Dear Friends,

To me, it goes way beyond the fact that Jonathan Smith's campaign for Assemblymember for the 102nd Assembly district has been strongly endorsed by the Hyde Park, LaGrange, and Fishkill Dem Committees...

Frankly, perhaps it means more to my decision on this matter that quite a few of the long-time progressive Dems that I've worked with in Dutchess for well over a decade have chosen to strongly endorse Jonathan as well.

I need to be able to look myself in the mirror on this-- and I need to be able to look myself in the eye...

Listen-- Gary L. is not a bad guy-- and again-- if he wins the primary (assuming there might be one), I will bend over backwards to slave to help him to defeat Mr. Miller in Nov. (as I've done consistently since '94)...I've told Gary this...

I submit to you all, however, that I've known and respected Jonathan Smith's political work here in the county for many years now-- and to his credit, Jonathan has run a clean, open, honest campaign on the issues, free of sniping...(unfortunately, Jonathan has already been unfairly savaged in this campaign by fellow Dems-- why?...with all due respect, folks, there is no excuse for this, friends-- none-- we deserve better-- not someone who will feed red meat to Miller and his supporters to chow down on)...

More to the point-- Jonathan is indubitably the true progressive voice in this campaign and has been dedicated to community activism his entire life, fighting for the issues that you and I care about.  He's worked on numerous local and national campaigns and is the only candidate in this race with the hands-on experience to beat Joel Miller in the fall. He has worked on the staff of the great progressive Doris Kelly's campaign for Congress in 2004 and as Coordinator of Volunteers for John Hall in 2006. He was campaign manager for Pompey Delafield's re-election victory for Supervisor of Hyde Park. He has also worked on several presidential campaigns...

Jonathan's been active in the community, fighting for innovative solutions to the challenges we face. He is Chairman of the Hyde Park Visual Environment Committee,  sits on the town's Economic Development Committee, and has fought against threats to the environment as a founding member of Stop the Sprawl. He sits on the Board of Assessment Review where he has worked on the property tax crisis...

Not only does Jonathan have the integrity and work ethic to be the best representative for us in Albany, but he has built a campaign that has the momentum and the resources to win.  His fundraising efforts have been phenomenal and in the last quarter his campaign had the second strongest fundraising result in the state. His campaign team consists of numerous John Hall veterans including Amy Little and Jonathan Wright...

Having run against Joel Miller twice (ok-- I know-- unsuccessfully), I think I know (tho I could be wrong) what it will take to beat him and Jonathan is the candidate who can do it. Jonathan is the progressive choice for Assembly in this election and I am proud to add my name to the large and growing list of local and regional supporters.

I hope you will give him your support as well-- help send someone to Albany who will truly represent us and our core progressive Dem values, folks-- help Jonathan @ http://www.SmithforAssembly.com !...

[contact him directly at 889-4440 or info@smithforassembly.com; see for yourself what I'm talking about]

Joel Tyner
Dutchess County Legislator, Towns of Clinton and Rhinbeck
489-5479
876-2488