Lewiston Dems honor Slaughter

Story and photos by Terry Duffy
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, March 31, 2007

A large crowd representing interests from both Erie and Niagara counties was on hand at the Slaughter banquet.

You can say one thing: she really speaks her mind.

Last Sunday, the town of Lewiston had a rather intriguing visit by U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-28th District, Fairport, who was honored that day at the Niagara Falls Country Club by the Lewiston Democratic Committee as its Democrat of the Year for 2007 for her many endeavors in Niagara.

“We’re truly honored to have a person like Louise,” said state Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte, one of many that day who offered welcoming remarks for the congresswoman.

With a sizable crowd on hand – the likes of which included such names as state Democratic Chair June O’Neill, Erie County Democratic Chair Len Lenihan, former Buffalo mayor Tony Masiello, DelMonte, Niagara Falls Mayor Vince Anello, Niagara County Democratic Chair Dan Rivera, Lewiston Supervisor Fred Newlin and a host of other familiar faces – Slaughter opened with friendly greetings, then went on the attack on a number of government issues.

“Glad to see all of you coming today,” Slaughter, a Kentucky native, opened in her familiar southern drawl. “First off, thanks so much for your support in my campaign. It really means a lot.”

From there, the feisty congresswoman, who serves Congress in the prominent role as chair of the influential House Committee on Rules, took the gloves off as she went on to berate the Bush administration over a host of hot issues. “I want to talk to you today about things you don’t read in newspapers, about things that are going on.”

Targeting Iraq, Slaughter touched on a number of concerns, from the increasing troubles with the now-turned civil war in that country and the unpopular U.S. involvement, to the nation’s treatment of men and woman who have served and their many resulting problems, to the health care issues unearthed at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. “We have an obligation to take care of them (veterans),” said Slaughter. “In many ways, we’re not.”

Pointing to the controversy involving U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Slaughter said, “Now let’s raise some issues with the U.S. attorney. Does that bother me? You bet.” Slaughter told the crowd the eight dismissed attorneys “are all Republicans, appointed by the president and they do good work.”

“What happened? They were all investigated for corruption,” she said, pointing to their questionable dealings with the Pentagon and the CIA. “It starts at the top,” she said.

Throughout her remarks, Slaughter faulted the current administration, from issues over pork spending abuses, to budget spending priorities to economic troubles, to criticisms of the government’s handling of the Hurricane Katrina fiasco.

“They just don’t seem to get it,” said Slaughter. “It’s taken a complete house cleaning on Capitol Hill to wake them up.”

Slaughter, who is the third highest ranking member in Congress behind House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is a member of the Select Committee on Homeland Security, a member of the Subcommittee on Infrastructure and Border Security, and chairs both the Congressional Arts Caucus and the Bipartisan Pro-Choice Caucus in addition to her role as chair of the Rules Committee.

Regarded as a key player in the successful efforts last year to save the Niagara Air Reserve Station from closure, she pledged to continue to work diligently on the nation’s as well as the region’s many concerns – from tourism endeavors in Niagara to economic development in Western New York.

“We’ve got a lot of problems to handle,” said Slaughter, as she praised her building working relationships with local government officials. “Together we’ll work to get them done.”