Victor Furman
Upstate New York Landowner, Shale Gas Activist

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Vic Furman is the sort of fellow who never goes away. He never quits. Vic Furman knows the most important rule of public life; persistence is the key to it all.

That was my campaign start up slogan in New York race for the Assembly and those who know me know its true. I have had many people call me and say they were sorry I lost, that they voted for me. Many called and said that they couldn’t travel to vote and did not get a notice that the polling places where they voted were closed until the Saturday before election when it was too late to obtain an absentee ballot.

There was, also, only one polling place open in Chenango County which consisted of 899 square miles and that was in Joe Angelino’s backyard, not mine. In Otego County, there was only one polling place open in 1,003 square miles. People were not going to buy a tank of gas to drive across either county to vote for Vic Furman or anyone else amid COVID-19 and lost jobs.

Those were problems, but there was another much bigger reason I lost and it causes me to repeat my campaign promise; “I Won’t Quit Until We Win.”

I wasn’t running against Joe Angelino who looks like the winner at this point. I was running against incumbent Cliff Crouch and Senator Fred Akshar who supported and quite possibly spent more money on postcard mailings, TV and radio ads, as well as robo calls, then Angelino himself spent. I was outspent by them 10-1 and had more signs tossed into ditches or stolen then any other candidate in the race. No matter the outcome, it was not in our favor, and I will have to try again but here is a fact about the campaign issues you need to know.

Not unlike Senator Fred Akshar who first ran with the endorsement of the Joint Landowners Coalition in favor of natural gas development in New York,  Angelino,  in the only introductory event we attended together stated he was in favor of drilling.  However, Angelino made no mention of drilling in his victory lap! One is left wondering if he will emulate Fred Akshar who won favor with the antis by spearheading changing a “Yes” vote to a “No” vote in the Town of Fenton. When Akshar came out against National Advantage’s natural gas transfer station, he was  chasing away over 200 high paying jobs and much needed gas for the northeast.

Yes, after Senator Akshar saw multiple yard signs in Fenton he feared the lost of votes and failed to stand up to the fear and lies, as I see it. I mean why else would you kill jobs and business growth unless you feared losing your own? That’s not representation that’s cowardice and self preservation! Shortly after the Fenton Board reversed its favorable decision on NG-Advantages I ran into Cliff Crouch at the Spiedie Fest in Otsiningo Park bringing up the subject and Cliffs exact words to me were this: “Akshar’s new, he should not have said a f’ing thing… He should have kept his mouth shut.”

Angelino, if you looked at his campaign website, addressed no big issues, definitely not natural gas! Basically, in fact. he ran only on his status as a veteran and being a public servant, which is a status we share. Should he win in November, and I hope he does, because even an issue-dead Republican is a better bet then the alternative in this day and age. But, because Angelino made no promises, he is unaccountable to the voters, and only owes his handlers. He did not campaign as much for the Assembly position as Akshar and Crouch did for him.

If you are among those who suppose I lost should, don’t believe it. I said “I wont quit until we win,” and I meant it! I am already working on 2022!

I also look at the primary race as just a positive first step into politics. Unlike so many other politicians, I ran a very clean race. Unlike Angelino, I thanked him for his service even as he failed to recognize my own.

I listed my issues and talked about solutions, I made national news for exposing rotten pay raises that should have been stopped by Crouch who sat there in a position to do something about them, but knowing he would benefit from them. More Importantly, I met some fine people, made new friends and I can hold my head high. For those of you who supported me, let me just say “Thank You.”

The saddest thing about to come down the pike is this; in his 2021 budget address by Cuomo will be announcing a law permanently banning gas drilling in New York. Akshar along with the other cowardly Republicans in office, and about to start,  won’t do a damn thing about it, and their excuse is will, yet again, be that they are in the super minority. So what?

Had Vic Furman been elected, you would have had a loud and unyielding voice to speak on behalf of natural gas, because I would have had to answer to you. I am unafraid and owe nothing to party politics. And, I don’t need the job, the money, the prestige or anything else. I am who I have always been, a vocal representative of the people who never fears to speak for us.

See you soon and Thank You once again!