March 16, 2010

Dear Friend:

It gives me great pleasure to write to you today because today marks the official beginning of my campaign for the U.S. Senate.
As the outrage of the American people rises in response to the ever-mounting national debt and the excessive spending of the government, the need for financial and accounting expertise in government is urgent.  While our citizens continue to lose their jobs (or give up searching for one), it has become increasingly clear that very few members of Congress or the Obama administration have the knowledge or the courage to do something about our economic downward spiral.  
The sustainability of our State and of our great nation is at stake, and this is why I have chosen to run for the U.S. Senate.  As the only practicing CPA ever elected to the U.S. Congress, House or Senate, I believe that I have the expertise, the energy, and the commitment to help put New York and America back on the right track.  I was the original author of the CFO Act, which created a chief financial officer for every federal department and agency.  You won’t find a person who cares more about our nation’s fiscal crisis or who has spoken more about it.  I understand the problems that we face and have the professional background and commonsense answers to solve them.

As most of you know, I was a two-term member of Congress, representing Westchester County, from 1985 to 1989.  But not all of you know that, when I left Congress, I chose not to become a paid lobbyist as many an elected official has done.  Instead, I went back to work as a CPA/consultant on the boards of private and public companies, as well as founding the Albanian American Civic League (www.aacl.com), the only true voice for the Albanians in Washington, DC.

For the past two decades, I have traveled many times to the Albanian lands in the Balkans (Albania, Kosova, Macedonia, and Montenegro) and to many European capitals in support of the Albanian national cause. As you may recall, I was the first and only U.S. Congressman of Albanian ancestry elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and the first to bring the issue of Kosova to the Capitol Hill starting in 1986.The work that my wife Shirley and I have done with our Civic League has been essential to getting the United States support for Kosova’s liberation and freedom.  I understand, however, that without your continued support our work would not have been as successful, so I thank you for that.

My bid for the U.S. Senate, however, is not only important for Americans and the State of New York. It is important for Albanian Americans and Albanians in their homelands too.If America continues its pace of ever increasing national debt, its bankruptcy will be unavoidable. We do not want a bankrupt America. A bankrupt America is not the America you came to live in. A bankrupt America is not the America you dreamed of. Only a strong America can provide prosperity and security for you as Albanian Americans and all our citizens in general. Indeed, for Albanians, a strong America is an essential for their security and prosperity in the Balkans. We know that without a strong America the Albanians in the Balkans are left vulnerable to their adversaries. Therefore, we need and can keep a strong America. As a U.S. Senator, I can assure you that I will not allow our national debt to increase further thereby bringing America closer to collapse. Rather, I will do what needs to be done to keep America strong. And, I know what needs to be done. I predicted this crisis in my 1992 book Unaccountable Congress: It doesn’t add up. 

New Yorkers and Americans everywhere are hungry for someone who can bring real changes to Congress that we can all believe in.  Last month, Shirley and I retained the highly respected Glen Bolger of Public Opinion Strategies to conduct a poll of New York voters.  The poll showed that our message of fiscal reform and job creation is the right one at the right time for New York and for America. Voters’ first priorities are jobs and the economy, followed by taxes and health care.  They overwhelmingly reject a Congress that spends, taxes, mortgages our future by borrowing from foreign governments, and fails to act while our infrastructure crumbles and our job losses mount in the millions.  

The poll also produced some impressive results about my ability to defeat Kirsten Gillibrand (incumbent), which I want to share with you as Albanian-Americans —

• Kirsten Gillibrand is extremely vulnerable in the upcoming election both in visibility and image. Her “hard name” ID is only 57%, with a polarized image of 31% favorable and 26% unfavorable.

• Incredibly, when voters learn that Joe DioGuardi is a former two-term Congressman and a Certified Public Accountant with a track record of fighting for fiscal responsibility and accountability and working in a bipartisan manner, 73% of New York’s voters say that they would be likely to vote for him.

• The poll proves that Joe DioGuardi has the right message on key issues to win on Election Day.New York voters want a U.S. Senator who will act as a check and balance on one-party rule and call a halt to out-of-control government spending and the ever increasing national debt.

• Joe’s personal success story  (click here) is very significant in moving voters to support him on Election Day.He is the son of immigrants from an Albanian village of southern Italy who worked his way through college, became an accomplished professional, and dedicated many years before and after Congress to important causes as a citizen activist and volunteer.

I know that actions are stronger than words, and this is why I would ask you to reflect on my background, as summarized in this letter. I hope that you have not forgotten our many years of working together for the Albanian national cause and the success we have achieved. Above all, I hope that you will see that I have devoted my life to working hard in the best traditions of our country’s founders and have always remained true to my values.

There is no doubt in my mind that I can win this race, but to do so I need your early support.Our campaign is approaching an important deadline, March 31.  This is the date in which all candidates are required to file their contributions, and it’s an early indicator of the strength of my campaign. I need you as well as your friends and family to act now in support of a stronger America, because a stronger America means stronger Albanians. You can make history today. You can help elect the first person of Albanian ancestry to the U.S. Senate. Your family in the Albanian lands in the Balkans and your children here in America will all benefit from having Joe DioGuardi back in Washington.

Thank you,

Joseph J. DioGuardi

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