Erie County’s Legislature was in a tizzy at its June 5 meeting, a response to a last second letter from Control Board Chairman Anthony Baynes.
The letter had asked them to reconsider letting County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz’s office borrow about $100 million in loans to close temporary gaps in the budget. With a lower bond rating, the control board could get the loans at a cheaper rate, Baynes argued.
The problem, both to Poloncarz and lawmakers, was that if the control board was unable to get the loans quickly enough, the county would literally run out of money — for its operations, for its payroll and for its numerous vendors who have contracts to provide services — at the end of June.
The control board relented on Friday, approving the loans at a meeting at the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library auditorium.
“The Erie County Legislature has previously approved similar revenue anticipation notes to meet costs from mandated social service programs when the state and federal governments have not reimbursed the county in a timely fashion,” said Legislature Chairwoman Lynn Marinelli, D-Town of Tonawanda. “We appreciate the (control board) taking action to allow Erie County to continue offering services and to operate these vital programs for our community.”
The Western New York region of the Empire State Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors announced its county endorsements a little more than a week ago. They are Chris Collins for county executive, incumbents Michael Ranzenhofer in the fourth district, John Mills for the 13th district, Kathy Konst for the fifth district, Cynthia Locklear in the ninth district, newcomers Ed Rath for the 15th district and Bradley Rowles in the 14th district. All are Republicans except Konst and Locklear, who are the two legislature Democrats most likely to side with Republicans.
“Our regional members are interested in endorsing candidates that have a vision and the leadership for our region and moving forward an agenda that will benefit everyone in our community, not just the special interests,” Scott Zylka, ABC’s Government Affairs Director said.
The Legislature’s Economic Development Committee, under its chairman, Tim Kennedy , D-South Buffalo, plans to propose “green” laws at its meeting Thursday morning. Lackawanna Mayor Norman Polanski Jr. will discuss the “Steel Winds” windmill farm. Local environmentalist Bill Nowak and members of the Steelworkers Union Local 17 and 6, will discuss their work on the windmill farm. Members of the Working Families Party will address initiatives that encourage “green energy.”
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At a bingo hall somewhere in South Buffalo Tuesday night, a little old lady was approached by the 77-year former mayor of Buffalo and asked to pen her name on a list attached to a clipboard.
Yes, Jimmy Griffin has changed his mind again, and plans to run for Erie County executive in the November elections. He answered his phone slightly out of breath on Tuesday afternoon — but then, if he had truly just collected 114 signatures in one morning like he said, that’s hardly a surprise.
He said he had arrived at the McKinley Mall at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday — the first day in his drive to collect the 2,000 signatures needed to appear on ballot in September’s Democratic primary — and was slightly disappointed by the sparse crowd.
“They said Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are better than Thursday and Friday,” he said. The mall was the first of six stops he was planning to make that day, including a number of Buffalo spots he referred to as his “stomping grounds.”
Griffin first announced he would run for county executive in late-December, but promptly pulled out in April. Now he says he is running to prove you don’t need a fortune to run for office. The two major names for Democrats, West Seneca Supervisor Paul Clark and former deputy county executive Jim Keane, had raised $451,605 and $101,619, respectively, by January. It would surprise nobody if they’re both around $1 million when the state campaign disclosure reports are filed in July.
The campaign headquarters for Griffin will be chosen in about a week, and he will have a small group of people working for him, he said. He plans to hold one $20-per-plate fundraiser. He says big contributions from department heads are trouble.
Griffin also gets a little hot under the collar when asked whether he’s truly running to win. No matter what his intentions are, his presence in the primary could hurt Keane, who shares Griffin’s South Buffalo base. Keane was Dennis Gorski’s second-in-command for many years, and was there in 1991 when Gorski beat Griffin for the county executive spot. When Griffin formally dropped out of the race in April, he said he supported Clark to win the race.
Some of Griffin’s stances might truly resonate with Erie County voters. He wants to run the county “like a business,” a line commonly used by Republican Chairman James Domalgaski. He also wants to merge all of Erie County’s industrial development agencies and then downsize them. He says initiatives such as keeping track of travel compensation for county employees could save the county a truckload.
“As mayor, the first thing I did was take back all the cars department heads had and then took a look at who really needed them,” he said. “No commissioner except for the police and fire chief got a job (car) when I was mayor. And the other guys and women, we’d take them down to the auto pound and pick out a car that was confiscated and abandoned, and they’d pick out a car and we’d fix it up.
“It’s amazing how you save money.”
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By January 2007, Amherst Councilman Bill O’Loughlin reported a considerable amount of money, $132,919, in his campaign war chest and was making no secret that he was keen on the Republican line in the November 2007 county executive elections.
Meanwhile, Deputy County Clerk Kathy Hochul was eyeing the clerks top spot in those same elections amidst rumors that her recently elected boss, David Swarts, planned to run for county executive or was headed to Albany to work for Gov. Eliot Spitzer. At the time, Hochul reported $112,128.
Welcome to June.
Swarts is the state DMV commissioner, and O’Loughlin and Hochul are preparing to square off in an extremely well-financed campaign for county clerk.
The Republicans fell through for O’Loughlin (instead endorsing businessman Chris Collins), and then they came through for him. Last Saturday, he became the endorsed candidate for county clerk. Hochul is currently serving as interim clerk.
The county’s Republican Committee also recently endorsed Molly Gondek Musarra for Erie County Court judge. Musarra has served as the Deputy District Attorney for Felony Prosecutions in the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, a position she’s held since 2003.
Legislator Barbara Miller-Williams, D-Buffalo, announced Thursday that she’s posted her biography on her Web site in both English and Spanish, the first legislator to do that.
Miller-Williams said the decision was based on the diverse population in her third district.
“There is a substantial number of Latino and Hispanic residents I represent that can now take advantage of the information included in my biography,” she said.
Miller-Williams is finishing out the term of George Holt, who was booted from the legislature after he pled guilty to not reporting sales tax from his Buffalo restaurant.
Joel Feroleto , who has vowed to challenge Legislature Chairperson Lynn Marinelli, D-Town of Tonawanda, in a September primary, recently made his public view known on the controversial sale of Erie County’s delinquent tax liens to a New Jersey-based company, Xspand. The county’s control board effectively shot down the sale by banning the sale of the more lucrative, more recent liens.
The bid process should have been more open, Feroleto said. And stricter standards, such as setting up in-county offices, should have been placed on Xspand.
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In the absence any meaty county issues this week, we decided to check in with the Memorial Day activities of our local legislators.
Legislature Chairperson Lynn Marinelli, D-Town of Tonawanda, Michele Iannello, D-Kenmore, and Tom Loughran, D-Amherst, were all at the Firemen’s Memorial Service, which began at 8:30 a.m. Monday in the Town of Tonawanda.
“There were about nine different fire companies represented,” Marinelli said. “They read the names of those who passed away. It was very nicely done.”
From there, the three marched in the town’s Memorial Day Parade. Iannello, who had her own vehicle and signs, said she shook hands all the way down.
Marinelli said Memorial Day symbolizes a change in the political season.
“I’m ready to get the summertime under way and go out there and do the door to door like I do every year,” she said.
Earlier in the week, Iannello held a mandated public hearing on the local law she authored at the Kenmore Municipal Building. About 20 people, including Marinelli and Robert Reynolds Jr., D-Hamburg, were in attendance.
The law is Iannello’s response to County Executive Joel Giambra’s appointment of former Budget Director Joseph Passafiume to a county position for $1,000 per month. If passed, it will give the Legislature power to decrease or delete items and expenditures and allow for cancellation of contracts from the county budget after Feb. 1.
It will likely come up for a vote at the June 7 Legislature meeting. Sources say Giambra plans to sign the bill.
A free-of-charge recycling event will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, at the GM Powertrain Plant on Vulcan Street in the Town of Tonawanda. Computer systems and accessories, audio speakers, cell phones, fax machines, wires, copiers, video games, VCRs, DVD players, fluorescent bulbs and ballasts and rechargeable batteries will be accepted.
“I appreciate the efforts of GM Powertrain and the solid waste management boards for working with the (county’s) Department of Environment and Planning to offer our residents this opportunity to properly dispose of unwanted items,” Giambra said in a release.
For more information, call the county’s recycling hotline at 858-6996 or e-mail recycle@erie.gov.
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Bradley Rowles Jr., son of longtime Town of Tonawanda Highway Superintendent Brad Rowles, was officially endorsed by the Erie County Republican Committee on Monday for the 14th District County Legislature seat. The 14th covers parts of the Town of Tonawanda, Amherst and Cheektowaga. He’ll run against one-term incumbent Tom Loughran.
“I know that with the right leadership, Erie County can again become a vibrant and prosperous community,” Rowles Jr. said in a release.
Rowles Jr. is a lifelong resident of the town, and graduated from the Sweet Home School District in 1998 and Buffalo State College in 2003.
Democrat Joel Feroleto officially announced his candidacy Saturday for the 11th District seat, currently held by Chairperson Lynn Marinelli, D-Town of Tonawanda. The 11th District covers the Town of Tonawanda and parts of North Buffalo. Feroleto graduated from St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute in 2000 and got his bachelor’s from Canisius College in 2004, where he’s finishing up a master’s degree.
Feroleto, a north Buffalo resident, faces an uphill battle in the September primary against Marinelli, a 10-year incumbent who has close ties to the county Democratic Committee leadership. He’s been attending the bi-weekly regular Legislature meetings.
The announcement was made at a north Buffalo restaurant to a crowd of more than 50 people, Feroleto said. He has a $99 per person fundraiser on Thursday, and a $25 per person fundraiser on May 31.
Anne E. Martin was appointed director of the county’s Probation Office on Thursday. If approved by the Legislature, she’ll make $101,957. Martin replaces George Alexander, who was appointed chairman of the state Board of Parole and Chief Executive Officer of the New York State Division of Parole in January by Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
Previously, Martin served as deputy director of the county’s Probation Office.
Thursday’s Legislature meeting was about more than just the final approval of the extra 0.75 percent sales tax. County lawmakers also unanimously approved a study for the possibility of a prescription drug discount card program for uninsured and underinsured residents. The study will be conducted by the Legislature’s Health Committee.
“Rising prescription drug costs can be a prohibitive barrier to uninsured and underinsured people in managing their medical needs, and it is estimated that between six to 12 percent of New York state residents are uninsured or underinsured,” Cynthia Locklear, D-West Seneca, said in a release.
Locklear chairs the Health Committee.
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James P. Keane sewed up two minor party lines Saturday, gaining the support of the Conservative and Working Family parties. That means three lines on the November ticket for Keane in his bid for county executive, unless he loses the September Democratic primary challenge against West Seneca Supervisor Paul Clark.
If Keane wins in September, he will provide a stiff challenge for endorsed Republican candidate Chris Collins in November. Democrats already hold a 126,702 registered voter advantage in Erie County over Republicans. There are 12,632 Conservatives and 2,143 Working Families registered voters.
“The combination of my strong financial and governmental management experience convinced the Conservative Party I can put Erie County on the sound fiscal footing taxpayers deserve,” Keane said.
He previously served as deputy county executive under Dennis Gorski.
The field for county executive became a little more clear this week when Amherst Councilman Bill O’Loughlin renounced his bid for the seat and said he would instead pursue the county clerk job. O’Loughlin previously had said he would challenge any endorsed Republican candidate in a September primary.
A release from the Erie County Executive Committee said its chairman, Jim Domalgaski, will call for the party’s Executive Committee to endorse O’Loughlin for clerk in the near future.
“Bill’s county clerk candidacy compliments my promise to Erie County taxpayers to run highly accomplished business professionals to help give taxpayers a choice in November between new leadership or status-quo politicians,” Domalgaski said. “My support of Bill’s clerk candidacy also prevents a Republican primary for county executive. Bill fully supports Chris Collins for county executive and he will not face Republican opposition in the clerk’s race.”
A public hearing on the law submitted by Legislator Michele Iannello, D-Kenmore, will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Kenmore Municipal Building at 2919 Delaware Ave., Kenmore.
The law will give the Legislature power to decrease or delete items and expenditures and allow for cancellation of contracts from the county budget after Feb. 1. It came on the heels of County Executive Joel Giambra’s appointment of Joel Passafiume to a county position for $1,000 a month, which neither the Legislature nor county control board could stop.
Passafiume was budget director during the county’s 2005 fiscal crisis.
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Erie County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz will not be Erie County’s next top officer, despite pressure from high-level public and private sector officials.
Poloncarz, who beat Republican John Canavan for the comptroller seat in November 2005, seemed to fit the “fresh face” bill so coveted in this year’s race. The Republicans found one in area businessman and entrepreneur Chris Collins.
“I have decided not to enter the race for county executive, and will remain county comptroller,” Poloncarz said in a statement. “Upon taking office 16 months ago, my goal was to restore integrity and responsible leadership to Erie County Hall and fiscal discipline to Erie County. While we still have much work to do, I believe that we have made significant strides toward that goal.”
That leaves two top contenders who hail from the southtowns, West Seneca Supervisor Paul Clark and former Deputy County Executive Jim Keane, along with Legislature Chairperson Lynn Marinelli, D-Town of Tonawanda, and Amherst Town Board Member Dan Ward, vying for the Democratic nod.
Democratic Committee Chairman Len Lenihan has said he will endorse a candidate by late April. Politicswny.com reported Lenihan will endorse Keane.
Speaking of candidates for county executive, Collins unleashed his new campaign Web site Monday.
“My Web site is the first step in communicating with voters about my plans to reform county government, rebuild our area’s economy and reduce taxes in order to make Erie County a better place,” he said.
Collins may seem like a fresh face, but he isn’t that fresh. He lost a 1998 campaign for U.S. Congress to Democrat John LaFalce.
Tuesday was the Erie County Pay Equity Day for Women, as approved at the April 19 Legislature session. The resolution urges pay equity for women as compared to men, and says that overall, women are only paid 77 percent as much as men.
The resolution was presented to members of the Buffalo/Amherst Professional and Business Women group by Marinelli.
Contact reporter Dan Miner at 693-1000 ext. 114
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