In Upstate House Race
NYSUT Gives Pass To Bush Supporter

By HOWARD MEGDAL

When the New York State United Teachers made its endorsements last month, the union tabbed candidates in 28 of New York's 29 U.S. Congressional Districts. All were Democrats with the exception of moderate Republican John McHugh in the 23rd, who often crosses party lines on education legislation, and faces minimal opposition.

JACK DAVIS: No help from NYSUT.

Oddly missing was a designated candidate in the 26th District in western New York, a closely-contested battle between Republican incumbent Thomas M. Reynolds and Democratic businessman Jack Davis, who lost to Mr. Reynolds by 12 points in 2004. The race is often cited by pundits as one that, while not a key battleground, could swing to the challenger in the event of a Democratic sweep.

Strange Bedfellows

Mr. Reynolds would seem an unlikely choice to avoid NYSUT's bull's-eye, let alone earn its support. Earlier this year, he voted to cut roughly $40 billion from the Federal budget for student loan programs, while supporting Federal funding for charter schools. He's consistently supported President Bush's tax cuts and the war in Iraq, positions that are anathema to much of NYSUT's membership.

In contrast, Mr. Davis "does support [NYSUT's] stances on education," according to his campaign manager, John Gerkin.

"No Child Left Behind has been a miserable failure," Mr. Gerkin said, referring to Mr. Bush's signature piece of education legislation, which Mr. Reynolds voted for and NYSUT opposed. "To really reform education, you can't just take money out of something failing just to put into something unproven, such as charter schools."

Mr. Gerkin said that his focus had been on securing the Independence Party line, which Mr. Davis did in the Sept. 12 primary. When he reached out to NYSUT following a phone call from a reporter at this newspaper, he said, "They're interested in providing support, with phones or [in] other areas."

'Fell Through Cracks'

He said he wasn't certain how the two sides hadn't come together, noting that when NYSUT made endorsement decisions, he wasn't yet running Mr. Davis's campaign. "It basically fell through the cracks," Mr. Gerkin said. "I don't know if it was on our end or their end."

NYSUT officials did not return repeated calls seeking comment.

Mr. Davis was endorsed by many other labor groups, including the Communications Workers of America, the Civil Service Employees' Association, and the State AFL-CIO.

"Each of the unions we represent is autonomous," Mario Cilento, a spokesman for the State AFL-CIO, said in a Sept. 14 phone interview. "It's at their discretion. It's well within their rights to take any action as they see fit."

Mr. Reynolds had raised $2,954,945 as of Aug. 23, and had $2,844,527 on hand. Mr. Davis, who spent $1.2 million of his own money on the 2004 race, has pledged to spend more than $2 million this time around. The district is made up of portions of Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming counties.