THE CHOICE IS YOURS
Newcomer Massa takes aims at veteran Kuhl
By ROB PRICE THE COURIER-ADVOCATE

Eric Massa

Two years ago, then-state Sen. Randy Kuhl defeated Democratic challenger Samara Barend by a comfortable margin to succeed Amo Houghton as representative of the 29th Congressional District.

Kuhl set up shop in Washington and began what looked like the culmination of a long, successful political career. Now, however, in the waning days of the 2006 elections, the 63-year-old Hammondsport native is in the fight of his political life.

One early October poll showed Kuhl leading Democratic challenger Eric Massa by a slim 43 to 39 percent margin; another poll in late October even showed Massa leading Kuhl by 52 to 40 percent of voters.

A Massa victory would end 20 years of Republican control of the 29th Congressional district, since Houghton succeeded former Congressman Stan Lundine in 1986. Massa could also end Kuhl's own string of victories, which began when he was elected to the New York Assembly in 1981.

Ironically, the man who could upset the GOP apple cart is both a relative newcomer to the Southern Tier and even the Democratic Party.

Massa, 47, moved to Corning in 2001, going to work for Corning Inc. after retiring from the U.S. Navy. According to records at the Steuben County Board of Elections, he registered as a Republican and first voted as a local Republican in the 2002 election.

John 'Randy' Kuhl

Only in the spring of 2004 did Massa change his registration to Democrat. "I had had enough," he said of the GOP. "I had enough of the Republican party before the (2004) election, and when I saw the outcome of the election, I declared my candidacy for U.S. Congress."

Asked to describe his own political background, Massa, 47, characterized himself as "a centrist Democrat" who in his youth was a registered Independent. Upon moving to the Southern Tier, he was advised the Republican Party was the stronger of the two mainstream political parties.

"I wanted to be active in my neighborhood and community,'" he said. But by 2004, the war in Iraq together with a host of domestic issues had forced a rethinking.

"I did not leave the Republican party; the leadership left me,'" he said. "They left me just like they left all Americans, by engaging in a war of attrition (He favors withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq in under 24 months), by raising our taxes astronomically and by engaging in such corruption that we can no longer recognize what the U.S. Congress looks like."

Massa even describes his political philosophy as an old fashioned kind of Republicanism: "I'm fighting to balance the budget, and this Republican Party has risen national debt beyond known limits. ... Federal spending is out of control."

While Massa excoriates the Bush administration and Republican congressional leadership, Kuhl continues hammering on his opponent's status as a political newcomer and his own history of constituent service. He has been successful in steering government funds to municipalities, especially fire departments, and he has managed to hold public meetings in every town of his congressional district since his 2004 election.

Kuhl did not return phone calls from The Courier inquiring into the history of his own political affiliations, although Steuben County records indicate no interruption in his long-time Republican registration. Regarding probably the hottest issue of the 2006 election, the war in Iraq, Kuhl told The Hornell Tribune earlier this year, "I still believe firmly we can't walk away. While we've made significant strides, there still is violence there that needs to be controlled."

And in that same interview, Kuhl highlighted his own roots in the 29th District, claiming, "My knowledge of the district is much more basic, much more familiar than (Massa's). ... I'm more of a problem solver. I'm district oriented. My opponent wants to get involved in the international scene."

Kuhl may have 20 years of Republican momentum behind his campaign for reelection, as well as his own hometown roots.

At the same time, the 2006 elections may be driven more than usual by international, instead of local, issues.

Only when the dust settles Tuesday night will Kuhl and Massa know what issues mattered most when the votes were cast.