Letter to the Editor: "Kane is Not Able"

Candidate for County Legislator Michael Kane has proven on numerous occasions that he is unfit for public office and is the wrong choice for District 1
“Westchester Fair Campaign group faults claims by Democrat Michael Kane in legislator race.”

That was the headline in a Journal News article this week reporting on Legislator John Testa’s opponent in the Westchester County District 1 race. Incredibly in that very article Michael Kane maintained that the issues the Westchester Fair Campaign Practices Committee cited him for, providing misleading information, were “small in nature” and that he “was not trying to fool people”. Yet when asked by the Committee why his website and campaign literature contained information he readily conceded was inaccurate and misleading, stated “he was waiting for the Committee to tell him he needed to remove it.”

Kane’s desperate attempts to malign John Testa’s outstanding record even bizarrely extend to false claims about Legislator Testa’s attendance record. Kane was embarrassingly caught telling this lie in the Yorktown Chamber debate. He claimed Testa was absent from a meeting when he was, in fact, present. On top of that John Testa has a 100% attendance record at all regularly scheduled Board of Legislators meetings.

Michael Kane has demonstrated time and again throughout this campaign his lack of suitability for public office. Regardless of the forum, the News 12 debate, Journal News candidate interviews or most recently, the Yorktown Chamber of Commerce debate, he’s shown he has no idea as to what it means to be a legislator or have a grasp of the issues. For example his ridiculous suggestion that we could close Indian Pt. and replace it with hydroelectric power. Really, dam the Hudson River? Or the fact that during one of the debates, he wasn’t aware of how much the County budget had been cut, Legislator Testa had to supply the numbers for him! In fact Kane went on to commend John Testa saying he “worked hard and did a good job” in reducing the budget. In another venue, Kane was asked, “Given the difficult fiscal constraints of our county, how do you propose to make progress on your priorities?” Kane’s clueless answer: “I will need to read the budget....”

Clearly Mr. Kane’s lack of familiarity with the issues and experience as a local political operative and shop steward, not to mention his ethical lapses, have limited his ability to consider the best interests of Westchester’s citizens. When the Journal News sought an answer about givebacks and concessions, a topic “most voters...expect shared sacrifice on,” as they reported, “Kane said he opposed such concessions.” No doubt such stubborn and partisan thinking played a role in the Journal News’ decision to endorse John Testa as “a reliable vote for bipartisan efforts to recalibrate government services in Westchester...who has earned another term to continue those efforts.”

The voters in District One have the opportunity to show that principled and practical leadership does matter. That experience and integrity do make a difference, and that’s why I’m supporting John Testa this Tuesday November 8th.

Sincerely,

Robert Violante