A Judge has set this year's primary date for June 26. That means petitions will have to go out by about March 15. Meanwhile we hear that congressional lines for the Empire State will be announced next week.

On the day when the Albany redistricting plan came out which gives NYS Senator George Maziarz a new district that includes all of Niagara and Orleans Counties and two communities in Monroe County, it was clear that his lifelong support for lower taxes, less government, and more economic development will never change.

“My message will remain the same in the new district as it was in the old one,” he has said many times. “I will always be for lower taxes, less government and for working hard to bring more economic development to upstate in general and especially to my district.”

In pursuit of the latter goal, Senator Maziarz reports that he is already burning the midnight oil to find companies that can take advantage of Gov. Cuomo's $1 billion plan for Western New York economic development.

GRISANTI GIVEN LARGELY SUBURBAN ERIE COUNTY DISTRICT INCLUDING BRANT AND EVANS...KENNEDY NOW IN BUFFALO CENTERED DISTRICT, INCLUDING INNER CITY, ELMWOOD VILLAGE, LACKAWANNA...RYAN PUSHED DOWN INTO LACKAWANNA, HAMBURG

With the proposed new district lines now out here's what we've learned: Republican NYS Senator Mark Grisanti has been given a largely suburban district in which to run, one that starts out in a small chunk of the City of Buffalo and then snakes down into part of Lackawanna, Hamburg, Brant, and Cattauragus. On the other hand, Democratic NYS Senator Tim Kennedy has been given a largely urban district that includes virtually all of inner city Buffalo, lower Elmwood, and most of Lackawanna as well as all of Cheektowaga.

NYS Senator George Maziarz new district will include all of Niagara and Orleans Counties as well as two towns in Monroe County.

Perhaps the most radically effected incumbent may be NYS Assemblyman Sean Ryan who got a district that includes a fairly small chunk of his Elmwood Ave. area base but then wanders down to include Hamburg and most of Lackawanna. On the other hand, Republican Assemblyman John Ceretto is left with a largely suburban domain that includes the Town of Grand Island.

Among the big winners, assuming this plan is implemented, is Cheektowaga Democratic Chairman Frank Max who will play a major role should there be a primary fight in the new Tim Kennedy district and Assemblyman Sean Ryan who now has a district that includes his Lackawanna boyhood home.

MAZIARZ GETS ALL OF NIAGARA COUNTY...GRISANTI GETS HAMBURG, TONAWANDAS, ORCHARD PARK, GALLIVAN GETS WEST SENECA

With Senate and Assembly lines scheduled to be announced in Albany at 2pm today, here's what we've heard so far. NYS Senate George Maziarz will now have all of Niagara and Orleans Counties in his district, including the City of Niagara Falls. NYS Senator Mark Grisanti will be moved totally into Erie County grabbing a small part of Buffalo along with Hamburg, the City and Town of Tonawanda, and Orchard Park. NYS Senator Pat Gallivan will be moved into West Seneca.

Niagara County Chairman Dan Rivera has resigned his post in order to spend more time pursuing private business opportunities.

“I am leaving on my own volition so I can spend more time working on my private business,” Rivera explained in an exclusive interview with NewWNYPolitics and Niagara Falls Politics.com. “I am really enjoying working on my business and feel that the time has come for me to devote more of my time to it.”

Once Chairman Rivera announced his resignation to the Niagara County Democratic Executive Committee, the Committee elected attorney Jeremy Schnurr, a Rivera ally, to serve out the rest of the current incumbent's unexpired term. There will be an election among Niagara County Democratic committee members to elect a chairman to serve out a full two year term within 20 days after the 2012 primary whether it is in June or August.

“I'm still going to be a committeemen,”says Rivera. “I've been selected to be a presidential delegate candidate and will be on the ballot on April 24. So I am still going to be active politically. I'm just not going to be the Chairman.”

Among those being mentioned as a possible challenger to Schnurr is former NYS Assembly and Senate aide and national and international political operative Gary Parenti.

Now that the latest visit of Gov. Cuomo to Buffalo has faded into history, one thing is clear: Assemblymember Dennis Gabryszak is fully satisfied with the level of devotion this Governor is showing to the goal of Buffalo area economic development.

“I'm tickled pink that we now have a Governor who is totally committed to reviving the WNY economy,” he told NewWNYPolitics in an exclusive interview on Wednesday. “He's proven it, not only by what he's proposed but also by the fact that he put money in his budget for the $1 billion for Buffalo proposal, so that he's put his money where his mouth is. He's also proven it by the number of times he's come to WNY while he's been Governor. I don't think there's ever been a Governor who has come to this area as many times as Andrew Cuomo.”

At the same time, Gabryszak also likes the fact that the Governor has laid down a challenge to WNYers with regard to our own economic future rather than just listing the goodies he plans to send our way.

“I like the challenge he has given us by saying, 'Ok, so you want to take advantage of my $1 billion economic development plan for WNY. Fine. Now it's time for you to go out there and make it happen. You're the ones who are going to have to get out there and find companies who can take advantage of this program. It's all up to you.”

STATEMENT FROM CONGRESSWOMAN HOCHUL

FOLLOWING PRESIDENT OBAMA’S STATE OF THE UNION

The following is a statement from Congresswoman Kathy Hochul following President Obama’s State of the Union address this evening:

“Tonight, President Obama reported on the state of the nation and laid out his plan to move our economy forward.  While we’ve seen some progress, we need to continue to invest in America, ensuring Americans have good jobs to go to every day.

“The President’s proposal to revitalize our manufacturing community, invest in American infrastructure, and focus on job training at community colleges, like ECC, NCC, and MCC, will keep America competitive and bring jobs back to the United States.  It’s time we stop rewarding those companies that ship jobs overseas, and start rewarding companies that create jobs right here in America. 

Erie County Democratic Chairman Len Lenihan heaped praise on 145^th District special election Dem nominee Chris Fahey on Tuesday, predicting he will become “a great Assemblyman,” someone who will be an “upbeat” public servant, armed with a “positive personality,” making him “the voice of a new generation” in WNY politics.

“I think it says a lot that Chris Fahey was nominated by both the Erie County Democratic Executive Committee and the district committee members almost unanimously, with only two votes opposing him,” he pointed out. “Only 36 years old, Chris has already worked on issues such as waterfront development and the power authority with great skill and intelligence. The presentation he gave before the two committees impressed everyone who heard it. Chris is a very positive person who will have no problem raising money. He is going to do a great job in Albany.”

At the same time, Chairman Lenihan believes he was able to thwart a Republican sponsored plot to leave Democrats without a candidate in the race thus automatically electing the GOP's choice.

”EVERYTHING WE DO IS FOR THEM”

As with so many things that effect the future of Niagara Falls, Mayor Paul Dyster is taking the lead in making sure the Falls gets its fair share of Gov. Cuomo's $1 billion economic development pot.

“Immediately after we heard about the Governor's initiative, we started contacting companies with which we have initiated projects here in Niagara Falls which have never been completed and asking them if the money Gov. Cuomo has made available would now make their project doable,” Mayor Dyster reports. “We also began looking at businesses to see if we could find companies whose work would complement what is being done by existing business that are already here. We are going to continue what we're doing until we are able to find businesses that will create the jobs that the people of this city need.”

No wonder Mayor Dyster became the first Falls Mayor to be re-elected in over two decades with his victory last November.

63RD SENATOR FOR JUNE PRIMARY?...HIGGINS AND SILVER NOW OK?...WITH HINCHEY NOT RUNNING, WNY CONG. DISTRICTS COULD BE SAFE

The latest rumor coming out of Albany is to the effect that there's a deal between the Democrats in the Assembly and the Republicans who control the NYS Senate: According to the rumored terms, the Dems would give the upper house GOP the 63^rd Senate seat it wants. In return, the Republicans would give the Democrats the June Primary they are longing for.

How nice...Sounds so Kumbaya...Actually, many suspected from the start that the Republicans' show of opposition to the June Primary was always a shrewd bargaining chip, to be used to secure other considerations.

In other news, we are hearing that those who are expecting NYS Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to exact some kind of redistricting revenge on Cong. Brian Higgins for opposing him several years ago may be disappointed. True, Higgins was part of the group that tried to topple the Speaker way back when, but it turns out that relations between Higgins and the Speaker have improved in recent years. If this is true it means that Silver may not attempt to deep six the current Higgins district after all.

Finally, we are hearing that, with the announcement that Democratic Hudson Valley Cong. Maurince Hinchey will not run for re-election, it may turn out that our WNY congressional districts may be safe from the re-districting knife in any case. With two New York districts needing to be eliminated due to state-wide population losses, it looks like the Hinchey district and that of a central NY woman Republican who is unpopular within her party may be the ones to be nuked, leaving out all three of our Congress members untouched.

CERETTO ON CUOMO: “A MAN OF HIS WORD”...LET'S TACKLE STATE MANDATES NEXT

What's the biggest change that's come to New York since Andrew Cuomo became Governor?...Some WNYers might point to Cuomo's $1 billion for Buffalo plan. But, Niagara County Assemblyman John Ceretto suggests an even more fundamental difference:

“Right now the Governor and the Legislature, Republicans and Democrats, the Assembly and the Senate are all united behind the goal of making the State of New York more efficient, more business friendly, with lower taxes and less state mandates so that we can create the jobs we need for our people,” he says. “There is nothing more important than that. This is something I have prayed for and knew would happen and now it is here.”

Now that the dust has settled after former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's dramatic 13 point in the South Carolina Primary Saturday night, it's time to sit back and ask ourselves what it all means. .Sure it was a victory for his conservative beliefs. But, there's a lot more to the story.

Here's the list:

IT MEANS, above all, that the 2012 GOP presidential nomination contest will go on and on, as Mitt Romney is forced to get back in the personal attack mosh pit with Newt Gingrich for the duration, a place where Newt feels most at home, but a place which Mitt had wanted to avoid. At exactly the point in the campaign in which Romney would have preferred to begin uniting the GOP behind him, he will now have to resurrect the anti Newt personal attacks he used to blow the former Speaker out of the water in Iowa, while preparing to take plenty of brutal hits in return.