Congresswoman Hayworth who find it more expedient to focus on the few. We need a representative who won’t turn away, who knows these hardships and who responds to help in times of need.
I fully support President Obama for outlining such an ambitious agenda; for putting the country back on the right track and focusing on the issues that matter – for calling for a government and a financial system that serves all of us: no bailouts, no handouts, no cop-outs. When we get back to that set of values, we’ll be getting back to an America that will grow jobs, improve education, build newer, better infrastructure and serves the needs of each and every one of us.
Let’s put the American people first.
- Dr. Rich Becker
01/16/2012 UPDATE FROM RICH: MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY
The voice of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is as relevant today as it was during his lifetime.
On the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we honor his dream of freedom, nonviolent change, and equality. We remember Dr. King for his leadership in building a powerful coalition dedicated to human rights and economic justice. Today, Martin Luther King’s legacy lives on in a thriving peaceful movement for justice and equality, seeking to reverse the growth of inequity in America. Let us recommit ourselves to Dr. King’s vision.
- Rich
12/27/2011 UPDATE FROM RICH: Where I Stand
Friends,
A picture is worth a thousand words:
(photo: LoHud.com)
Last week my opponent stood with the Tea Party (and John Boehner and Eric Cantor) and tried to hold the middle class hostage. She threatened to raise taxes and strip the unemployed of their insurance if she didn’t get her way.
Unlike my opponent, I stand with you – not with John Boehner and the Tea Party.
Will you stand with me by making a contribution to my campaign today?
Stand with me:
To grow good jobs and protect workers’ rights. My opponent voted against the American Jobs Act and has failed to make job growth in the Hudson Valley a priority.
To strengthen Medicare. My opponent voted for, and vigorously defends, the Ryan Plan – a plan that destroys Medicare as we know it.
To safeguard Choice. My opponent voted against women’s health and reproductive freedom multiple times.
To help those in need, like victims of hurricane Irene. My opponent agreed to provide relief to storm ravaged counties ONLY if that aid could be offset by cuts elsewhere in the budget.
To protect the environment. My opponent voted to bar the EPA from regulating greenhouse gasses and to preclude the EPA from taking on global warming.
Your contribution will help me build the infrastructure required to take on Nan Hayworth and ensure that your interests are represented in Congress – not those of John Boehner and the Tea Party.
The end of the year is almost here – please consider a gift of $25, $50 or even $100 today.
The stakes have never been higher. The difference between me and my opponent has never been clearer. Stand with me so I can stand up for you.
Thank you,
Rich
IT’S TIME FOR THE PEOPLE OF NY-19 TO BE TRULY REPRESENTED IN CONGRESS
People are suffering here in NY-19. We’re suffering from insecure, low-paying jobs — or the lack of jobs altogether. We’re suffering from storm damage from Hurricane Irene. We’re suffering from unaffordable health care for our families and unaffordable education for our children. We doubt whether the American Dream will be there for our kids.
A CANDIDATE TO SET THINGS RIGHT
Rich Becker is a doctor and a small business owner who has proudly served our community: 30 years caring for patients, 10 years as a community leader and 4 years as a Town Councilman. Rich has devoted his career to helping others and knows how to get results in business and government. Having founded and managed three medical practices, Rich has decades of experience creating hundreds of new jobs. He also knows firsthand that better health care is key to a better economy for America and NY-19. He will be a strong voice in Washington to bring new opportunities, meaningful work, and accessible affordable healthcare to the district.
FIRST- DO NO HARM
Our Tea Party congresswoman sees the economic crisis as an opportunity to push their ideas on the American people. Time and again, she has held her constituents’ interests hostage until the Tea Party’s demands have been met. To bring the federal budget deficit down, she supports the Ryan plan to end Medicare. She is willing to help those who suffered from the devastation of Hurricane Irene, but only if jobs programs are cut. While feigning concern over the use of federal dollars for abortion services, our representative voted to completely defund the largest low-cost health clinics for women all across the district and the nation. When asked how she would bring more jobs, she opts for more tax cuts for herself and her wealthy friends. That has never worked before; in fact, it is those same policies that have given us a decade without job or wage growth for the middle class. The American economy is stagnating, and Nan Hayworth has no new ideas.
REBUILD THE MIDDLE CLASS
America became the exceptional country that it is by building the biggest, best-educated, strongest and most productive middle class in the history of the world. Rich believes we can and must have an economy that works for the middle class again. This means putting Americans back to work, by investing in our infrastructure and creating incentives for companies to start hiring. This means strengthening Medicare and Social Security, not dismantling them, so that Americans who work hard all their lives can retire with peace of mind. This means making healthcare truly a right for all Americans, making it accessible and affordable for all. This means protecting workers’ rights to a safe place to work, the right to organize and bargain collectively, and the opportunity to learn new skills for a changing economy. Rebuilding the middle class means offering affordable education for our children and a safe and healthy environment for them to live in.
WE CAN PUT AMERICA BACK ON THE RIGHT TRACK!
Rich Becker believes that now is the time to act: we can either accept a decline in our quality of life, or fight to make it better for everyone. Help send Rich to Congress so he can help defend our interests, fight for the middle class, and secure a healthier future.
