<!--Mark Scheer--><table width="234" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" background="http://static.cnhi.zope.net/flashpromo/niagaragazette/images/byline_234x60.jpg" height="60"><tr><td><div align="center"><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">By Mark Scheer</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></font><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="mailto:mark.scheer@niagara-gazette.com">mark.scheer@niagara-gazette.com</a></font></div></td></tr></table>
Ric Marasco did what he set out to do by winning Tuesday’s Democratic primary in the Niagara County Legislature’s 1st District.
And now the 58-year-old Niagara Falls school teacher is looking ahead to the general election where he’s hoping to finish off incumbent Jason Murgia.
Marasco, of Vanderbilt Avenue, defeated Murgia in a Republican primary two years ago, only to lose in the general election.
This time around, Marasco said he believes his message about being the candidate willing to offer a “true” voice for the community is getting through to voters in the district.
“A good part of it was the Democrats were looking for something different,” said Marasco, who defeated Murgia 542 to 288 Tuesday night. “They were looking for a true voice for the community.”
Marasco, who has worked as a social studies teacher in the Falls school district for the past 19 years, took Murgia to task during the campaign for being a Democrat in name only. Unlike Murgia, Marasco said he will not caucus with the Legislature’s Republican-led majority if elected.
“We gave them something they wanted to hear and also something they needed to hear,” Marasco said. “They wanted to hear truth in government.”
Murgia was originally appointed to fill the seat following the departure of former lawmaker Stephen D’Anna. He has represented the 1st District for past five years. He managed to secure the Democratic line in each of his previous election bids, a key factor in any general election in Niagara Falls where enrolled Democrats outnumber Republicans by a significant margin.
Murgia expressed confidence that he will be successful in the general election and said he was proud of the fact that he ran a clean, issue-based campaign during the primary.
“I ran a clean campaign and I’m going to do the same moving forward and, obviously, work a lot harder,” Murgia said.
Murgia indicated that he didn’t intend to change his approach heading into the general election and said he intends to stand on his record of accomplishments. He will run in November on the Republican, Independence and Conservative lines.
“This is not the end of the election,” he said. “I’m just going to keep the same idea as to what I’ve been doing. I’m going to represent the people of Niagara Falls.”
