CHEEKTOWAGA DEMOCRATIC CHAIRMAN FRANK MAX PRAISES DINAPOLI, GLASCOTT, DEFENDS STACHOWSKI...."CAPTAIN GLASCOTT IS THE MAN TO DO IT!"

Having attracted over 1,100 people to a pair of fundraisers in just ten days, Cheektowaga Democratic Chairman Frank Max has proven his ability to draw large crowds to political events once again. He is especially proud of the fact that NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli attended his most recent picnic last Thursday night.

"This was an opportunity to get to know each other for Comptroller DiNapoli and the people of Cheektowaga and WNY," he told NewWNYPolitics in an exclusive interview the next day. "Those who attended our picnic found the Comptroller to be a very friendly and open man who seemed truly interested in talking to everyone there and who established some great friendships during the time he was here. We were very honored that Comptroller DiNapoli was able to come to our event and we are looking forward to seeing him again. I also want to thank Assemblymember Dennis Gabryszak for introducing the Comptroller to everyone and taking him around. It was a great night."

Meanwhile, Chairman Max is speaking up to defend Senator Bill Stachowski from Republican attacks in the wake of the recently resolved state senate leadership crisis.

TWO GREAT FRIENDS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, JAWOROWICZ AND RIVERA WELCOMED TO NEWWNYPOLITICS ADVERTISING FAMILY...RIVERA: PUT MORE COPS ON STREETS...INFILTRATE GANGS, SEND LEADERS AWAY

What do Cheektowaga Town Board Member Pat Jaworowicz and Buffalo Niagara District Common Council Member David Rivera have in common? Well, there are two things we can think of: They have both just recently joined the NewWNYPolitics family of advertisers and they are both also very strong friends of law enforcement in their own communities.

Councilwoman Jaworowicz has been the Chairperson of the Cheektowaga Town Board Public Safety Committee for as long as she's been on the Council. She works closely with Cheektowaga Police Officers on a daily basis and is intensely proud of their many achievements. Dave Rivera is a former Buffalo Police Officer himself who is now pushing for stronger law enforcement in the inner city as a way of combatting crime.

"Putting up surveillance cameras is fine," he declares. "They can be an important investigative tool. But, the real answer is that we need more police on the streets. Right now out of the approx. 800 officers we have in the City of Buffalo, only about 400 are assigned to be on the streets patrolling the city at any given time. Of the rest, about 100 are off active duty because they are injured and the rest are detectives and brass. I would eliminate the four Deputy Commissioners that we have and put those resources into street patrols. Also we need to create more police officer positions. Having 800 officers to patrol a city this size with the kind of problems that we have is just not enough. We need a lot more."

What would Councilman Rivera, a strong supporter of the Mickey Kearns for Mayor campaign, do to deal with the problem of gang violence which has claimed lives on both the East and West sides in recent days?

With the New York Senate dead lock over it’s time to get back to doing the work of the people. No one was more frustrated by the stalemate than myself as important legislation that I had authored was halted just days before being passed in the Senate.

One of the important pieces of legislation I’m referring to is the creation of a committee to explore the possibility of abolishing the New York Thruway Authority. This committee could attempt to answer the question posed by so many New Yorkers and that is whether the Thruway Authority is a necessary entity. It would also begin the process of exploring the removal of other statewide authorities which have been created over the years and have now added layers of bureaucracy to state government.

Another Bill I had authored and am waiting for passage in the Senate calls for the New York Power Authority to have the proceeds from unused power that is sold to be kept in Western New York instead of being put in NYPA’s coffers. The funds would be allocated to the Western New York Economic Development Fund to help create jobs and create local development. This would amount to millions of dollars being kept in our region, created from a resource that sits right in our own back yard.

THURSDAY NIGHT'S CHEEKTOWAGA DEMOCRATS MAX LED FUNDRIASER FEATURING COMPTROLLER DINAPOLI ATTRACTS OVER 500...DINAPOLI FRIENDLY, KNOWLEDGIBLE DEMEANOR IMPRESSES MANY...WEST SENECA TOWN BOARD MEMBER CHRISTINE BOVE TO CHALLENGE TIM WROBLEWSKI FOR LEG SEAT...ESPADA DOUBLE SWITCH THE TALK OF THE EVENING...GLASCOTT, O'DONNELL, NOWAK, HOCHUL ON HAND

Thursday night's fundraising picnic to support the Cheektowaga Democratic Party's local candidates, featuring NYS Comptroller Thomas Dinapolli, was a big success, attracting over 400, including many WNY political figures. Comptroller DiNapoli seemed to score a big hit with everyone as he roamed around the gathering, led by Assemblymember Dennis Gabryszak, shaking hands and exchanging greetings with one and all. Cheektowaga Democratic Chairman Frank Max presided over the festivities with confidence and aplomb. Still, many were buzzing about events occurring far from the very pleasant environs of the Creekside Inn where the get together was held.

Quite a number of attendees were mulling over breaking news such as reports that West Seneca Town Board Member Christine Bove has decided to challenge Erie County Legislator Tim Wroblewski for his seat in the upcoming Democratic Primary. The word on the street is that Bove will be a very formidable candidate because she is (a) very popular in the town and, even more important, (b) she's a ferocious worker who thinks nothing of going door to door around the clock, like from 9am to 9pm, just about seven days a week, for example. Reportedly, a poll has already been done which shows her ahead of him by a two to one margin, though with a large undecided vote still hanging in the balance.

OLIVENCIA RETURNS TO DEVOTE FULL TIME TO KEARNS CAMPAIGN...SCHROEDER: "WE NEED LT. GOV., BUT PATERSON APPOINTMENT ISN'T LEGAL"...KEARNS: "I NEVER SAW A CAMERA PUT THE CUFFS ON ANYONE"

He's Baaack! Hispanic community activist Chito Olivencia is back in Buffalo after wintering in his native Puerto Rico and is now planning to devote his full time energies to backing the Democratic Primary campaign of  Mayoral challenger Mickey Kearns.

"I am going to be spending all my time, talking to my friends in the Hispanic community and in the Polish community, and in the Italian community and all the others to support Mickey Kearns candidacy for Mayor of Buffalo," he explains. "I am doing this because we need a Mayor who will communicate with all of our communities, including the Hispanic community. The current Mayor won't talk to us and look at how he is treating our Common Council Member, David Rivera. Mickey Kearns will be a Mayor we can all communicate with. He'll be a Mayor we can all work with."

Richard Ravitch for Lt. Governor?...Assemblymember Mark Schroeder says we need a #2 in Albany, but this appointment is just not legal under our constitution.

ASSEMBLYMEMBER HOYT BACKS KEARNS, CALLING HIM ADVOCATE OF "STRONG NEIGHBORHOODS"...PRAISES SOUTH DISTRICT COUNCILMAN'S "QUALITY OF LIFE CENTERS"

Assemblymember Sam Hoyt joined Mickey Kearns, Chito Olivencia, and Councilmen David Rivera and Mike LoCurto at a lower West Side press conference Wednesday evening to announce his endorsement of the South District mayoral challenger.

"In the few years he has served on the Common Council, Mickey has distinguished himself as a person who understands public policy, as the kind of person Buffalo needs to move forward as a community and a region," Hoyt said. "Kearns has the interests of the people at heart, not politics. His plans to iprove dialogue amongst the Mayor's Office, citizens, and community based organizations would bring new accountability and openness to the office that we have not seen in years."

The need to have a Mayor who is less preoccupied with politics and who is "more open" and more concerned with helping the neighborhoods, not just downtown, were major themes of the event, referred to by every single speaker. For example, the Assemblymember declared that Buffalo needs a Mayor who is mainly interested in "policy, not politics." He added:

MAYORAL CANDIDATE SAM HERBERT OFFERING "A CHOICE AND A NEW VOICE" IN MAYORAL RACE ASKING BUFFALO CITIZENS TO  PUT HIM OVER TOP IN BID TO GET ON PRIMARY BALLOT

Would you like to see Buffalo voters given the opportunity to vote for "A Choice and a New Voice" in this year's race for Mayor? If so, you can personally make this happen by signing a Sam Herbert for Mayor petition. All you have to do is to call 847-0410 and Sam will make sure he or one of his campaign workers gets a petition form to you.

"First of all, I want to thank the over 75 people who came to my home at 105 Struass on my 60th birthday on June 30 to participate in my petition signing party," Herbert says. "Also, I want to thank all the people of Buffalo for the warmth and kindness they have shown me as I've travelled around the city getting my petitions signed. I am asking the residents of Buffalo to help me give our citizens 'A Choice and a New Voice' in the race for this high office. With the help of God and the good people of this city, we will all succeed in making the City of Buffalo a better place in which to live for everyone."