Teabaggers Endorse County Legislature Candidates

I know when a candidate is running for office, he or she doesn’t really want to turn down the support of any group.  It’s tough to alienate people who might support your campaign with volunteer hours or money.  However, I would encourage Kevin Hardwick, Lynne Dixon, Dino Fudoli and Shelly Schratz (heretofore dubbed “The Collins Four”) to take a pass on this endorsement in their campaigns for Erie County Legislature.

TEA PARTY COALITION ENDORSES FOUR CHALLENGERS FOR COUNTY LEGISLATURE

Leaders of the local tea party movement are endorsing four challengers for the Erie County Legislature and promising to make the growing tea party movement a force in local politics. The group also includes local business owners and bloggers.

Endorsed candidates are Dino Fudoli (5th Dist.), Kevin Hardwick (10th Dist.), Lynn Dixon (12th Dist.), and Shelly Schratz (14th Dist.).

Rus Thompson of TeaNewYork.com said, “These candidates have earned our support by pledging to support smaller government and a more business-friendly environment.”

Jim Ostrowski, editor of the blog, PoliticalClassDismissed.com, said the group is putting forth its own issue agenda of cutting the county budget by ten percent, cutting the county workforce by five percent and abolishing all pensions for elected officials statewide. “Many career politicians are hanging around for decades just for the pension,” he said. “The best form of term limits is abolishing pensions.”

The tea party coalition includes:

Allen Coniglio (ReformNYS)*
Ellie Corcoran (Primary Challenge)
David DiPietro (former Mayor of East Aurora)
Laurie Kostrzewski (ReformNYS)
Jim Ostrowski (PoliticalClassDismissed.com)
Mike Rebmann (nbjr.speakupwny.com)
Leonard Roberto (Primary Challenge)
Roy Scherrer (Tonawanda)
Rus Thompson (TeaNewYork.com)
Jul Thompson (TeaNewYork.com)

You’re probably familiar with Jim Ostrowski and Mike Rebmann from the libertarian brain drool they leave all over the various WNYMedia comment sections.  However, I’d like to introduce you to one of the other “endorsers”.  The following are statements or emails sent to a local mailing list called “ReformNYS“.

Allen Coniglio (Group Moderator of ReformNYS):

Here is a good article which succinctly outlines just what I believe Obama will do by the 2010 elections. As I have said many times on this list, I believe that obama has plans to legalize illegal aliens in this country, possibly limiting it to only those from North America which would be mainly Mexicans, and thus guarantee himself and the dems a victory in the midterm elections. This, of course, would come at a time when polls are showing that the dems are going to take a beating of historic proportions in 2010 and possibly lose control of both the House and the Senate. Truly, this would be an act of war against the American people, using a foreign army of illegals to steal from American voters something which obama and the dems could not win in an honest election. This will, of course, spark widesprad protests, possibly some violence, and would give obama an excuse to call out the national guard and place America under martial law.

At this point, he would have near dictatorial powers and he would then constitute his dreamed of “civilian” armed corps which he has spoken of openly on more than one occaion. I am telling you now that obama and his demons will not allow the American people to freely decide the 2010 elections and after that any future elections if it appears that he is likely to lose ground. It will be his actions during those elections which will bring in the New World Order which George Bush the first spoke so openly of and which Clinton the first lusted after almost as much as his afternoon trysts with his congressional pages.  Henry Kissinger has spoken openly of obama being in position to now establish the New World Order.

If you have any interest in Biblical prophecy, you might like this one.

obama is ruling by deceit. He is a liar.

Allen

Or, this one:

Look at this. Here is information on the upcoming swine flu vaccinations and how they will attempt to get rid of those who refuse to take the shots. We are dealing with bad people here. Do not doubt that for a minute.

http://www.infowars.com/soldier-former-state-trooper-speak-out-on-forced-vaccinations/

Allen

Well, allllllrighty then.  Let’s chalk up an endorsement for the “Collins Four” from New World Order guy predicting Mexican invasions and forced vaccinations.  Good times.

Each fringe missive by Coniglio or one of his pals is greeted with email affirmations and the forwarding of right wing urban legends about chips being implanted in Americans for tracking purposes, internment camps for republican dissidents, and mandated food shortages by Obama.  These people are the heart of the birther and deather movements and still suspect Obama is a terrorist thug or a muslim sleeper agent sent to take the last few pennies from their pockets.

You really should sign up for the list just for the pure entertainment value provided by the fearful children of the local right wing.

While it’s fun to laugh at the people in the tinfoil hats, it’s probably unwise to accept their vocal endorsement of your campaign and platform.  Do you really want to be associated with this kind of garbage?  An endorsement from people who make Glenn Beck look sane?

Gaughan Wins In Orchard Park

The Town of Orchard Park today voted to reduce the size of their government, not a small victory for civic activist Kevin Gaughan who said, “I’m proud to see the voters take control of their future.”

This is the third victory for Gaughan and his organization as previous efforts to reduce town council seats passed earlier this year in West Seneca and Evans.  The vote today was “Yes” to downsize the town council by two seats or “No” to maintain the status quo.  The vote was, of course, controversial in this town of 27,000 people with entrenched Village and Town governments and a very parochial sensibility.

However, Gaughan put together a grassroots canvassing operation in which voters were visited multiple times throughout the summer.  A last minute canvassing by a group called “Concerned Citizens for Responsible Orchard Park” and rumored to be organized by town council member Nan Ackerman, cited a recent study by UB’s Regional Institute which refuted Gaughan’s position that downsizing governments would reap cost savings and increase citizen participation.  From the report:

Any cost savings from downsizing are negligible and must be weighed against disadvantages in representation and responsiveness.

Gaughan responded to the report in an interview with WNED:

“Right now, Orchard Park taxpayers owe $2.3 million dollars to the 27 former Orchard Park councilmembers who have been receiving lifetime benefits. That’s called legacy costs and that’s what’s destroying the state of New York and each of our town’s and village governments,” said Gaughan.

Gaughan believes that reducing the size of town and village boards would also “reduce the decibel level of this turf protection” seen throughout local politics.  UB Researchers also say there’s a greater chance for corruption with fewer people in charge. Gaughan says if that were true there would be no corruption in Albany and Washington where there are hundreds of politicians.

However, it seems to me that arguing about the cost of town government is a canard.  Plain and simple, Gaughan’s effort is intended to get people off their asses and take control of their government.  To give them an opportunity to define their own representation, increase citizen involvement and eventually empower people to have their voice heard.  As a region, we have been disempowered by redundant layers of government and our participation at the voting booth and at government hearings or public meetings reflects that disempowerment.

Also, his efforts to downsize have resulted in a re-ignition of the regionalism debate he began in 1997 with a series of conferences at the Chautauqua Institution.  One of the primary arguments that has emerged in opposition to his efforts to downsize town governments was that it would be more sensible to regionalize.  Probably not a coincidence…

When it seemed as if the flicker of hope for a regionalized Western New York government was extinguished by a county wide economic meltdown in 2005, Gaughan took a step back and recalculated.  His comments at the time,

“Reform efforts failed because creating consensus for change in our community is next to impossible. And the chief reason for that difficulty is our inordinately large number of politicians.  With 439 elected officials throughout Erie County – each with individual purposes, powers, and views – accountable leadership, or just plain leadership, has eluded us.”

That lack of leadership and a surplus of government obstinacy was evident today in Orchard Park.  By selecting a special election date on a Wednesday between the primary and general elections, choosing only one polling place, putting that polling place in the basement of the municipal building, lack of signs or directions to the voting booth, selecting odd voting hours which didn’t allow for people to vote before 11AM and blocking the parking lot this morning with barricades and police to reduce “congestion” in the parking lot.  It was a mess.  Local voter Rich Wilson said, “Honestly, I planned to vote ‘No’ on downsizing until I got down here today and saw all these shenanigans.  If the local council members are so opposed to this and will go to these lengths to block participation, maybe Gaughan’s got it right.”

Maybe Gaughan does have it right, but Councilwoman Ackerman sees it differently, “I think its sad, I think it’s misguided.”  It should be noted that Ackerman’s seat is one of the two to be downsized.

You know what’s misguided?  Citizenry who do nothing while people stream out of the region at an unrelenting pace while private sector jobs evaporate and legacy government costs balloon.  Tonight, Kevin Gaughan gave people a mechanism to have their voice heard.  It’s up to us to take it from here.

What A Difference An Election Makes

How quickly the script flips when you hand out a massive electoral ass-kicking, eh?

Two weeks ago, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown was at a press conference on the waterfront and this is how it played out:

From the Buffalo News:

Yeah, not so good.

This week, the press (aside from Jim Heaney at The Buffalo News) has moved on from the Leonard Stokes/One Sunset story and is now being reeled in by the Pigeon-bait of whether or not Mayor Brown is going to join the anticipated Andrew Cuomo for NY Governor ticket as the candidate for Lt. Governor.

It’s always amusing to watch the broadcast media so blatantly drop the “zOMG SCANDAL STORY OF THE CENTURY!!@!” and simply move on to business as usual.

It’s the worst kept secret in the state that Andrew Cuomo will be the Democratic nominee for New York Governor.  Is it possible that he might choose Byron Brown as a running mate?  Sure.  Is it plausible?  Maybe.  Is it probable?  Not really.  If no charges are ultimately brought in the Stokes investigation, he might have a shot.  Even then, Cuomo has to weigh whether or not adding an allegedly crooked Mayor to his “law and order” ticket is going to play well in the NYC tabloids and with the State Senate asses he’ll need to kiss in order to win and accomplish fuck all anything.

I’ve heard from numerous sources that Pigeon was the originator of the rumor and it’s always amusing to see the media bite on this kind of cheap bait like carp.  The rumored possibility of a Brown “promotion” allowed Byron to use it as leverage to get certain common councilmen to essentially sit out the Mayoral primary.  After all, if Brown is moving up, that shakes up the whole game and opens up possibilities and patronage for several councilmen whose path to promotion is otherwise blocked.

I think the smug little look on Pete Cutler’s face as the Mayor answered questions about whether or not he would serve his full term tells the story.

Wanted For Treason

Change around a few words in this leaflet and it reads like a Glenn Beck show transcript about Obama, n’est-ce pas?

The point being…the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Big Media Sucks

If you don’t read Glenn Greenwald, on the regular, you’re doing yourself a disservice.  He’s one of the last of his kind, an actual journalist who investigates and reports the “How” and the “Why” as often as schmoes like David Gregory or Jake Tapper reports the “Who”, “When”, “Where” and least importantly, “Who’s winning”.

In a column from last week about the “debate” of how many people showed up for Glenn Beck’s Uninformedracistmoronapolooza march in DC, Greenwald wrote something that has been rattling around my head ever since…

Eric Boehlert has masterfully documented how right-wing claims about the number of protesters was literally invented out of whole cloth — Michelle Malkin simply made up a number (2 million) that was repeated by right-wing sources far and wide, and Glenn Beck then did the same (1.7 million) — and bears no relationship whatsoever to reality.  But either way, the reports of tens of thousands came not from “liberal sources” but from the establishment media.  Just yesterday, the Washington Post’s Fletcher reported that his journalist colleagues – not Daily Kos — “say it was in the tens of thousands, probably around 20,00 or 30,000.”

You might remember a post I wrote a few months back in which I said,

Once upon a time in this nation, there was an objective truth and then there was partisan interpretations of that truth doled out in the battle lines of politics.  Now?  Objective truth is hard to find as the partisan rhetoric and point scoring has clouded what is true and what is false.

Glenn lays out how the media is responsible for this pointless he said/she said reporting style which simply focuses on the horserace and not the substantive issues in the debate.

Time (Magazine) isn’t allowed to critique right-wing claims even when they’re totally false.  Doing that would make Rush Limbaugh and Fox News angry.  So rather than pointing out what actually happened — that right-wing claims about march attendance were false and debunked by news organizations — they have to pretend that this is, as always, nothing more than an irreconcilable dispute about reality between the Right and the Left, and it’s not up to Time to tell their readers what the truth is, because that’s not their role, since they’re objective and unbiased.  According to the rules of establishment journalism, there is no truth and no facts — only competing, irreconcilable claims from “the Right and the Left,” and their only job is to mindlessly repeat those claims

“Truth and accuracy” are completely different from “Fair and Balanced” and the failure to understand that is what is destroying American media from the inside-out.

WNYMedia Needs A Slogan

So, we’re working on some new marketing materials and we thought it best to tap into the hive mind of the local interwebs to help us pick a new slogan.  We want self-deprecation, snark, sarcasm…essentially something that sums up what we’re all about.  Be mean if you want, we’re big boys and we can take it.

Alan and I started with a few samples to help you get started and get an idea of what we’re looking for.

• WNYMedia.net Leave your happy pants at home

• WNYMedia.net Where libertarians congregate like abused puppies

• WNYMedia.net You’ll love to hate us too

• WNYMedia.net The Truth Hurts

• WNYMedia.net Buffalo pissed in our Cheerios

• WNYMedia.net Adjacent to Canada

• WNYMedia.net That restaurant BRO sent you to? It sucks

• WNYMedia.net Even Mike Hudson thinks we’re assholes. Mike Fucking Hudson!

• WNYMedia.net Like Buffalo, We’re Mediocre!

• WNYMedia.net We Oversleep, They Report, You Decide!

• WNYMedia.net Misanthropic Media For The Masses

• WNYMedia.net Still bitching about the same stuff as in 2005

• WNYMedia.net We probably hate you, too

• WNYMedia.net Where the annoying debate club kids from high school go to hangout

• WNYMedia.net Fatter than Cellino. Balder than Barnes

• WNYMedia.net Like ACORN, only employed

• WNYMedia.net Kinda like reporters, just unpaid

• WNYMedia.net Some of us used to work in journalism

• WNYMedia.net If we could do it all over again, we would’ve picked a better name

Winner gets one of our cool T-shirts.  You’ll get to choose from one of the following styles:

Looking Forward To 2013

The results of Tuesday’s Democratic Mayoral Primary Election in Buffalo are in and aside from a few crankpots crying about voter fraud, it’s over.  I mean seriously, for the voter fraud claims to matter, you’re talking about 5,000+ fraudulent votes.  Using the tired old bullshit about groceries and cigarettes for votes is just that, tired.  We checked out those claims as they came in and they were baloney.

Let’s take a look at the results by district and compare them to the 2005 Democratic primary results.

Aside from turnout levels, the 2009 race looked a lot like 2005.  Byron Brown won the Masten, University, Fillmore, Ellicott and Lovejoy districts while Mickey took the South, North, Niagara and Delaware districts.  One can leave the analysis at the city polarizing along racial lines or income level (and you’d be partially right), but there is a bit more to it.  As I see it, Mickey could have won this election easily, if he had the right strategy and a solid organization which canvassed and worked on election day to Get Out The Vote (GOTV).

The problem with Mickey’s campaign was exactly what I said two months ago, no vision.  He ran a Common Council platform on a citywide scale and did nothing to offer a clear alternative to his opponent.  I also said the only chance Mickey at victory was if Brown completely imploded.  Only the near self-immolation of Byron Brown by way of One Sunset, Leonard Stokes and Michelle Barron made this an interesting race.  When the Brown meltdown began, Kearns didn’t have the organizational support of ECDC at his back nor the independent resources to step his game up.  Carl Paladino rode in on a white horse to help, but frankly, Carl is an asshole.  He brings money and publicity, but there are just as many people in the city who hate him as love him.  Carl’s involvement began to make Byron look like a sympathetic figure.

When we met with Mickey a few weeks ago, I told him I thought Niagara was the key to his hopes for victory.  The presumption being that Masten and South would basically cancel each other out and Mickey needed to take a winnable district, maximize turnout and build a buffer.  If he could make inroads in Niagara, it might have a bleedthrough effect to North and Ellicott precincts which could bring the numbers closer in those districts.

Looking at their canvassing maps in the election offices, I thought they spent too much time farming infertile ground in Masten, University, and Fillmore.  Every prime voter in Niagara should have been touched at least three times, preferably more.  Canvassed, lit drops, phone calls, community events, etc.  Mickey had Niagara District Councilman David Rivera on his side and several prominent West Side activists working for him.  While those campaign volunteers worked their tails off, they didn’t have the resources to mount a serious GOTV effort on election day and the voter identification pre-work wasn’t there to support a ground operation on election day.

It’s also interesting that with all the hipster angst being espoused on various local blogs, Byron did pretty well in the core hipster precints of the Elmwood Village and Allentown.  I’d suspect that a candidate with a serious campaign with the appropriate level of big picture vision would have pulled in bigger numbers in Delaware.

So, all of this brings us to 2013.  When looking at the map from the last two elections, the battle lines are clear.  Assuming Byron runs again in 2013, who is on the bench of the Democratic Party to challenge him?  Mike LoCurto?  Maria Whyte?  Sam Hoyt?  Dave Rivera?  Or will we look to another wildcard like Kevin Gaughan?  The candidate who chooses to take up the fight against Byron or  whomever Grassroots puts forward as his replacement in the event of a Brown promotion (Antoine Thompson or Demone Smith) needs a couple of things, most notably:

-  A clear platform filled with aspirational goals and a message of positivity.  Be the big picture opportunist and identify a couple of common council members who can endorse your vision while promising that the day-to-day service delivery is going to be excellent under your stewardship.

-  A well-organized corps of volunteers who will canvass, stump, lit drop and phone bomb.  Grassroots is excellent at the blocking and tackling of election day maneuvering and they do their homework prior to election day.  If you’re going to eat into their east side edge, you better have a plan to maximize turnout in Delaware, Niagara and South.  Not just maximize, but blow it out.

Is such a candidate in Buffalo?  The war isn’t about racial lines; it’s about organization and messaging, two things Mickey sorely lacked.

What do you think. is there someone out there who can be groomed?

2013 Mayoral Candidates

After the ass kicking that Mayor Brown gave challenger Mickey Kearns last night in the Democratic Primary, we decided to look forward rather than rehash the election of 2009.

Using our connections at the Erie County Democratic Committee and ACORN, wnymedia.net has obtained a video which features interviews with Buffalonians interested in running for Mayor of Buffalo in 2013.  These interviews were conducted in secret, so please don’t forward to anyone affiliated with Mayor Brown, Steve Casey or Steve Pigeon.  This is on the down low.

Rumor has it that the leaders in the clubhouse are Maurice, Big Phil and the guy who likes to wear bright socks and loves the Cleveland Browns.

Higgins on Healthcare

We met with Rep. Brian Higgins (D, NY-27) last week for a sprawling discussion on healthcare reform, local politics and the state of public debate in America.  This installment with Rep. Higgins focuses on his vision of healthcare reform, his support for the public option and answers the question Republicans and Libertarians had during the month of August; “Why no town hall meetings?”

In the future, we’ll be hosting monthly “fireside chats” with Brian at the WNYM offices to address issues of regional and national import.  We’ll be soliciting questions from you and we’ll do our best to get them answered.

Also, in case you weren’t aware, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D, NY-28) is blogging on WNYMedia and is available to answer your questions and concerns.

Would You Date This Man?

We thought we’d help Dr. Rudnick of The Buffalo Niagara Partnership find his match by providing a little advice for his personal advertisement.

Must Hate Carl Paladino and Love Dogs

SWM with affinity for bowties seeks SWF who enjoys long walks on the beach, puppies, rainbows, rainstorms, and remaining silent during lenghty periods of economic and political upheaval.

My match should enjoy blowing up organized business groups to serve ego of herself and friends.  She should have a professional track record of accomplishing little while being paid much and be willing to blame anyone but herself for the mess which surrounds her.  Responsibility and accountability are for the little people.  You should also enjoy giving footrubs to local plutocrats and patting yourself on the back for no good reason.

Favorite Books:  Green Eggs and Ham, The Little Engine That Could But Was Too Lazy and Content To Bother

Favorite Music:  Loggins and Messina, Dan Fogelberg, Bread, Creed, Nickelback

Favorite Movies:  Big Top Pee-Wee, Failure To Launch, Doomed To Failure

Good luck, Andy!  Let us know how it all turns out.