HOPKINS: Was vote fueled by anger?

It’s not even 24 hours (at this writing) since the polls closed, and I’m still a little surprised by some of the results from Tuesday’s general election. The biggest surprise for me was Kevin Hardwick’s 22-point margin of victory over Michele Iannello in the 10th district of the Erie County Legislature. But to hear Hardwick explain it, perhaps it’s not such a surprise after all.

People are angry. They don’t like the dysfunction they see in County Hall and in Albany. Since there’s a year before they can vent their frustrations on Albany’s cesspool, they turned their attention on the legislature.

Whether it’s all merited is another thing. Michele Iannello appeared to serve her district well. As we mentioned in our endorsement of her, Iannello was a champion of the Clean Air Coalition well before the group brought much-needed attention to their plight. Her ability to help them enter the spotlight shows she can get things done.

Yet, people are angry with government and they voted change in the 10th district. Hardwick shared this story with me Tuesday night, which illustrates voter dissatisfaction:

He was doing some door-to-door campaigning in the town last week, targeting Democrats who vote in odd-year elections such as this. He ended up at the home of a registered Democrat, but instead talked to the man’s Republican wife. The woman has a strong track record of voting every year.

“She threw up her hands and said she’s not voting this year,” Hardwick said. “This is not a woman who doesn’t care, her voting record shows she does. She gave up on the system.”

Whether the woman came around and voted, I don’t know. But the point remains that there are a lot of people out there dissatisfied with their government.

There have been some real petty battles in the legislature over the years. Iannello’s feuds with County Executive Chris Collins comes to mind, and that goes both ways. Still, perhaps this was retaliation by the voters. Hardwick said he hopes to help end the bickering, adding the legislature needs to “behave like adults.”

He seems to have a point. Take a look at some of the other races.

Tom Loughran got all he could handle from Shelly Schratz, narrowly escaping with a victory in the 14th district. He may have held on because Schratz could be viewed as too controversial, based on some of the battles that have occurred on the Amherst Town Board, of which she is a member. Loughran, the man who is blamed for thwarting a legislature downsizing measure, would be wise to take notice.

In the 5th district, where 16,000 Republicans outnumber Democrats by only about 900, it would seem that Republican Dino Fudoli winning with 45 percent of the vote benefited by the 20 percent who voted for Kathy Konst on the Independence line. The Democrat candidate clearly was hurt by people who didn’t want to vote for her and instead cast their votes for Konst, who technically wasn’t in the running but wasn’t removed from the ballot.

Then there’s the 12th district where the combined enrollment of Democrats and Republicans gives the edge to Democrats, 55-45 percent, yet incumbent Democrat Bob Reynolds lost to challenger Lynne Dixon by a 60-40 percent margin. A former television reporter, Dixon’s name recognition likely didn’t hurt her, but she still had to overcome a district where the numbers suggest it’s a safe haven for Democrats.

The Democrats continued their dominance in the 8th District, where Tom Mazur won with 60 percent of the vote, but even that race is a little telling. There are 20,635 registered Democrats to 8,834 registered Republicans, a 7 to 3 ratio, yet the numbers suggest people in Cheektowaga and Lancaster aren’t happy with county government or their representative. Imagine what Mazur’s opponent could have done with some real finances for his campaign.

Perhaps it’s over-simplifying by looking at raw numbers, but there also seems to be a little truth in them as well. Yes, people are angry and Tuesday may have been a warning shot for our “representatives” in Albany and Washington as they prepare for November 2010.

John Hopkins is the night city editor of the Tonawanda News. His column appears Thursdays. Contact him at john.hopkins@tonawanda-news.com.