Category: Local Politics

Who's Ahead?

17 comments

The sole debate between former Higgins staffer Chris Fahey and Common Councilman Mickey Kearns took place yesterday in the Buffalo News’ newsroom. The two were questioned by veteran reporters Bob McCarthy and Brian Meyer, but the vast majority of the questions surrounded horse race crap. Why is Kearns running as a Republican? Fahey is Silver’s puppet! Kearns is Paladino’s puppet! Kearns has kids! By the way, did you know he has a wife and kids? Downstate Interests! Republicans! Sheldon Silver! 

Incidentally, a Democrat running as a Republican whose sole platform plank involves not voting for Sheldon Silver as Assembly Speaker is utterly useless. Seriously, if elected to the Assembly, Kearns will be able to hone his Sudoku skills and little else. (This is why we need a nonpartisan, unicameral legislature and a completely new Albany political structure, but that’s something for another time.)

Horse race inside baseball who’s up, who’s down crap is McCarthy’s specialty. He doesn’t seem to understand or care that the horse race is just the path to attaining and exercising some sort of political power. 

Discussion of actual issues was almost non-existent. The handful of people who watched this mid-day screw-you-no-SCREW-YOU brawl learned almost nothing about the candidates’ positions or platforms. 

This state has some problems. This region has some problems. What are your priorities to fix some of them, or at least ease them? Maybe next time someone ask that. 

Wednesday War ‘n Politics

15 comments

1. Congratulations to Mitt Romney, who won a couple of states in last night’s Super Tuesday. He appears to have become, at long last, the Republican’s nominee to take on Barack Obama in November. Santorum won a handful of states, and Gingrich won Georgia, which is enough to keep them around and just demolishing Romney day in and day out, but they don’t really have anywhere to go.

2. Incidentally, did you know that the Paladinoist / Palinist wing of the tea party club here in WNY held a Presidential straw poll of its own? Although Romney is very likely to win the New York primary, our plucky band of angry local wingnuts picked Rick Santorum.

3. The debate over what is to become with the Trico building is going to be the big development/preservation fight for the first half of this year. It’s already getting going, as an earlier post will attest. What’s unique about this particular battle is that most people agree that the Trico building is an historically significant landmark, and also that the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus is something that’s great for the community and the source of a great many good jobs, and of a knowledge-based future Buffalo industry. It’s going to be a tough battle because it’ll be particularly hard for anyone to demonize or belittle anyone else. It’s also yet another ad hoc battle that we’re so used to, which pits people against each other, creates loads of rancor, and is generally sad and discouraging, regardless of who wins. While I recognize the historic importance of Trico, and the importance of its former factory, I also recognize that Trico is long gone, headquartered in Michigan, and making blades in Brownsville and Matamoros. The building is, to me, subjectively hideous – an eyesore, and refurbishing a former factory – regardless of how historically important – into a medical research facility is impractical, and something the BNMC simply doesn’t want to do. They want a 21st century facility, not a 19th century facility. This is before we even get to the environmental cleanup that any adaptive reuse would entail. My sympathies default to people, jobs, and the future.

4. The Valenti/Brocuglio dynamic duo is back in / still in WNY, depending on whom we’re talking about, and their residential landlord got shafted at Eden court in her eviction effort. The former owners of Valenti’s restaurant have until the end of March to move out of their home, and Judge Zittel did not order a judgment for back rent dating to December.

5. I remember watching the Little Rascals after school when I was a kid, those little unsupervised, depression-era scamps were often tussling with the truant officer. Perhaps it’s time that school districts with big absentee problems revisit this idea.

6. There was a lot of hubbub yesterday about a map released by a special master appointed by a federal judge to try and resolve the ongoing fight over congressional redistricting in New York. Locally, the issue was the fact that both Brian Higgins and Kathy Hochul reside within the redrawn 27th district. Suffice it to say, the court’s map is not in any way final, but it will be the default map should the parties be unable to come to a separate agreement. It happens every time, and acts as a catalyst to move negotiations forward. What does seem likely, however, is that Louise Slaughter’s district will be re-drawn to return her influence to the Rochester area only, and out of the Buffalo metro. NYS Judicial Redistricting Maphttp://www.scribd.com/embeds/84287755/content?start_page=1&view_mode=list&access_key=key-1bal4g6s16asfdntsxsd

7. Ron Paul has won a whopping 47 delegates during this primary season. The margin of Romney’s lead over Santorum in the delegate race is more than 200 delegates. Why the hell is he still in the Presidential race?

8. In response to news that the government is looking to get rid of over 800 jobs at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve base, Republican Congressional candidate David Bellavia tweeted this:

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/DavidBellavia/status/177124836504645633″]

Well, not really. I received a press release that Schumer, Gillibrand, Hochul, Slaughter, and Higgins jointly released, reading as follows:

“We call on the Air Force to reverse this decision and to identify a new mission for the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station. As a united delegation, along with the support of Governor Cuomo, we will continue to fight to protect this base, the positions it supports, and the thousands of Western New Yorkers that rely on its services.

“The Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station is an essential part of our nation’s military force, and we will not rest in the effort to find a new mission.”

Furthermore, Republicans are usually very, very opposed to things like government stimulus of the economy and government employment vs. private sector employment. Somehow, those principles get thrown out the window whenever we’re talking about military spending. The truth is, the air base has a stimulative effect on the regional economy, and losing it diminish that. Also, it’s false to suggest that the local delegation isn’t working to keep that stimulus spending here.

9. Barack Obama is going to have an easy time running on his international affairs record, and sought yesterday to calm the rhetoric coming mostly from the right, agitating for a new war in the Persian Gulf, this time against Iran. Speaking of the unemployed Santorum, Gingrich, and Romney:

The president was withering in his retort. “Those folks don’t have a lot of responsibilities,” Mr. Obama said. “They’re not commander in chief. When I see the casualness with which some of these folks talk about war, I’m reminded of the costs involved in war” — for those who go into combat, for national security and for the economy. “This is not a game,” he added. “And there’s nothing casual about it.”

“If some of these folks think that it’s time to launch a war, they should say so, and they should explain to the American people exactly why they would do that and what the consequences would be,” he said.

We need another war like we need another 2008 global financial meltdown. But not to be outdone, Senator John McCain suggested that we ought to bomb Syria due to the political and humanitarian crisis being created by the fascist Assad regime’s brutal crackdown on a months-long popular uprising. It may soon become time for military intervention in Syria, as we took part in in Libya. However, this would need to be a multilateral effort, with the Arab League taking the lead in demanding the intervention. Efforts to do that through the UN Security Council were unsuccessful, due to China’s and Russia’s positions as the permanent member protectors of brutal authoritarian regimes, and the veto that goes with it.

10. Jim Heaney interviews former ECHDC / Sabres guy Larry Quinn, who has some choice words for the risible “lighter, faster, cheaper” method of planning for the inner harbor.

Wednesday War 'n Politics

15 comments

1. Congratulations to Mitt Romney, who won a couple of states in last night’s Super Tuesday. He appears to have become, at long last, the Republican’s nominee to take on Barack Obama in November. Santorum won a handful of states, and Gingrich won Georgia, which is enough to keep them around and just demolishing Romney day in and day out, but they don’t really have anywhere to go.

2. Incidentally, did you know that the Paladinoist / Palinist wing of the tea party club here in WNY held a Presidential straw poll of its own? Although Romney is very likely to win the New York primary, our plucky band of angry local wingnuts picked Rick Santorum.

3. The debate over what is to become with the Trico building is going to be the big development/preservation fight for the first half of this year. It’s already getting going, as an earlier post will attest. What’s unique about this particular battle is that most people agree that the Trico building is an historically significant landmark, and also that the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus is something that’s great for the community and the source of a great many good jobs, and of a knowledge-based future Buffalo industry. It’s going to be a tough battle because it’ll be particularly hard for anyone to demonize or belittle anyone else. It’s also yet another ad hoc battle that we’re so used to, which pits people against each other, creates loads of rancor, and is generally sad and discouraging, regardless of who wins. While I recognize the historic importance of Trico, and the importance of its former factory, I also recognize that Trico is long gone, headquartered in Michigan, and making blades in Brownsville and Matamoros. The building is, to me, subjectively hideous – an eyesore, and refurbishing a former factory – regardless of how historically important – into a medical research facility is impractical, and something the BNMC simply doesn’t want to do. They want a 21st century facility, not a 19th century facility. This is before we even get to the environmental cleanup that any adaptive reuse would entail. My sympathies default to people, jobs, and the future.

4. The Valenti/Brocuglio dynamic duo is back in / still in WNY, depending on whom we’re talking about, and their residential landlord got shafted at Eden court in her eviction effort. The former owners of Valenti’s restaurant have until the end of March to move out of their home, and Judge Zittel did not order a judgment for back rent dating to December.

5. I remember watching the Little Rascals after school when I was a kid, those little unsupervised, depression-era scamps were often tussling with the truant officer. Perhaps it’s time that school districts with big absentee problems revisit this idea.

6. There was a lot of hubbub yesterday about a map released by a special master appointed by a federal judge to try and resolve the ongoing fight over congressional redistricting in New York. Locally, the issue was the fact that both Brian Higgins and Kathy Hochul reside within the redrawn 27th district. Suffice it to say, the court’s map is not in any way final, but it will be the default map should the parties be unable to come to a separate agreement. It happens every time, and acts as a catalyst to move negotiations forward. What does seem likely, however, is that Louise Slaughter’s district will be re-drawn to return her influence to the Rochester area only, and out of the Buffalo metro. NYS Judicial Redistricting Map

7. Ron Paul has won a whopping 47 delegates during this primary season. The margin of Romney’s lead over Santorum in the delegate race is more than 200 delegates. Why the hell is he still in the Presidential race?

8. In response to news that the government is looking to get rid of over 800 jobs at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve base, Republican Congressional candidate David Bellavia tweeted this:

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/DavidBellavia/status/177124836504645633″]

Well, not really. I received a press release that Schumer, Gillibrand, Hochul, Slaughter, and Higgins jointly released, reading as follows:

“We call on the Air Force to reverse this decision and to identify a new mission for the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station. As a united delegation, along with the support of Governor Cuomo, we will continue to fight to protect this base, the positions it supports, and the thousands of Western New Yorkers that rely on its services.

“The Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station is an essential part of our nation’s military force, and we will not rest in the effort to find a new mission.”

Furthermore, Republicans are usually very, very opposed to things like government stimulus of the economy and government employment vs. private sector employment. Somehow, those principles get thrown out the window whenever we’re talking about military spending. The truth is, the air base has a stimulative effect on the regional economy, and losing it diminish that. Also, it’s false to suggest that the local delegation isn’t working to keep that stimulus spending here.

9. Barack Obama is going to have an easy time running on his international affairs record, and sought yesterday to calm the rhetoric coming mostly from the right, agitating for a new war in the Persian Gulf, this time against Iran. Speaking of the unemployed Santorum, Gingrich, and Romney:

The president was withering in his retort. “Those folks don’t have a lot of responsibilities,” Mr. Obama said. “They’re not commander in chief. When I see the casualness with which some of these folks talk about war, I’m reminded of the costs involved in war” — for those who go into combat, for national security and for the economy. “This is not a game,” he added. “And there’s nothing casual about it.”

“If some of these folks think that it’s time to launch a war, they should say so, and they should explain to the American people exactly why they would do that and what the consequences would be,” he said.

We need another war like we need another 2008 global financial meltdown. But not to be outdone, Senator John McCain suggested that we ought to bomb Syria due to the political and humanitarian crisis being created by the fascist Assad regime’s brutal crackdown on a months-long popular uprising. It may soon become time for military intervention in Syria, as we took part in in Libya. However, this would need to be a multilateral effort, with the Arab League taking the lead in demanding the intervention. Efforts to do that through the UN Security Council were unsuccessful, due to China’s and Russia’s positions as the permanent member protectors of brutal authoritarian regimes, and the veto that goes with it.

10. Jim Heaney interviews former ECHDC / Sabres guy Larry Quinn, who has some choice words for the risible “lighter, faster, cheaper” method of planning for the inner harbor.

Kearns Accused of Campaign Finance Illegality

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Chairwoman of the Tonawanda Democratic Committee Gayle Syposs has filed a formal complaint with the state Board of Election against nominal Republican Assembly candidate and Common Council member Mickey Kearns. 

In her complaint, Syposs makes the following allegations: 

Mr. Kearns is currently an elected member of the Buffalo Common Council. In pursuit of said office, Mr. Kearns maintains a campaign finance committee under the name of “Friends of Michael P. Kearns” (filer ID # C22901). 

 

In addition, Mr. Kearns is the Republican party candidate in the special election for the vacant 145th district seat in the New York State Assembly, scheduled for March 20. For that election, Mr. Kearns has established and maintains a campaign finance account under the name of “Kearns for Western New York” (filer ID # A86775). 

The following specific complaints are made under the sections of the New York State Election Law as detailed below:

  • Mr. Kearns’ campaign committee “Kearns for Western New York,” utilized for election to the New York State Assembly is in violation of Section 14-126 of the Election Law. To wit:
  • The campaign has accepted multiple contributions in excess of the legally prescribed limit for individual and corporate donations for the Special Election. 
    • In his 32 day pre-election campaign filing, the campaign reports that he has accepted no fewer than six contributions from corporate entities in the amount of $5,000.00 each. 
    • One corporation, Red Earth LLC, donated a total of $10,000 on February 3, 2012 – an amount $5,900 in excess of the legal limit.
    • The legal limit for such donations for this special election is $4,100.
    • Accordingly, the campaign has violated section 14-146(2) of the Election Law. 
    • Mr. Kearns has accepted no fewer than five $5,000.00 donations from corporate entities operating from two different business addresses. The acceptance of these donations constitutes a violation of the Election Law as detailed above, but also represents a violation of the spirit of the Election Law, which seeks limits to the amount of influence one corporate entity may have over the political process. The fact that corporate entities operating from one business address (PO Box 25, Gowanda, NY 14070) would contribute $15,000.00 to Mr. Kearns within 10 days’ time raises substantial concerns as to the propriety of such donations.
    • Following an investigation, the state of New York is entitled to seek administrative relief in the form of (i) refunds to the contributor of the amount contributed in overage; and (ii) investigation of the circumstances of the contribution for potential criminal prosecution in accordance with Section 14-126(4) of the Election Law.
  • Mr. Kearns’ campaign for election to the Buffalo Common Council in 2011 is in violation of Section 14-126 of the Election Law. To wit:
    • Candidates for public office in New York State that meet certain fundraising thresholds are required to file campaign finance reports with the New York State Board of Elections at regular intervals. As a candidate for public office on no fewer than three occasions, and as a candidate whose campaign committees have in the past filed reports with the state BOE, it is clear that Mr. Kearns is aware of the requirements of the Election Law with respect to campaign finance disclosure. 
    • In 2011, Mr. Kearns failed to file three (3) consecutive campaign finance disclosure reports with the New York State Board of Elections. These reports are:
      • 32-day pre-General Election report, due on or about October 6, 2011;
      • 11-day pre-General Election report, due on or about October 27, 2011;
      • 27-day post-General Election report, due on or about December 5, 2011.
    • Mr. Kearns’ 2011 campaign is in violation of Section 14-126(1) of the Election Law. Moreover, given that the violation occurred on three consecutive occasions, the campaign filer appears to be in violation of Section 14-126(3), and may thereby be guilty of a misdemeanor. 

Honorable Commissioners, the fair and open conduct of public elections is your charge, and is a responsibility you undoubtedly consider with a tremendous level of importance. Through both his actions and his lack of action, information contained within the New York State Board of Elections’ website for Filer IDs C22901 and A86775 demonstrate prima facie evidence of multiple violations of the Election Law on the part of Michael “Mickey” Kearns and his associated campaign committees. Because of the importance of the conduct of fair and open elections, I ask for the maximum level of civil and criminal relief provided by law. 

 

The election takes place on March 20th.

Acropoversy

62 comments

Yesterday, the Buffalo News wrote about the controversy surrounding the Acropolis; a “he said, she said” recitation of the two sides’ accusations against each other. If that was all you read and knew about the situation, you’d have no idea who was telling the truth, and who was lying, or who is being unreasonable.

By contrast, the Dining Rumor has a well-reasoned and persuasive take on the situation surrounding the expansion and playing of music at Acropolis.

“The question here is not about Paul’s character, or whether or not he runs a good business — the issue at hand is how the intended changes will adversely affect the Elmwood Village residential community.” This is the complaint, put as succinctly as possible, and it is this complaint alone that needs addressing. So, how does Paul’s quality of character or quality of business relate to the question of how a “new” Acropolis will affect Elmwood Village living conditions? DIRECTLY. The negative response from “Elmwood Villagers” is emotional, irrational, and just plain fearful if they are going to, as many of them do, concede the points that Paul is a) a man of character, integrity, and upstanding citizenship and b) that he runs a quality business. My question is — how does updating, renovating, increasing, or altering Acropolis’s business imply that Paul will attend to the new aspects of this business with any less quality or integrity than he attends to it in its current form? Will he be less conscientious? Will he care for it less as it grows? If Paul’s a good guy, and he runs a good business, how will the expansion change the acceptable manner in which he’s run his business to this point? Unless this is just lip service, to ease the criticisms of Paul’s business into people’s ears.

The neighbors’ complaints seem to be that Acropolis’ changes may lead to drunken people doing drunken things – something that didn’t happen when it was a postage stamp-sized diner. But, as Dining Rumor points out,

The complaint of drunken rabble, carousing down Elmwood Avenue due to a DJ event hosted by Acropolis is patently ABSURD. In the walkable three blocks of Elmwood on either side of West Ferry there are over a dozen establishments with liquor and late night hours. To say that Acropolis featuring a DJ or serving liquor poses a singular threat to peace, quiet, and clean lawns in the Elmwood Village is ridiculous. The Blue Monk churns out a college crowd hopped up on high octane beer…hipsters, twentysomethings, and thrill seekers rove the streets from Bullfeathers to Thirsty Buffalo to Faherty’s and back again…even Cecelia’s has played host to the occasional late night, out of control frat party. Why is Acropolis being singled out? The names of the owners of those other establishments don’t come up in a discussion of the behavior of their piss-drunk patrons; no one is giving them quite so much hell.

Chris will be writing more about the Acropoversy soon, but make no mistake – it is a parable; the very embodiment of every single thing that’s wrong not just with Buffalo and her government, but frankly with a very small, but very loud, self-important, and entitled minority of people who have anointed themselves as the protectors of some Elmwood fantasyland where peace and quiet reign in one of the most bustling parts of the city.

This is a combination of entrenched political ineptitude and corruption, of myriad regulations that average people are unable reasonably to navigate, of a fundamental difficulty in getting business done in town, and of dealing with people who think they have a right to dictate how a business can and should conduct itself.  You shouldn’t have to hold community meetings to expand your existing business onto an existing second floor. You shouldn’t have to apply for and obtain license after permit after license – many of which the city doesn’t make it clear you need. More importantly, you shouldn’t have to retain the services of a high-priced fixer to navigate the bundles of city red tape. (That’s literally how it’s done in third world countries.) But the real offense comes from people who object to a grown-up place catering to a grown-up clientele, serving booze and playing music in a city environment.  

The notion that the city and alleged “neighbors” are punishing Acropolis before a single noise complaint has been lodged is outrageous. And furthermore, if it’s peace and quiet you’re after, you live in the wrong place.  

Grisanti to Receive Endorsement of Other Horrible Transactional Fusion Party

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At 1:30 pm today, a press conference will be held in Buffalo to announce that the Independence Party, which is neither independent nor really any sort of political party with any firm ideology or platform aside from the personal ambitions of its leadership, will endorse Mark Grisanti for re-election. 

This comes quickly on the heels of the recent announcement that the Conservative Party, which is hardly conservative nor really any sort of political party with a firm and consistent set of policy positions except for a generalized abhorrence of gays, modern society, and taxes, will attempt to throw WNY under a massive bendy bus by endorsing reprehensible homophobic retread Chuck Swanick – star of the mid-last-decade county financial meltdown – in a deal cut with former Pedro Espada patronage hire Steve Pigeon.  With Espada’s indictment, Pigeon finds himself needing something more to do than just ally himself with Albany-based cults.  

Also, Swanick received the endorsement of the reactionary homophobic bigots at the improperly named “National Organization for Marriage“. 

If you want to stop how pitifully transactional our local politics have become, and begin cleaning things up; if you want to promote good policy and less patronage-laden dealmaking, abolish electoral fusion in New York State. 

Just Like Lincoln

6 comments

On Wednesday night, the Erie County Republican Party will be giving its “Lincoln Leadership Award” to former Attorney General and rumored Brian Higgins challenger Dennis Vacco. 

What exactly is it about Vacco that made the GOP associate him with – of all people – Abraham Lincoln?  When you think of Lincoln, you think of leading the nation through an existential constitutional crisis, a civil war, emancipation, abolition of Southern feudal estates,  and other pretty pivotal events that plotted the course of the United States into the modern world.  

 So what is it in Vacco’s past that makes the GOP consider him in the same breath with Lincoln?  Indulge me a poll: 

[polldaddy poll=5987539]

 

$50,000 fine for casino lobbying allegations.

Representation of Haggerty.

Mass firings at AG office.

Drawing out the 1998 AG election uncomfortably long, using NYPD to conduct door-to-door investigations.  

Columbo family scion claiming to have had a “hook” in Vacco’s office. 

Potential Failbug Infestation

9 comments

Chuck Swanick left office about 8 years ago, and when he did, everyone was sick of his careerist political transactionalism.

And his sweaters.

Endorsing Chuck Swanick is like endorsing genital warts. No one likes it, and it’s really dirty.

So, it only takes about 8 years to attempt a political comeback, complete with support from one of the most detestable, transactional, valueless minor fusion party bosses – all because Republican Mark Grisanti had the audacity to vote his conscience on same-sex marriage. Why Swanick – aside from the fact that he’s a political rehash who evokes vivid memories of only the most recent financial county meltdown? 

“Chuck Swanick is pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-Second Amendment and a fiscal conservative,” said Erie County Conservative Chairman Ralph C. Lorigo.

Peas in a pod of closed-minded hatred, sweatervests, pompadours, and failure.

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