Democratic Erie County Sheriff contender Dick Dobson announced his candidacy on Friday, pledging to return the department to its historic mission of “providing quality public safety services to our community by promoting a safe environment through police and citizen interaction, with an emphasis on integrity, fairness, and professionalism.”

During his talk, Dobson spoke about his reasons for running for Erie County Sheriff. surrounded by supporters and friends. He stated his views at a crowded , very well organized press conference attended by all local TV and radio outlets and the Buffalo News as well as this reporter.

“I spent 32 years as a Sheriff's Deputy,” he pointed out. “I love this department. I just couldn't stay by in silent non-support, knowing that it wasn't being run property and that Deputies were being hurt as a result. Ours is a dangerous profession. There are people out there who would take our lives in a minute. I want to do everything I can to protect our Deputies and to protect all the people of Erie County.”

After the event in an exclusive interview with NewWNYPolitics, Dobson promised that the first thing he would do if elected would be to “end the favoritism and excessive overtime” which has caused morale among Deputies to plummet.

Highly reliable sources are telling NewWNYPolitics that the decision of the Erie County Legislature's Democratic Caucus to replace successful businessman Jack O'Donnell on the Water Authority Board with prominent attorney Chris O'Brien will lead to “all out war” between competing factions within the local Democratic Party. The two factions involved are: the group that supports Cheektowaga Democratic Chairman Frank Max and those local Democrats loyal to County Chairman Jeremy Zellner. Chairman Zellner supported O'Brien for the post.

“Every incumbent Democratic county Legislator will face a primary challenger,” pledges one of these sources. “Already Terry McCracken is being challenged by financial professional Wes Moore. Right now we are looking into finding good candidates to challenge all of them, including Legislature Chairperson Betty Jean Grant, Legislator Tim Hogues and all the others including Tom Mazur, They are all going to have a fight on their hands this September.”

The anti headquarters group is especially incensed at Legislator Mazur who, they say voted for O'Brien because his son is a part of the Mark Poloncarz Administration even though Cheektowaga Chairman Max has strongly backed him in the past.

“It would have been much better if the party leadership had supported Jack for re-election as a way of bringing peace to the Erie County Democratic Party,” adds another source. “We would have had to seriously consider such an approach. Now there is going to be war.”

The approaching state of hostilities is expected to effect many races, but not the chances that the Erie County Democratic Executive Committee will endorse Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown for re-election.

There is no doubt that Cheektowaga/Lancaster Assemblymember Dennis Gabryszak would happily vote for 90% of Gov. Cuomo's proposed new Woman's Rights bill, including provisions to guarantee equal pay and give women additional protections from domestic violence. However, it is equally clear that he will vote against the bill if it includes provisions that make abortions easier to get in New York as it currently does.

“There is much in this bill that I would happily vote for,” he points out. “But, if it includes a tenth part that make abortion more available in this state where it is already very available, then that would make this an easy decision for me. I would vote against it. Right now the Governor is insisting that we vote on the bill on an all or nothing basis. Possibly the bill will run into some trouble in the Senate with the result that there will be a change of tactics so that we'll be able to vote on some of its provisions separately. I hope so.”

For the pro-life former Cheektowaga Supervisor, the abortion issue is a matter of principle.

WESLEY MOORE TO SEEK ERIE COUNTY LEGISLATURE SEAT

Lancaster, New York, February 20, 2013… Citing a lack of representation and citizen advocacy for the constituents of the 8^th legislative district, Wes Moore, a financial services professional from Lancaster, today announced that he is a candidate for the position of Erie County Legislator.

A registered Democrat, Moore brings impressive credentials in the financial services sector to the table, having held branch manager positions with Wells Fargo, Greater Buffalo Savings Bank and Key Bank in recent years. He currently serves as Director of Strategic Alliances for MassMutual Financial Group and is based out of their Amherst office. He is a graduate of Westminster College in Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in political science.

Additionally, Moore owns his consulting business, Marcellus Financial Services, which offers financial planning advice to a wide array of clients in the northeast.

Some sources are saying the decision of the NYS Independence Party to take endorsement decisions away from the local party may have had something to do with a Republican plan to deny major/minor party endorsements to Democratic candidates for the Erie County Legislature so the GOP can take over control of the Leg next year. Specifically, we are told the Republicans want to deny third party backing for hard working Dem Legislators Tom Loughran and Terry McCracken. The GOP believes that if they can take these two seats, at least a 6-5 Leg majority will be theirs.

Now that prominent Williamsville attorney Chris O'Brien is slated to take over the Water Authority Board seat currently held by highly successful businessman Jack O'Donnell on Thursday, our sources are describing him as “a very able attorney,”.. “a good guy who really cares about this community”...”a true professional who is doing a good job on the University of Buffalo Council.”

While it's true that five members of the County Legislature have gone on the record in support of a resolution asking the NYS Legislature to repeal Gov. Cuomo's gun safety law, it's not really a bi-partisan group since all of them caucus with the Republicans, though Lynn Dixon is an Independence Party member. But, even if the measure does pass the county leg, there is no chance the gun bill will be repealed since it currently boasts a 65-30% approval rating state-wide according to the Siena College Institute poll.

Former Cheektowaga Republican Chairman Mitch Martin has emerged as the campaign manager for Buffalo GOP mayoral candidate Sergio Rodriguez.

The Erie County Democratic Committee, under Chairman Jeremy Zellner, has formed a Search Committee to “review resumes and interview candidates” with the goal of finding a Democratic nominee for County Sheriff. Wanted are contenders who have “the skills and experience to manage a large organization and the desire to give back to our community.”

Candidates are being asked to send their resumes to: ECDC; Sheriff Search Committee; c/o Melissa Bochenski; 295 Main St. Suite 115; Buffalo, NY 14203.

Yes, we know there ARE ways to get around the state's limits on financial contributions to candidates. For example, a contributor could give a large amount of money to a candidate personally and then the candidate could “loan” the money to his or her campaign, then pay himself back later.

Apparently, Democratic Sheriff candidate Bert Dunn made a $1,000 contribution to the Friends of Tim Howard in December of 2005.

Prominent attorney Dennis Gaughan is backing away from running for Hamburg Supervisor this year, apparently due to the increasingly toxic nature of politics in the town and village. He will make a definite decision by next June.

Finally, NYS Senator Mark Grisanti is not changing his registration to one of the major/minor third parties and for a very good reason: What he has been doing so far has been working well. He's emerged as the kind of moderate Republican who used to dominate NYS politics a la US Senators Jacob Javits and Ken Keating.

He is a GOP state senator who votes with the Democrats most of the time, yet who, because he gets his funding from the Republicans, is not constantly under pressure to vote the extreme liberal line of the downstate unions who would like to do unpopular things such as repealing the property tax cap, for example. It's not a bad position to be in.

Despite widespread rumors to the effect that the father and uncle of an announced candidate for Erie County Sheriff intend to contribute as much as $500,000 to his campaign, the fact is that it's not going to happen...Why? Because it would be illegal in the light of New York State campaign contribution limits. The most an immediate relation such as a parent could contribute to a Democratic primary candidate in Erie County legally would be in the area of a little more than $70,000 or 25 cents per registered Democratic voter. An uncle, since he does not fall into the category of an immediate relative in the eyes of the law would be limited to a flat $5,000.   

Below you'll find the relevant section of NYS election law as taken from the NYS Board of Elections web site:

With all six Democratic Legislators signing his petition, it looks like attorney Chris O'Brien will be the next Erie County Water Authority Commissioner, replacing the hard working, reform minded Jack O'Donnell as long as the Democrats stick together, which it looks like they will....This result represents a major victory for Erie County Democratic Chairman Jeremy Zellner...Our sources close to the Dennis Gorski camp are telling us that the former County Executive is restive in retirement after a long career of achievement in both the public and private sectors and is definitely considering a race for County Comptroller this year, though no decision has been made.

Reportedly, between Bert Dunn Sr., the founder of Bert's Bikes and the candidate's father and namesake, and Dunn Tire Founder Jim Dunn, the candidate's uncle, somewhere between $300,000 and a half a mill have been pledged in support of Sheriff's Deputy Bert Dunn's campaign for Erie County Sheriff this year...We hear that the Cheektowaga Town Board will probably leave the seat of the recently resigned Councilwoman Pat Jaworowicz vacant rather then appointing a temporary replacement since her spot is up for grabs this year anyway.

Moving downstate, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn leads the Democratic field for mayor while Republican Joe Lhota runs away with the nomination in a hypothetical GOP primary only to get creamed in November -- according to new polling.

Quinn garners 37% of primary support in the NY1-Marist survey, followed by former Comptroller Bill Thompson, the Democratic nominee the last time, at 13%, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio at 12%, current Comptroller John Liu at 9% and former Councilman Sal Albanese at 2%, with 26% of registered Democrats undecided. If these results hold through November Quinn would become the Big Apple's first woman mayor.

Across the aisle, 55% of the city’s registered Republicans remain undecided, but if the primary were held now, 20% would go with Lhota, the former head of the MTA. The rest of the pack is down in the single digits.

JAWOROWICZ RESIGNS FROM CHEEKTOWAGA TOWN BOARD

Cheektowaga, New York, February 7, 2012… Patricia A. Jaworowicz, who is one of the longest standing members of the Cheektowaga Town Board in the town’s history, has submitted her resignation as a Council Member. The resignation will take effect on Wednesday, February 20, 2013. A letter of resignation was hand delivered today by her son Timothy Jaworowicz to the office of the Town Clerk. Town Democratic Chairman Frank Max was also notified of this action.

Ms. Jaworowicz has been dealing with substantial health issues over the past two years. “We were hoping to bring her back to good health, and to return to her desk at Town Hall and fulfill the remaining year of her term,” reported Tim Jaworowicz. “Unfortunately my mom has not gotten better. So she has made the difficult decision that she can no longer continue. For her sake, and for the sake of the people of the Town of Cheektowaga, it be best that she step down from her duties at this time.”

Patricia Jaworowicz concludes her service as Council Member at 31 years, 1 month and 20 days.

As a Depew/Cheektowaga District School Board member during the last 12 years, Diane Benczkowski makes a point of returning every parent's call within a few hours. As a citizen, she attends just about every meeting of several taxpayer associations in her town. As a Cheektowaga Town Board candidate, she started going door to door throughout the community last year over 12 monrha before the election.

Now she is seeking to bring that same dedication to the Town Council based on her campaign slogan: “Open, Transparent, Effective.”

“Both as a town board candidate and as a real estate professional, I speak with the people of Cheektowaga every day,” Diane points out. “I know they would like to see us cut taxes and bring more new business to the town, while at the same time maintaining the town services they depend on. I also know they would like to see our schools improved. Above all, they would like to see all of the town board members work together to make the town better. I will work toward achieving all of these things if I am elected in November.”

From speaking with a variety of WNY Democrats today, members of every faction and group, about the possibility of a Dennis Gorski candidacy for county comptroller this year, a number of points are clear:

Most Democrats feel that, if he does run for comptroller, that Gorski would be the class of a weak field on the Democratic side and also in the general election campaign. The only announced Democratic candidate for comptroller currently is a confused and hapless contender, with little understanding of the lay of the political land in Erie County. In Gorski, Democrats would have a sure footed nominee with plenty of political and fiscal expertise, a man who is blessed with considerably more of both than the Republican incumbent Stefan Mychajliw.

More than that, Gorski could make the case that he would be the one contender who was running, not as a stepping stone to gain some higher political office, but to take the next four years to work with the County Executive and Legislature to get Erie County's fiscal house in order, without regard to politics.

One other interesting development was that we found support for a potential Gorski candidacy within all factions of the Erie County Democratic Party. Don't forget that while it's true that Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and Deputy Mayor Steve Casey are both former Gorski associates who are proud of the association, so is former Erie County Democratic Chairman Len Lenihan. A large number of Democrats who don't agree with each other on much seemed to agree that a Gorski candidacy would be an intriguing possibility.

The woman who will have more influence over the choice of a new Water Authority Board Member than anyone else explained the process to NEWWNYPolitics on Tuesday.

“The caucuses in the Legislature, including possibly an Independence Party caucus and a Conservative caucus, will each submit their choice to me,: Erie County Legislature Chairperson Betty Jean Grant said. “I will select one of the names and submit it to the full Legislature. If that person gets a majority vote in the full Legislature, then that person gets the job. I would expect that anyone whose name I submit will get majority support since I wouldn't submit the name of someone who couldn't win.”

Is she confident that the entire Democratic caucus will support the choice of the caucus even if the original vote in the caucus is not unanimous?

“Our Democratic caucus has a good record of supporting its leadership,” she replied, “and I have no reason to believe that they would not support the leadership in this situation.”