ERIE COUNTY BLOG: Candidates line up for Legislature
By Dan Miner/minerd@gnnewspaper.com
Several candidates running for Erie County Legislature in November, when all 15 seats are up for election, showed up at Thursday’s meeting.
Joel Feroleto, running against Legislature Chairperson Lynn Marinelli in the 11th district, was shaking hands and familiarizing himself with the Legislature’s business.
The North Buffalo resident says he decided to run on the Democratic ticket when Marinelli was making her now-ceased push for Erie County executive, but he isn’t intimidated by the 10-year incumbent.
“Voters deserve a choice,” he said.
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. He worked as a staff member for Antoine Thompson when the state senator was a Buffalo councilman. He says that though he doesn’t expect Thompson’s endorsement, it would be nice if he stayed neutral. He’s had already held one fundraiser, and called himself “very well-financed.”
Feroleto doesn’t expect the Democratic Committee’s endorsement. He plans to force a primary for the Democratic line in September.
His mother’s son
Ed Rath III, the son of Mary Lou Rath, was also in attendance. The Republican is running for the seat being vacated by Barry Weinstein, R-Williamsville, and has been endorsed by the county’s Republican Committee and Weinstein, virtually ensuring his victory. He says he’s running on three points — making county services more efficient, continuing to reform the county charter and reducing taxes.
“I’ve been within the 15th District talking to residents about issues that affect them,” he said.
Rath III said Brad Rowles Jr., son of the Town of Tonawanda Highway Superintendent of the same name, plans to challenge Tom Loughran for the 14th district seat, which touches on the Town of Tonawanda.
Konst appointed to adviser position
Marinelli appointed fellow Legislator Kathy Konst, D-Lancaster, open meetings adviser to the Legislature last week. The position was created when Erie County voters passed Proposition 1 last November. It makes Konst responsible for making sure Legislators follow open meetings laws.
“This is an important decision towards my reform agenda and I plan to work as hard as possible to honor this objective,” Konst said. “I consider myself a stickler when it comes to open meetings and operating under the law.”
A friendly wager
County Executive Joel Giambra recently bet Steven Brereton, Canadian Consulate General of Canada, chicken wings versus beaver tails on the upcoming Buffalo Sabres/Ottawa Senators playoff series. The two made the same bet last year, and Brereton served beaver tails on the 16th floor of the Rath Building after Buffalo won the series in five games.
Three previously strong contenders and one Jimmy Griffin are out of the way in the quest for the Democratic line in November’s Erie County Executive election.
How important is the that line? Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 299,562 to 172,860 in the county. (Coincidentally, there are 36 registered members of the Marijuana Party.) Add to that the political damage inflicted by Republican and current County Executive Joel Giambra’s widely-publicized travails, and it’s a tough environment for endorsed Republican candidate Chris Collins.
But Marinelli’s Monday announcement that she will not seek the seat paves the way for a bruising primary between West Seneca Supervisor Paul Clark and former Deputy County Executive under Dennis Gorski, Jim Keane.
Keane has the support of the Democratic Executive Committee, but Clark will easily gather enough signatures to force a Sept. 11 primary for the rights to the Democratic line.
GOP leaves county Dems to themselves
So are the Republicans licking their chops over a grisly primary battle?
“I wouldn’t say I’m optimistic or looking forward to a grisly anything,” said Republican Committee Chairman Jim Domalgaski. “The Democrats are going to have a primary between two long-time, old-style politicians. What I’m looking forward to is a real choice in November.”
Domalgaski drew a parallel between himself and his candidate Tuesday, speaking in familiar tones Tuesday about Collins’ strong record of saving jobs in Western New York and their backgrounds his business.
“If voters don’t choose that, then that’s what we deserve,” he said. “I’m not going to be jumping around all excited about their problems, because those problems are indicative of why we’re in trouble in Erie County in the first place, and so that’s what I’m trying to undo.”
GOP pushes for county manager
No matter who’s elected county executive, they’ll have a deputy managing the day-to-day operations of the administration. Unless a group of Republican legislators have their way.
Minority Leader John Mills, R-East Aurora, Michael Ranzenhofer, R-Williamsville, and Barry Weinstein, R-Williamsville, announced their continuing support Monday of a county manager appointed by the county executive and approved by the Legislature as an alternative to the deputy county executive.
All three said they support the idea because it separates the administration’s policy-making from the expertise and independence needed to oversee those policies and the appointed department heads.
Not much has changed since the trio last held press conferences on the issue. Significant portions of the Legislature’s Democratic Caucus, which outnumbers Republicans 12 to 3, have dismissed it.
Giambra reports surplus
Two million dollars doesn’t sound like much compared to $1 billion.
Those are the numbers of the county’s first-quarter budget surplus and 2008 budget, respectively.
Giambra acknowledged the small surplus Monday, and said the problem of overtime at the Erie County Holding Center kept it from being higher.
He also took a shot at the county’s control board.
“In spite of recent (Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority) pronouncements, it’s very clear our team knows what we’re doing, and that we’re able to monitor expenses,” he said.
