politics

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) issues comments on the closing of the 2016 Legislative Session:

“The legislature’s bipartisan compromise on an exhaustive package to combat our state’s heroin crisis is promising and will provide more access to recovery services and ease insurance requirements so those who truly need help will be included.

"Pension forfeiture for corrupt lawmakers is a great first step toward cleaning up Albany’s pool of corruption, but more is needed. I will continue fighting for term limits for legislative leaders and increased transparency to root out public officials from abusing the power entrusted in their office.

“While we had some major victories statewide, Upstate was once again left high and dry for the most part. We saw no small business relief to counteract the detrimental minimum wage hike passed in April and little infrastructure funding to repair our roads, bridges and highways that are ravaged annually by harsh winters.

"Creating jobs and improving our business climate will remain a top priority of mine, and I will continue to oppose political gimmicks and irresponsible investments made with tax dollars instead of commonsense tax and regulatory cuts for local businesses.”

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) issues statement on the sentencing of Sheldon Silver:

“I am glad to finally see Sheldon Silver meet the fate he deserves. I am extremely dismayed to hear that he will be receiving a near six figure taxpayer-funded pension behind bars. No one who purposely betrays the public for decades and denigrates his/her office like Silver should receive any form of taxpayer-funded pension. The Assembly Majority promised us comprehensive ethics reform months ago. Since then they have ignored the desires of New Yorkers in exchange for protecting one of their own. Corruption in Albany should not be business as usual and I will continue to beat the drum for a return to integrity here in the Capitol.”

Press release: 

The Genesee County Democratic Committee met on March 14^th at the Polish Falcons in Batavia. The Committee is proud to announce unanimous support for Congressional candidate, Diana Kastenbaum.

County Chair, Lorie Longhany said, “It is with great pride to support not only a candidate who resides here, but is also active in many civic organizations and owns and operates a small manufacturing company right here in Genesee County.”

Party Secretary, Jennifer Keys added, “Diana’s message of inclusion and equality is refreshing and will resonate with the people of the 27^th Congressional District.”

The County Committee also voted unanimously to endorse Duane Preston for the City Council At Large seat. Duane gave an overview of his commitment to the City of Batavia, serving on the City Steering Committee and Chair of the Planning and City Development Committee.

Vice Chair, Mike Plitt shared, “Mr. Preston is uniquely qualified to serve the City of Batavia and will bring a wealth of experience and leadership to City government.”

The Genesee County Democrats are accepting candidate inquiries for elected positions across Genesee County to be voted on in November. This includes the following offices; County Judge, County Sheriff, County Treasurer, two Coroner positions. Town positions include; Alabama Town Council, Town of Batavia Justice, Town of Bergen Justice, Town of Byron Justice, Town of Elba Supervisor and Town Council, Town of Oakfield Justice and Town Council and Pembroke Town Council. Ballot access is time sensitive.

Anyone interested in running for office needs to contact Secretary Jennifer Keys at jennifer.keys@rochester.rr.com.

Press release:

Albany’s apathy toward Western New York’s needs has gone on far too long. Entrenched career politicians continue to expand social spending and feed New York City’s bottomless hole of infrastructure and Medicaid desires at the expense of hard-working, middle-class families in our community. Year after year, frustration mounts as billions of dollars are funneled Downstate in exchange for political allegiance and Upstate roads and bridges continue to crumble.

Although we have made progress for farmers and successfully courted valuable new businesses, my main focuses this year are restoring parity to infrastructure funding, restoring the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA) funds taken from our schools in 2010, and aiding our struggling small businesses.

Infrastructure funding is a matter of life and death. With some predicting that the upstate-downstate infrastructure funding gap will increase to $4 billion this year, a recent Rochester area story exacerbated the issue by demonstrating the desperate state of our community’s roads and bridges. Furthermore, the Lake Ontario Parkway and multitude of canal bridges in my district are in dire condition and cause significant automobile damage and safety concerns. In addition, limited access to this road prevent tourists from accessing Oak Orchard Creek, named the best fishing spot in the United Sttes for Monster NY Brown Trout in 2013. Join me in this fight and tell Gov. Cuomo and Albany’s elite that we are part of New York, too, and deserve our fair share.

An investment in our children is an investment in us all. Unfortunately, New York City politicians do not agree. They slashed billions from the state education budget in 2010 and have since ignored pleas from the education community to return what is rightfully theirs. I have led the charge to restore the GEA and this year is no different. I sponsor multiple bills to end these unfair cuts that limit our students’ opportunities and threaten inspiring teachers and after-school programs. This has to be the year we fully fund our schools.

As a small-business owner for over four decades, I know firsthand what it takes to create jobs and grow New York’s economy. Raising the minimum wage is not the answer. A $15 minimum wage will undoubtedly cause businesses to leave the state and, according to the Empire Center, would ultimately cost the state 200,000 jobs. What we need are large-scale tax and regulatory cuts for businesses instead of pay-to-play scenarios and “buying votes” with these bizarre gimmicks. Cutting business taxes will create jobs and provide greater incentives for business owners to stay in New York and keep profits local. I will fight for the mom-and-pop business owners in this year’s budget because they are the lifeblood of our economy.

Via our news partner, WBTA:

The Genesee County Republican Committee has endorsed its slate of candidates for this Fall’s election. The county committee met last night, Chairman Richard Seibert told WBTA this morning. All incumbent GOP legislators were endorsed for reelection except Legislative District 7 and city wards 1 and 6.

Incumbent Frank Ferrando is retiring and the nod went to Batavia City Councilman-at-large John DeLeo.

DeLeo was challenged for the endorsement by fellow councilman-at-large Eugene Jankowski.

DeLeo won the endorsement.

The republicans have no candidate for District 9, the post held by the legislatures lone Democrat Ed DeJanerio.

The GOP Endorsed Slate: (i) = incumbent
Coroner: (i) Barry Miller
County Attorney (i) Charles Zambito, recommendation
Legislative Districts:
Dist. 1 Alabama and Oakfield: Raymond Ciantrini (i)
Dist. 2 Elba: Robert Bausch (i)
Dist. 3 Pembroke and Darien: Michael Davis (i)
Dist. 4 Batavia and Stafford: Andrew Young (i)
Dist. 5 Le Roy: Rochelle Stein (i)
Dist. 6 Alexander, Bethany and Pavilion: Gregg Torrey (i)
Dist. 7 City Wards 1 & 6: John DeLeo
Dist. 8 City Wards 2 & 3: Marianne Clattenburg (i)
Dist. 9 City Wards 4 & 5 no candidate

The Conservative Party is looking for candidates to run in the upcoming elections throughout Genesee County.

Local Chairman John Roach said there's no "check-off list" of correct issues for potential Conservative candidates, just a general philosophy for candidates to uphold.

"We are just looking for civic-minded people who have the time and desire to serve," Roach said. "Men or women who remember that the money being spent is not theirs; it is the people's and should be spent wisely. People who will do their best to keep the public informed about what is going on."

Those who are interested should send a letter and resume to: 

The Genesee County Conservative Party
P.O. Box 1686
Batavia, NY 14021-1686

Press release:

The Town of Darien Republican Committee is accepting letters of intent for the following endorsements: Town Council, Town Supervisor, and Town Justice.

All interested parties should submit letters of interest no later than May 1st to:

Town of Darien Republican Committee

Jeffery F. Phelps, Chairman

PO Box 295, Alexander NY 14005

Perhaps you've seen this campaign mailer attacking Sen. Mike Ranzenhofer. 

The Ranzenhofer campaign issued a statement about it today:

Albany's special interests are at it again. This time, a powerful teachers union is attacking a legislative idea suggested by a group of fourth-grade students and their teacher. It's ironic that the union representing teachers is attacking a legislator for getting a law passed to make yogurt the official state snack when students at Byron-Bergen Elementary School first requested it. What is even more bizarre is that the political mailing is filled with a myriad of spelling errors. It misspells loses ("looses"), Ranzenhofer ("Razenhofer"), the Town of Batavia ("Batvia") and the yogurt manufacturer, Alpina ("Aplina"). If the union handed in this political attack to be graded, it would be returned with red ink all over it with a note to keep practicing spelling. Teachers union candidate Elaine Altman should give it a failing grade.

Press release:

The Genesee County Conservative Party has endorsed the reelection of Assemblyman Steve Hawley.

He has shown over and over that he represents the thoughts and wishes of the district. It has been hard for him with the Downstate liberal majority controlling the State. But he has kept on trying and has not gone the path of “go along to get along” that many have taken.

He has been a very strong supporter or the 2nd Amendment and our right to own firearms if we want. He supports the full repeal of the SAFE ACT, which only punishes legal gun owners and does nothing to stop crime. Steve Hawley has been endorsed by the NRA and the local pro 2nd Amendment group, SCOPE.

He is pro-business and has received a 100-percent rating from Unshackle Upstate and the National Federation of Independent Businesses. Steve owns his own local business, hiring local people.

This November, we ask you to vote on the Conservative Party line (Row C) and show your support for Steve Hawley.

On Behalf of the Executive Committee,
Dann G Neale
Vice-Chairman Conservative Party of Genesee County

Gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino was scheduled to be in Batavia today, but he had a family emergency and is unable to make his scheduled campaign appearances.

His running mate Chris Moss will however be at the the GOP Women's meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Batavia Downs, and then he will also speak at the SCOPE meeting at 7 p.m. at Calvary Baptist Church, 3515 Galloway Road.

The sign placed in front of Batavia Marine on West Main anticipated Astorino being in town today, but then his plans changed.

Astorino, who hopes to unseat Andrew Cuomo, has been crisscrossing the state for several months, but has yet to make an appearance in Genesee County.

CORRECTION: Astornio visited Genesee County two days after announcing his candidacy. He made an appearance at Larry's Steakhouse.

UPDATE: Kathy Hochul at Picnic in the Park later in the day with Wayne Fuller. Photo sent to us by a third party, but originated with a member of Hochul's staff.

NOTE: You may be wondering why there are no pictures to go with Kathy Hochul's stop at the farmer's market. My camera was still set up for multiple exposures from last night's fireworks at the Muckdogs game. A fact I didn't discover until I got home. This also left me with no usable pictures from the Kiwanis 5K to benefit autism research.  

Genesee County's former congressional representative, Kathy Hochul, now running for Lieutenant Governor, said she's been craving some brownie-stuffed cookies from the Batavia Downs Farmer's Market, so Hochul said she decided to get an early start on her campaign day and drive out to Batavia.

Hochul also bought strawberries and hand-crafted chocolate.

"It's a big state and I've got to go to all four corners, but I love Genesee County and I'll be out here as often as I can," Hochul said.

After terms as Erie County County Clerk and in the House of Representatives, Hochul worked for about 18 months for M&T Bank. It was a job she said she loved and still got her out into the community, but when Gov. Andrew Cuomo called and asked her to replace Robert Duffy on the election ticket, Hochul said she was tugged by the lure of representing people in New York again.

"I realized when the call came, there was a little bit of an emptiness, that I really wanted to get back and serve people in a more direct way, so I could not have been more thrilled than to have received the call and accept this honor and start running," Hochul said.

This, she said, is what she was meant to do.

"It's not something I pushed for at all," Hochul said. "When I think it about it, it just feels right, to be back out there meeting people all over this amazing state. I love my congressional district and I love representing Upstate New York, but the opportunity to go all over the state and meet new people and see them in their environments and businesses, I just feel like this is a calling. I've always thought public service is a calling. I'm so delighted to be back in the game."

As a candidate for reelection to Congress, Hochul had won over pretty much all of the gun rights groups, campaigning as a strong advocate for the Second Amendment. Now she's working for a man who has become the most reviled politician in New York by gun rights advocates. Hochul said she doesn't believe there is a contradiction in her position then or now.

Here's her full response to that question:

I believe there is a middle ground. I know many, many gun owners. I have family members who are marksmen and who are hunters and this is part of a culture up here and people need to understand that. There's no effort to remove guns from legitimate gun owners. I think there is sometimes a hysteria that's created, but people have to understand we respect the Second Amendment, but also there are many people who understand the need for background checks. As a county clerk, I like the fact that there are background checks performed, because there are people you don't want to have guns in their hands. They could do harm to fellow citizens. I believe there is an accommodation and I believe there is a reasonable approach. The extremes on one side or the other aren't going to agree with that, but that's how I've been my entire life in public service. There's a pragmatic middle ground and if people are willing to listen to each other, we'll get to the right answer. That's where I stand.

The stop at a farmer's market reminded her a lot of her term in Congress, she said, especially representing farmers.

"It reminds me so many tours of the farms and the struggles they face, when the weather's bad and there's a flood or a drought or there's army worms," Hochul said. "They're such resilient people and to know that I'll be in a position to promote their work in a new capacity as Lieutenant Governor working with Gov. Cuomo, it's going to be great."

Story by Sloane Martin, WBTA:

Howie Hawkins is running for governor for the second consecutive election on the Green Party tab.

A recent poll showed that a progressive candidate could cut significantly into the incumbent Democrat’s lead, giving that fresh option a chance.

Hawkins says he can be that candidate.

“We stand for progressive policies that benefit working people,” he said. “I think that’s what that poll says people are looking for. Those are the people who understand Cuomo’s been very conservative economically. He’s underfunded schools, he’s giving tax breaks to the rich and they’re looking for an alternative.

“Our problem is not that they don’t agree with us. It’s that they never heard of us.”

In Bergen Thursday afternoon before meeting with party members from the tri-county area, Hawkins outlined a six-point proposal to turn things around for the Empire State called the Green New Deal. It draws parallels to the Roosevelt domestic programs, but updates them for modern times seeking to bring jobs. For example, Hawkins supports giving unemployed people public jobs, similar to the WPA.

Hawkins says Cuomo’s problem is doing nothing about income inequality.

“The idea is: we give money to the rich and it trickles down; we have decades of evidence to show it doesn’t work. If we restored the progressive tax structure we had in the '70s, we’d have $30 billion more,” he said. “That’s about 21 percent more than we take in now and that would fund the Green New Deal.”

The other points as part of the Green New Deal include raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, ensuring New Yorkers can make a living wage with single-payer health insurance, working to limit segregation in schools, providing affordable housing and mass transit and cultivating renewable energy.

Hawkins also had strong words about hydrofracking. He said the job impact estimates for the controversial natural gas drilling process are greatly exaggerated.

“No one denies the environmental dangers of fracking,” he said. “What’s not being communicated well is the economic benefits of going to 100-percent clean energy by 2030 far outweighs any economic benefits we could get from fracking. The most outlandish estimates I’ve seen from pro-fracking flacks from the industry is 200,000 jobs. We’re talking about 4.5 million jobs over the next 15 years (with clean energy). A lot of those are manufacturing, a lot of those are construction; those are good paying jobs. You want an economic boom? Go with clean energy.”

Press release:

Howie Hawkins, Green Party candidate for governor of New York State, will conduct a press conference in Bergen on Thursday, June 19 to be followed by a meet-and-greet with local Green Party members.

The slate of Hawkins, Brian Jones, lieutenant governor, Ramon Jimenez, attorney general and Theresa Portelli, comptroller, was nominated at the recent Green Party state convention in Troy.

Hawkins launches his second bid for NY executive after running against Andrew Cuomo in 2010. Jimenez is also reprising a run for AG.

The Green Party candidates have dubbed their platform, the Green New Deal. Hawkins says he plans to challenge the 1-percent tag team of Cuomo and Republican nominee Astorino on economic, climate change and criminal justice issues. Hawkins also wants NY to go carbon free with a 100-percent clean renewable energy by 2030, while providing a public living wage job to any New Yorker who needs one.

The Greens selected NYC Educator Brian Jones to highlight their opposition to Cuomo's education policies promoting privatization of the education system, including his promotion of the Common Core agenda and charter schools. The Greens are seeking full funding to meet the educational needs of New Yorkers, including free tuition at CUNY and SUNY.

The press conference in Bergen is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the residence of Genesee County Green Party member Chris Barons, 24 Clinton St. A Meet-and-Greet will follow a presentation to local Greens at 4 p.m. The event is open to the public.

Official GCLP press release from David Olsen, vice chair:

Phil Ricci, currently the chair and state representative of the Genesee County Libertarian Party, a recognized chapter of the Libertarian Party of New York, will now be an officer of the LPNY. At the LPNY Convention in Albany on April 26, 2014, Ricci was elected a vice chair of the State party. According to the LPNY bylaws, among the responsibilities which may be delegated to him by the chair or the State Committee are the operations of the State headquarters, production of the party newsletter, promotion of county organizations and Party membership and development of literature for distribution by the LPNY.

The GCLP is proud of Phil and all his accomplishments and we are happy he will share his creativity and leadership abilities with the LPNY all across the great State of New York. Phil will retain his membership in the GCLP and will continue his work on local issues along with his new statewide duties.

Also at the LPNY convention, a slate of candidates for statewide office was elected. After hearing from six very strong Libertarians who sought the nomination for Governor and after five rounds of voting, Michael McDermott, of Huntington, was selected to be the party’s nominee. Chris Edes of Rochester is our Lieutenant Governor candidate, John Clifton, of Queens, is the State Comptroller candidate and Carl Person, of Manhattan, is the Attorney General candidate.

The Genesee County Libertarian Party was formed in 2013 as a chapter of the LPNY. We will be having our 2nd annual convention followed by the  GCLP sponsored Buffet & Free Play: A Community Celebration  on Saturday, May 31, 2014 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Batavia Downs Gaming on Park Road in Batavia. Admission to the celebration is by advance ticket purchase only. Tickets are limited so purchase yours soon! Tickets are $25 and are available by contacting any GCLP member, calling Debbie Paine at 716-474-0125, or seeing Debbie Paine in person Monday-Thursday 8 a.m to  5 p.m. at Arctic Refrigeration, 26 Cedar St., Batavia. The $25 ticket price includes a buffet dinner, tax, gratuity, and $25 free play for the gaming floor (you must be 18 or older to redeem the free play). There will be a Community Basket Raffle sponsored by Kiwanis Club of Batavia -- all proceeds will benefit the Genesee County Child Advocacy Center. Also there will be numerous other baskets to be raffled to benefit the GCLP. For more information, please go to: http://www.gclpny.org/buffetfreeplay. Plan to join us May 31, we’d love to see as many of our neighbors as we can.

The Libertarian Party is America's third largest political party, founded in 1971. Our vision is for a world in which all individuals can freely exercise the natural right of sole dominion over their own lives, liberty and property by building a political party that elects Libertarians to public office, and moving public policy in a libertarian direction.

It was a clean sweep for the GOP in Batavia's race to fill three at-large seats on the City Council in a year when the party was facing a new challenge from local Libertarians for the first time.

Eugene Jankowski Jr., Brooks Hawley and John Deleo easily secured four-year terms on the council.

Libertarians Jim Rosenbeck and Lisa Whitehead finished eighth and ninth in the crowded field.

Hawley, the lone incumbent among the winners, got 1,179 votes, according to the still unofficial tally.

"We visited almost every street and home in Batavia,” Hawley said. “People saw how dedicated we are and they believe we will use that dedication in City Council as well.”

Hard work was part of the GOP strategy this year, said city Chair Matt Landers, who acknowledged the Libertarian presence on the ballot and the fact the new local party was out working hard helped motivate the Republicans.

“They were working very hard and they are an upstart group with a passionate base and we definitely took them seriously,” Landers said.

Rosenbeck received 358 votes and Whitehead 243 votes. 

The low vote totals didn't discourage party Chairman Phil Ricci at all, who told the party members at their election headquarters at Larry's Steakhouse that Rosenbeck would become the committee chairman of the party's new city committee.

“We started with a small group of concerned, like-minded citizens, set with the task of creating an alternative to the existing political parties,” Ricci said. “That little ragtag group grew into a solid core group of committed individuals who felt strongly enough about our core principles, and even stronger about the lack of real choice, to give it a go.”

Jankowski, a former Batavia PD lieutenant, said after a hard-fought campaign, he's ready to get to work, serving his community in a new capacity.

"We work well together, people respect us and they want us to be their leaders in the community," said Jankowski, who received 1,269 votes.

Deleo, who garnered 1,309 votes, said the three winners will make a good team going forward, just as they did as campaign mates.

“We all have our own strengths and together it works for the best,” Deleo said.

Rosenbeck remained upbeat about the Libertarian effort.

“It has been a success and we wish the GOP well,” Rosenbeck said.

Rounding out the field were Diana Kisiel Kastenbaum, 586 votes, Thomas Clark, 552 votes, John Demske, 631 votes, and Rose Mary Christian, 406 votes.

Katenbaum, a Batavia native who moved away for many years and then returned to her hometown vowed to stay involved in her community.

 “I sit on a couple boards, Go-Art and Landmark Society, and I will continue working for the citizens of Batavia,” Kastenbaum said. “As a citizen I can be as active as I choose to be and I hope to be.”

For complete election results visit WBTA.com.

Top Photo (by Howard Owens): Phil Ricci speaks to Libertarian Party members.

John Deleo, Joe Gerace and John Roach watch the election results get posted at the GOP headquarters for the night at City Slickers (photo by Howard Owens).

With only 21 votes separating the two candidates for the District 9 seat on the County Legislature and 100 absentee ballots yet to be counted, neither incumbent Ed Dejanerio nor challenger Bob Bialkowski were interested in predicting the outcome of the race.

"I'm in the minority and who knows," Dejanerio said, acknowledging his role as the sole Democrat on the Legislature as well as the slight registration advantage for the GOP in District 9. "I do my best and that's all I can do."

Both candidates worked hard, they said of each other, and presented a stiff challenge throughout the campaign.

The unofficial tally has Dejanerio up 362 to 341.

Dejanerio is simply hard to beat, Bialkowski said.

"There's a lot of Democrats in the district," Bialkowski said. "Ed's been there a long time. Ed's a likable sort of guy. People like Ed. I'm pleased I've done as well as I have. Other people have tried running against Ed but have never done so well."

City GOP Chairman Matt Landers agreed.

"It's hard to beat an incumbent," Landers said. "Ed's been there a long time. He's beaten Republicans in the past. Bob worked really hard and we'll see how it breaks."

Things broke better for the GOP in the other three contested Legislature races.

Shelly Stein beat Earl Funderburk 1087 to 427 in District 5. Gregg Torrey beat incumbant Esther Leadley, a Republic who didn't get her party's nomination, 706 to 373, and the race was apparently made closer by the presence of a Libertarian on the ballot. Marianne Clattenburg beat Bill Fava 385 to 271 with Bob Brown picking up 82 votes.

"Bob did hurt us," Landers said. "We were worried that he would peel off Republican votes and it was relatively close between Marianne and the Democrat."

None of the big issues facing the County Legislature seemed to play a role in voters' decisions, based on the feedback candidates were getting while walking precincts. Voters rarely mentioned the nursing home, the Genesee County Economic Development Center, mandates, or hiring more jail guards.

People were concerned about taxes, but in the District 9 race, there isn't much difference on the issue between Dejanerio and Bialkowski.

"People are against any kind of property tax increase," Bialkowski said. "People in the city are hard pressed right now and when they hear that they're going to have a public hearing on going over the tax cap, that doesn't sit well with people. It doesn't sit well with me."

Top photo: Ed Dejanerio, city council candidate Diana Kastenbaum with Pat Burke at O'Lacy's while awaiting election results.

Matt Landers congratulates Gregg Torrey on his District 6 victory.