Kanjorski taking heat for meeting
| The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority will hold a public meeting today, and U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski is scheduled to attend despite criticism from his political opponent and the Republican Party.
Republican Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta attacked Kanjorski last week for his planned presence at the FINRA meeting. FINRA is the leading non-governmental regulator of the U.S. securities industry and is hosting the free forum today starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Woodlands Inn & Resort, Plains Township. Nancy Condon, FINRA spokeswoman, said the forum will help Pennsylvania families make smart investment decisions in today’s economic environment. Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, is a leader on the House Financial Services Committee and chairman of the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises. He will provide an overview of congressional proposals to help protect investors and discuss the state of the broader economy. Condon said FINRA officials will share information on where to turn for objective guidance on investing and the actions FINRA is taking to educate and protect investors. Condon said Wednesday that more than 300 people have registered for the forum and reservations were still coming in. Tory Mazzola, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said Kanjorski should be scheduling public meetings with constituents instead of attending events like the FINRA forum. “Paul Kanjorski’s stubborn refusal to host any public town halls goes against the American values of representative democracy and open government, but this is the type of arrogance Northeastern Pennsylvanians are forced to deal with since their elected official won’t hold a meeting to simply explain why he supported a government takeover of health care, job-killing tax hikes and reckless spending,” Mazzola said. “His constituents have to live with these policies, but they are not provided with a voice in the process thanks to career politician Paul Kanjorski.” Ed Mitchell, spokesman for the Kanjorski campaign, said it was “ludicrous” for Barletta and the NRCC to attempt to politicize a nonpartisan forum sponsored by FINRA. He said the meeting will help senior citizens and others “to invest their savings wisely.” Kanjorski has not yet announced any town hall meetings, but has not ruled out holding some before the November general election. He has said he will conduct teleconference meetings with constituents, saying that he reaches far more people via telephone than at local public meetings. |