COOPERSTOWN _ Alexander ``Sandy'' Treadwell says he can recapture New York's 20th Congressional District seat this year for the Republican Party.
The seat is held by first-term Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand of Hudson, who defeated incumbent Republican John Sweeney two years ago.
``There are about 80,000 more Republicans than Democrats in the district, and it's good that I'm running in a presidential election year,'' said Treadwell, who was in Cooperstown on Monday. ``That should bring the voters out.
``I believe John McCain will do very well in the 20th District, and that can only help me,'' he said while having a piece of apple pie at the Doubleday Cafe in Cooperstown.
Treadwell, 61, is Jane Forbes Clark's cousin and knows the village well. As a boy, he summered here, playing with his cousins, sometimes collecting autographs from baseball players who came to visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame, which Clark now chairs.
After college, he became a writer for Sports Illustrated, and he is vice president of the charitable Clark Foundation, based in Cooperstown and New York City.
A former New York State secretary of state and state GOP chairman, Treadwell is one of three Republicans running against Gillibrand.
The other two, retired state trooper and real-estate broker John Wallace and retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Michael Rocque, have limited accrued campaign cash.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, at the end of March, Rocque's campaign had $52,268 on hand and Wallace's campaign, $3,572.
By comparison, Treadwell's campaign had raised $1,681,034, including $948,759 from the candidate himself, and had $928,931 in the till.
And Treadwell, grandson of Joseph Ord, a founding executive of General Electric Corp., doesn't rule out making more donations, although he said he spends hours on the phone and raising money elsewhere.
``More than 700 people have contributed, and we will have enough money to be competitive,'' he said.
Being financially competitive against Gillibrand, 41, one of Congress's most prolific fundraisers, will take some doing. According to the Center, Gillibrand's campaign had raised $3,165,043 this election cycle, none from herself, and had $2,474,445 on hand as of March 31.
Treadwell, who lives in Lake Placid and has a farm in Essex County, said he is running because he loves public service.
``It's a great way to spend your time,'' he said. ``I'd be only one of 435 members, but I would have some time to contribute representing the people of this district.''
The most-pressing issue of the day is the economy, said Treadwell, who believes that Republican presidential candidate John McCain's call for a suspension of the 18-cent federal tax on gasoline is ``an excellent proposal to help people who are struggling with high prices, especially of gasoline.''
Treadwell said he believes the U.S. economy is in trouble, partly, because the federal government spends too much money. ``The spending is out of control, really.''
However, money spent on the war in Iraq is necessary, he said.
``Mistakes were made early on in this war, but I don't think we can walk away from Iraq,'' he said. ``The `surge' is clearly working and we have to give it more time. We have to have a secure Iraq.''
Another issue for some voters is the cost of health care, he noted, adding that private enterprise is the best bet for lowering costs.
``We don't need a single-payer system,'' he said.
Whatever reforms are made to the American health-care system, ``the government shouldn't run it,'' he said. ``The more choices people have, the better off they'll be.''
If Treadwell, endorsed by every GOP chairman in the 10-county district, wins the GOP primary in September, voters will have distinct candidates to choose from in November.
Gillibrand, a member of the House Armed Services and Agriculture committees, said in an e-mail to The Daily Star that while the "surge" of troops in Iraq had quelled some violent areas, it ``has not produced the political reconciliation among the Iraqi sectarian groups that was the goal and promise of the administration.
``As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I visited Iraq last year to meet with Iraqi and American government and military leaders," she wrote, "and it became clear that successfully combating terrorism and creating stability in Iraq cannot be achieved solely through military missions."
Gillibrand said she supports ``the staged redeployment of at least 80 percent of our troops out of Iraq over the next year or so, based on our military commander's judgments of a successful and safe redeployment, with a remainder of special operations forces staying in Iraq to continue and complete anti-terrorism missions against al Qaeda and other terrorist groups.''
On health-care reform, the incumbent also has a different perspective, noting that a record 47 million Americans have no health insurance.
``By adding a low-cost not-for-profit provider for people or businesses to buy into (such as a Medicare that anyone could buy into at something like 5 percent of their wages), prices will decrease and options will increase for families and businesses,'' she wrote.
On the economic front, Gillibrand said in the e-mail that Congress has passed a bipartisan economic stimulus package, although ``more must be done, and I am working to provide some immediate relief to record gas prices through reducing the federal gas tax and using American oil reserves to increase domestic supply to lower costs.''
In the long term, Gillibrand favors "supporting research and development tax credits, tax incentives and grants to producers and consumers of alternative renewable fuels, and new conservation technologies and products.''
The 20th Congressional District is home to 193,328 Republicans, 115,563 Democrats and 112,889 independents, according to the state Board of Elections.
