Mayoral Race Update

The small number of registered conservatives in Buffalo have been getting a lot of attention lately, given Helfer’s challenge to Brown on the conservative line.

There’s no doubt that the small parties in New York State have more influence than their numbers warrant,” said Joseph F. Crangle, the former Erie County and New York State Democratic chairman, who is a longtime observer of minor parties. “It’s another example of the need for a constitutional convention to reform the election process.”

It’s called electoral fusion, and it breeds cynicism, patronage, and influence-peddling. And little else.

He points out almost every other state requires minor party candidates to belong to the party in order to run on its line, negating the kingmaker role they play in New York.

But Ralph C. Lorigo, Erie County Conservative chairman, says his party has as much right as any other to wield its influence. A Brown backer, he recognizes his party’s historic opportunity.

“We consider this extremely important,” he said. “Byron has put himself in the position to make us all the more important in this race.”

The political operatives working the 2005 mayoral contest point to the 1,490 registered Conservatives in Buffalo – only 0.01 percent of the city’s registered voters. That percentage dwindles even more when most experts estimate the real number at around 1,000, and that only 300 to 400 will vote.

But Brown enjoys a significant advantage in the contest because he is endorsed by Conservative leaders, and only his name appears on the ballot. Supporters of Helfer, a former registered Conservative, must write in his name in an unwieldy practice that rarely proves successful.

The mechanics of writing in the name of any candidate on the ballot could prove Helfer’s greatest challenge.

“It’s almost impossible to do,” said Edward J. Mahoney, Erie County’s former Democratic elections commissioner. “People don’t know that you’ve got to lift up a lever, that you have to bring in a pen with you, and then write the name.

“But it can be done,” he added.

I’d love a lively Helfer – Brown race in the fall. There are lots of issues at stake, and Brown shouldn’t be simply anointed. The way that people like Lorigo and Orsini wield power disproportionate to the actual size of their parties makes me queasy, and only an abolition of the corrupt system of electoral fusion would kill off that corruption.

BTW – I watched some of the LWW debate on cable access last night, and would again beg Judy Einach, who otherwise makes a lot of sense, to drop global warming as a plank of her platform to become Mayor of Buffalo. It’s really the least of this town’s problems right now.