Updated: 8/12/20 - 7:50 P.M.
BINGHAMTON, NY (WSKG) — Former Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) visited Binghamton Wednesday to blast Spectrum and Rep. Anthony Brindisi (D-NY).
Brindisi represents New York’s 22nd Congressional district, which covers several counties in the Southern Tier, Central New York, and the Mohawk Valley. He’s in his first term after unseating Tenney in 2018.
Brindisi has criticized Spectrum's business practices, but Tenney said Brindisi has failed to make any real changes and has allowed Spectrum to act as a monopoly.
"There are other municipal governments, there’s some smaller players out there who have been blocked out by Spectrum’s monopoly because they can’t afford to get in," Tenney said. "Give them an opportunity to provide us with the service that we need."
Tenney pointed to the merger between Spectrum and Time Warner Cable in 2016 and said she will call on the FCC to investigate Spectrum as a monopoly.
In response to Tenney's assertions, Brindisi’s campaign listed several pieces of legislation where it said the Democrat did go after Spectrum and claimed Tenney should’ve done more when she was in office.
About a dozen people stood directly across from Tenney holding signs with messages against her.
"We came out because there’s no way in God’s good Earth Claudia Tenney should be returned to Congress," said Carol Howell, one of the protestors, who has been active in Broome County Democratic politics.*
The crowd called after Tenney as she ended her news conference. She did not to answer their questions.**
*This story has been updated to offer more context into Howell's relationship with Broome County Democratic politics.
**The headline of this story initially referred to the group protesting Tenney as "constituents". It's been replaced with "protestors" to better reflect the people at the event.