BARNEVELD – Richard Hanna isn’t waiting until Jan. 1 to start his transformation to congressman.

Hanna, a Republican, has spent much of his time since Tuesday’s election making phone calls – including reaching out to local officials such as Republican Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente and Democratic Utica Mayor David Roefaro, he said.

During the two months leading up to when he takes office, Hanna plans to talk with county leaders, mayors, state legislators and other officials from across the 11 counties in the 24th Congressional District, he said.

Hanna, 59 of Barneveld, also wants to meet with officials from local colleges and universities to discuss ways the institutions can cooperate, and he expects to start a tour around the district this week to hear from as many people as possible, he said.

“It’s all about bringing people together and letting people know the office belongs to all of us,” Hanna said.

On Tuesday, Hanna received about 53 percent of the vote to defeat U.S. Rep. Michael Arcuri, D-Utica, in a rematch of their tight 2008 race, which Arcuri won.

The election

When Arcuri called Hanna on election night to concede the race, the two wished each other well and pledged to help each other through the transition process, Hanna said, adding that Arcuri’s family has a long history of service to this community.

“It was a completely appropriate phone call – and gracious,” Hanna said.

Following Tuesday’s victory, Hanna was up until about 3 a.m. Wednesday and woke back up at about 5 a.m., he said, adding that short nights of sleep are something he got used to when running his Hanna Construction business.

He didn’t get much rest Wednesday night either, he said.

“I started to feel like food, water and sleep aren’t that big of a deal,” he said.

The transition

In addition to reaching out to officials in the district, Hanna already has other plans for his transition into office, he said.

He intends to keep congressional offices located in Utica, Auburn and Cortland – as Arcuri did – and he is looking into whether his budget would allow for staffing an office in Oneonta a few days a week, he said.

On Nov. 14, Hanna will travel to Washington, D.C., to participate in a training session for new congressmen, and he will go to Harvard University later in the month for a similar session, he said.

“I’m looking forward to that,” he said. “I’m a quick study. There’s nothing about the process that concerns me.”

The congressman

As Hanna meets with local officials in the coming months, he wants to get down to specifics with them and discuss solutions, he said.

The main local issues are jobs and the economy, but there are some differences among the communities in the sprawling district, and he wants to fully understand the needs of each area, he said.

“This tenure I have is not going to be idle,” Hanna said. “We’re going to be aggressive. We’re going to work.”

Hanna said he expects that some of the first national-level issues to be tackled will be the Bush tax cuts, which he supports extending as long as they can be paid for; the health care legislation, which he wants to either make changes to or repeal and create a better bill; and the federal deficit, which he wants to find ways to reduce.

The Republican

A socially moderate Republican who has never hesitated to criticize the party, Hanna said he will work with officials and constituents from all parties.

After Republicans gained control of the House Tuesday and made gains in the Democratic-controlled Senate, officials from both parties will have to reach across the aisle to accomplish goals, Hanna said.

“I’m happy to be a Republican, but I’ll be happier to be a Republican if they come up with solutions,” he said.

Republicans have to realize they weren’t elected Tuesday because U.S. citizens love the Republican Party right now – they were just elected because people aren’t happy with the current direction things have been going under a Democratic Congress and Democratic President Barack Obama, he said.

“What I see is a Republican Party that knows it’s got one more chance to get it right,” Hanna said. “And they better.”

Richard Hanna has spent the better part of three years running for Congress in New York’s 24th Congressional District, and from what he’s seen, the biggest issue in the land is lack of confidence in the future.

“Of course people are worried about jobs and the economy,” he said last Wednesday in an interview with The Daily Star. “But I think it’s more than that. It’s about confidence. People are no longer confident their government can solve problems.”

Through much of his life, the nation’s problems were seen as cyclical, he said. But the poor job market, poor real estate market and other signs of hard times are because of “structural problems,” not economic timing, Hanna said.

“People see that we’ve squandered our prosperity, that we’ve set up all these institutions we can no longer afford.”

The way forward is to rein in spending on unnecessary programs and initiatives because “I don’t think we can tax people any more,” he said.

Extending the Bush-era tax cuts “would be great, but the problem is they’re built into the budget. The problem is how do we pay for it?”

Hanna, who is running against incumbent Democrat Michael Arcuri, D-Utica, said running for office is hard work.

“The system makes it hard to run against incumbents,” he said. “They have built-in advantages, and of course, they use them.”

In 2008, Hanna came close to winning, a near-miss that made it easier to say yes to running this time. But competing with someone who is in office, has name recognition, announces grants and works with business and political leaders is a tall order for any challenger, he said.

To a certain extent, office seekers’ fortunes also depend on events beyond their control, such as the rise and fall of other candidates in other races. Two years ago, the popularity of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama may have helped Arcuri. Polls this year show Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo far in front of Republican Carl Paladino.

Hanna said he is concentrating on his own race, confident people will see he is a moderate Republican whose philosophy is in line with the district.

Hanna, 59, who operated a very successful construction firm, said he decided to plunge into politics less than a year before he announced his run for Congress in 2008.

“I’d sold my business and done pretty well, and I didn’t like the direction we were going, as a nation,” he said.

In a sense, the United States seemed to have become a collection of 300 million special interests, with too few people thinking about the collective good, he said.

Hanna said strident rhetoric and philosophies were — and are — driving people apart, and he sees his role as trying to restart discussions that may bear fruit.

Asked about one divisive topic within the district, horizontal gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing, he said he sees the same stridency at work.

“On both sides, you have extremists and they have their experts, but the two sides are not talking to each other,” he said.

“What I hear from most people is they don’t want drilling unless they’re sure it’s safe, so I think the science should rule,” he said. Until drilling and fracking are regarded as safe by scientists, Hanna said he will remain skeptical, but willing to listen.

Hanna, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Michael Arcuri, D-Utica, for the 24th Congressional District seat, outlined his ideas for how Congress can allow small businesses to thrive:

Don’t implement any new tax increases on small businesses.

Provide stability by limiting federal regulation on small businesses.

Reform banking oversight to make it easier for businesses to access loans.

Limit new paperwork – such as a mandate related to 1099 forms in the health care bill – that adds expenses for small businesses.

The government’s role should be to provide a positive environment for small businesses and allow the business owners to be the ones who grow their companies and produce jobs, Hanna said.

Federal regulations that increase costs and paperwork for small businesses are harming the overall work environment, Hanna said.

“It’s easy to pass a law, but this is the real world out here,” he said.

Read More…

UTICA – The two candidates in the 24 Congressional District agree: The current Social Security system should remain in place and not be privatized

But Rep. Michael Arcuri, D-Utica, and Republican challenger Richard Hanna, of Barneveld, do have some differing opinions on how the government will have to respond to the program in the coming years.

The funding for Social Security is collected through workers’ paychecks. This year, for the first time ever, the system is paying out more money than it is taking in.

Despite this, both candidates said that projections show the system can remain as it is until 2037.

Hanna, however, said that with more money going out than coming in, the government is going to have to stop borrowing from Social Security and start dedicating funding to support it.

Hanna said he doesn’t think Arcuri understands that this needs to be a priority because Arcuri has voted for major spending bills such as the stimulus bill.

“The government is going to have to meet its obligation to keep it solvent,” Hanna said, of Social Security.

Read More…

About 25 people sat in a circle at the Seen/Unseen art gallery, at 77 Main St., for about 90 minutes exchanging views with Hanna, who said he supports a ban on hydraulic fracturing because questions persist about its safety.

“The word `safe’ is subjective,” Hanna said.

Though natural gas drilling may benefit New York’s lagging economy, Hanna said, water is a public asset that cannot be put at risk.

Read More…

Among the topics Richard and Steve discussed: honest leadership, jobs and the economy, the race for the 24th Congressional District, and the future of Upstate New York.

To see the full-length interview click here.

The nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report Monday released new analysis moving the race for the 24th Congressional District seat in favor of Richard Hanna.

The rating was upgraded from ‘Pure Toss-Up’ to ‘Toss-Up/Tilt Republican.’

Hanna, who will run on the Republican, Independence and Conservative lines, outraised incumbent Michael Arcuri both the first and second quarters of this year. Hanna announced his campaign on Jan. 20 – losing valuable time in the first fundraising quarter – and still outraised his opponent nearly two-to-one.

Elections expert Stuart Rothenberg’s report is subscription-only.

Here is the analysis for New York’s 24th Congressional District:

NY 24 (Arcuri, D): “Michael Arcuri’s narrow 51%-49% win over Richard Hanna in ’08 was a surprise, and Hanna is back for a re-match. This looks to be one of the GOP’s top two opportunities in the Empire State, and the state’s Working Families Party apparently won’t endorse Arcuri as a punishment for his vote against the Democratic health care plan.”

###

A Cortland-area construction company whose officials have donated to Republican candidate Richard Hanna is becoming increasingly involved in the race for the 24th Congressional District seat, most recently by taking umbrage Wednesday at a fundraising letter from the campaign of U.S. Rep. Michael Arcuri, D-Utica.

Read More…

Washington- The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) announced today that Republican Richard Hanna (NY-24) has reached ‘Young Gun’ status, the top level of its three-level Young Guns program. By advancing to the program’s top tier, Hanna has proven his ability to build a winning campaign and achieve substantial fundraising goals.
 
Founded in the 2007-2008 election cycle by Reps. Eric Cantor (R-VA), Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Paul Ryan (R-WI), the Young Guns program is a member-driven organization dedicated to electing open-seat and challenger candidates nationwide.

As a lifelong resident of Upstate New York and a successful entrepreneur, Hanna knows what it takes to create jobs and build a successful business from the ground up. After graduating with honors in Economics from Reed College, Richard started Hanna Construction. He began working alone on small residential projects, and over the next 25 years the business grew to complete a multitude of commercial and municipal projects across New York State. Hanna is not only a successful job creator, but he’s also a public servant to Central New Yorkers. His philanthropic work has earned him numerous awards, such as the 2007 Rosamond Childs Award and he was honored by the YWCA for “Being a Champion of Women.”
 
“Richard Hanna has proven that he is ready to put this seat back in the Republican column,” said NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions (R-TX). “Richard’s campaign is a symbol of the growing momentum behind Republican candidacies in New York and across the country. As Democrats and their party bosses continue to push their big-government, big-spending policies onto the backs of hard-working families, Republicans like Richard Hanna will continue to present a clear alternative to a Democrat majority that continues to spend too much, borrow too much and tax too much.”
 
Now that Richard Hanna has completed the benchmarks to place him on the road to victory, he is ready to take on incumbent Democrat Michael Arcuri.

Most individual donors to U.S. Rep. Michael Arcuri’s campaign live within the 24th Congressional District, but they’re giving far less than local donors for Republican Richard Hanna, many of whom are business owners or officials.

Read More …