Summer seems to finally be here, so it’s time for a primary election. Tuesday, June 23rd is the date. The key primaries in Western New York are all on the Democratic side, for state comptroller; state senator in the 61st district; member of the state Assembly in the 149th district; and in the 23rd Congressional District, currently represented by Republican Nick Langworthy.
Here are some facts, observations, and heard-on-the-streets:
We are just days away from an event in Washington where various pugilists will attempt to beat their opponents senseless on a multi-million-dollar stage on the grounds of the White House. Some folks might want to see such events to be faceoffs between the leaders of Congress or perhaps intraparty fights. The attendees (and I suppose one or two TV networks), however, will watch an event involving people who actually get paid to do such things.
Soon after that event there will be Donald Trump produced events leading up to America’s 250th birthday. Most professional entertainers have bowed out of participating. Perhaps Lara Trump could sing the national anthem.
New York’s 2026-27 budget was finally completed last week. Spending is up considerably over last year. Childcare services are expanded. Car insurance costs will hopefully come down. Deadlines for climate improvement benchmarks are pushed back. Small rebate checks will be issued sometime before the election.
The Legislature took the first step toward redrawing congressional lines prior to the 2028 elections. This will, if approved by voters, allow an unprecedented second re-drawing of the lines following the 2020 census. Democrats could pick up some of the seven current Republican seats in the House. The same Republicans who will scream in opposition were evidently fine with such activity by Republicans in Texas, Missouri, Tennessee, Ohio, Alabama, and Florida. The Supreme Court has sanctioned mid-decade partisan redistricting. Republicans scooped up additional seats while in many cases dismantling districts that have been held for decades by Black members of the House.
The Legislature for the second year in a row voted to create a new state Judicial district that just includes Erie County. The other seven counties now in the 8th Judicial District would remain there. Assemblyman Jon Rivera sponsored the legislation. The bill approved by the Legislature last year was pocket-vetoed by Governor Kathy Hochul.
The bill assigns current Supreme Court Justices to the districts. Here is the breakdown.
Fourteenth Judicial District (incorrectly identified in the Buffalo News as the 16th District):Deborah A. ChimesEmilio ColaiacovoJohn DelmonteDaniel J. Ferlong (misspelled in the bill (Furlong); retired July 2025Gerald Greenan IIIDeborah A. HaendigesCraig D. HannahJohn B. LicataJoseph LorigoAmy C. MartocheEdward A. PaceCatherine Nugent PanepintoDonna M. SiwekMary SliszRaymond W. WalterDennis E. Ward
Paul B. Wojtaszek
Eighth Judicial District:Grace M. HanlonDiane DevlinFrank CarusoPaula Feroleto
Frank A. Sedita III
Party conventions in August will select four candidates for the Supreme Court in the current 8th Judicial District.
New districts were also created in Monroe and Onondaga Counties.
Speaking of Justices, and you are reading it here first, Governor Hochul on Thursday announced the appointment of 28 justices, including Debra Givens, who is currently on the Court of Claims and will now officially be a Supreme Court Justice; and Mara McCabe, who is currently an Assistant District Attorney in Erie County. She was appointed to the Court of Claims.
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli released a report last week concerning on-time service and such other matters as farebox revenues for bus services in four upstate authorities. The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority receives 73 percent of its bus system operating funds from the state and Erie County. The report also notes that the NFTA has a goal of 84 percent on-time bus performance, but the Authority has only met that goal twice in a ten-year period.
DiNapoli has a Democratic primary for the first time since he has held the office, dating back to 2007. DiNapoli has done considerable TV advertising recently. Only one of his two opponents (Raj Goyle) appears to be spending on TV in the Buffalo area. DiNapoli will win the primary by a comfortable margin.
Both incumbent Senator Jeremy Zellner and his opponent Assemblyman Jon Rivera also have a heavy TV ad schedule along with mailings and lit drops. Total spending in this race may very well top $1.5 million, with approximately 40 to 50 percent of the spending financed by the state’s matching funds program. Both Zellner and Rivera were approved for additional state funds last week.
The three-way Democratic primary for the 149th Assembly seat also involves unprecedented spending for a local primary. Geoff Kelly of Investigative Post has a detailed review of the candidates and their stands on the issues. Who are the candidates for the NY 149th District Assembly seat? : Investigative Post
Twenty towns in Erie County are included in the 23rd Congressional District, which will hold a Democratic primary. The endorsed candidate is Dr. Aaron Gies. Kevin Stocker is also running.
There are a small number of Democratic, Republican, and Conservative county committee races in Erie County.
TV advertising may help with voter turnout but much of Erie County will only have the Democratic state comptroller seat and one other race on the ballot. Overall turnout is likely to be in the 12-15 percent range, with somewhat higher numbers in the 61st Senate District and the 149th Assembly District.
I agree with Mark Scott’s Substack post suggesting that the Buffalo News should retire its print sports section. Opinion pieces provide some information for interested fans, but two-day-old standings, box scores, and other sport details printed mostly in small print are stale news. Scott suggests that the News should replace their sports section with “two pages of timely enterprise stories about the Bills and Sabres written by beat reporters and columnists.” I would add that it would be nice to see some stories about the Buffalo Bisons (which the News seems to treat as if they don’t exist) and the Bandits.
Early voting begins on Saturday, June 13th. Here is a link to the Erie County Board of Elections detailing locations and hours for the voting, which will extend through June 21: EARLYVOTING 26-Kids522.pdf
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