NEW YORK STATE INDEPENDENCE PARTY ENDORSES MAYOR BROWN FOR RE-ELECTION

BUFFALO – The New York State Independence Party has endorsed Mayor Byron Brown for re-election as Mayor of Buffalo. As in 2005 and 2009 when they endorsed Mayor Brown in his successful bid to become Buffalo’s 58th Mayor, the New York State Independence Party reiterated their confidence in Mayor Brown’s ability to lead the city and continue his programs and policies for improving Buffalo.

“Under Mayor Brown, the City of Buffalo has made great progress. Buffalo’s residents have reaped the benefits of lower taxes, no more hard control board, the highest bond rating in its history, safer streets, and the largest economic development growth in decades,” said New York State Chairman Frank MacKay. “We believe that Mayor Brown is the absolute best choice to lead the City of Buffalo for the next 4 years,” concluded Chairman MacKay.

Mayor Brown has invested in neighborhoods and education, and today there is nearly $1.7 billion in economic development projects transforming Buffalo and creating real jobs. Buffalo is being reborn with $500 million in waterfront development, including $172 million in private investment with the Buffalo Sabres for the Harbor Center Project on the Webster Block.

“I am again very pleased to receive the endorsement of the New York State Independence Party, who gave me their valued support in 2005 and 2009,” said Mayor Brown. “Since taking office in 2006, I am proud of my record as Mayor and the great progress we have made in Buffalo. My administration has achieved many important goals, including reducing crime overall by 19%, cutting residential taxes by 15% and stabilizing the city’s fiscal condition. With the strong foundation we have built, I am confident we can continue to move Buffalo forward and I thank the New York State Independence Party for their support as I seek a third term as Mayor of Buffalo.”

In an exclusive late night Monday interview with NewWNYPolitics, Erie County Legislature Chairman Betty Jean Grant told this reporter that she would definitely not be supporting Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown for re-election.

“The reason is that the Mayor supported my opponent for the NYS Senate last year and even made robo calls for him in the inner city,” she said. “So why should I support him even if it means I have a primary opponent?”

Still she stopped sort of saying she would formally back the Mayor's opponent, Bernie Tolbert though she has clearly been supporting his campaign informally.

“They can run an opponent in the primary against me. I don't care,” she continued. “I almost beat NYS Senator Tim Kennedy last year. Why should I be afraid of any challenger the Mayor's people might support? If I should get beat, I have a good pension, so I'm not worried.”

She added that County Dem Chairman Jeremy Zellner could continue to work together, with him as her chief of staff at the Leg, even if they were on opposite sides of the Brown/Tolbert battle.

“That doesn't matter,” she concluded. “Jeremy has to do what he has to do and so do I.”

Got questions about this year's race for Buffalo Mayor?...We've got the answers.

Does Erie County Democratic Chairman Jeremy Zellner have the votes to pass an endorsement of Mayor Byron Brown's re-election in his executive committee?

Yes. There are 27 zone chairman from the city who will vote along with 27 at-large members who were appointed by the Chairman. The Zellner/Brown team will get all 27 of the at-large votes and at least half of the zone leaders for a clear cut victory.

Is there an over all deal in place that will bring over all peace in our time between the Chairman's backers and the Mayor's?

The answer is sort of but not really.

Reliable sources within the Brown camp have told this reporter that they will not run candidates vs. Legislature Chairperson Betty Jean Grant and Legislator Tim Hogues as long as they support Zellner's endorsement of the Mayor....If they don't the Mayor's people will run challengers against both in order to drive up turnout in the inner city if for no other reason.

“It's up to Betty Jean and Tim,” they say...At the moment, there is no comprehensive peace deal in place.

Why did mayoral challenger Bernie Tolbert wait so long to launch his campaign?

He wanted to wait long enough so that it would be too late for City Comptroller Mark Schroeder to join the mayoral contest as the Great White Hope. The problem is that the tardy announcement also makes it next to impossible for Bernie to raise enough money and inspire enough support to win.

As one source told us: “Look, Bernie is a former FBI executive who got into security work after he left the agency. He's not a politician and it shows..

Finally, we understand that Charley Markel is considering running for the former Terry McCracken county leg seat against businessman Wes Moore in the September Democratic primary.

The Bernie Tolbert mayoral campaign made a telling strategic mistake by putting the 200 supporters they attracted to their announcement of candidacy into the same BW Smith Family Life Center where Mayor Byron Brown had attracted over 400 for his campaign kickoff only a couple of weeks before. If the Tolbert campaign knew they were going to host only half as many, it would have been much better to choose a smaller venue which they could have filled to the rafters.

By choosing the same house, they only put attention on the fact that their turnout was much less.

As for Tolbert's speech, it was workmanlike, but not particular inspirational or passionate. Does this guy have the fire in the belly needed to throw out a popular incumbent? It remains to be seen.

While Tolbert is casting doubts, we can't believe that Erie County Democratic Chairman Jeremy Zellner would have announced that he is recommending a Byron Brown endorsement to his exec committee if he didn't have the votes to pass it in his hip pocket.

Meanwhile, our spies noticed an interesting sight at this week's Conservative Party breakfast at Daisy's in Lackawanna related to the Dem Sheriff's race. It was Bert Dunn Sr. who was chatting with everyone in sight, looking for all the world like the candidate, while Dunn Jr. the actual contender, was pretty much keeping to himself. It only shows how difficult it is to run for office if you've never done it before and how tough it can be to get into the spirit of the game.

At the same time, we understand that Democratic Sheriff insurgent Dick Dobson is campaigning every day at events and going door to door like the outgoing personality he naturally is.

Speaking of Dunn, fairly or unfairly, some endorsed Dem candidates seem reluctant to formally back him for fear of a back lash in the inner city related to his “I don't like Obama” text message. Some say they will carry his petitions as part of the party slate, but will not give him their support.

Finally, look for incumbent GOP Sheriff Tim Howard to attract a lot of labor support in the general, notably the Building Trades.

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The decision of Erie County Democratic Chairman Jeremy Zellner on Friday to recommend that his executive committee endorse Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown for re-election represents yet another bold indication that he intends to take the party in a new and different direction, one that is entirely based on his own vision for its future.

The fact that he made his announcement before other party leaders such as Legislature Chairperson Betty Jean Grant made theirs, indicates that Zellner intends to be a leader, not a follower when it comes to the party's direction.

Meanwhile, the timing of the announcement, on the eve of mayoral challenger Bernie Tolbert's own announcement of candidacy, is a body blow to the Tolbert campaign from which it could have a hard time recovering. The result is that, instead of Bernie's own program for the cit'y's future being the story this weekend, it will be Zellner's decision that will have local political tongues wagging.

Already, Grant, otherwise likely to be a fervent Tolbert backer, has announced that she is “not endorsing anyone,” a decidedly sour development in Tolbertland..

Democratic Chairman Zellner Recommends Brown for Mayor

Calling for Party Unity, Zellner Urges Executive Committee to Support Incumbent Buffalo Mayor

Buffalo, NY – Erie County Democratic Committee Chairman Jeremy Zellner today announced that he will recommend incumbent Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown to the party’s executive committee for endorsement:

“I was elected to bring the Democratic Party together and I am doing just that.  This is an important year, especially on the countywide level, and I am not interested in continuing the battles of the past.  I am committed to uniting our party and moving it forward.  I have had many conversations with Mayor Brown, and he has assured me that he is ready to work hand-in-hand with the Party. 

“I have tremendous respect for all of the City of Buffalo Zone leaders, and we will go through our normal process of convening the executive committee for interviews and endorsements. 

 “I am confident that Mayor Brown and I can work together to strengthen the party’s ticket this year, including our incumbent county legislators in the City of Buffalo: Timothy Hogues, Betty Jean Grant and Lynn Marinelli.

“We also have a qualified slate of countywide candidates led by Judge Barbara Howe, who is up for reelection to the Surrogate Court; Mary Carney and Paul Crapsi for Family Court; Bert Dunn for Sheriff and Lynn Szalkowski, a CPA, for Comptroller.

“I look forward to working with Mayor Brown and his team to support all of our candidates and I am excited for this process to take place.”  

THERE WIILL BE A FUNDRAISER FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF ENDORSED DEMOCRATIC CHEEKTOWAGA TOWN COUNCIL CANDIDATE TIM MEYERS ON THURS. MAY 16 AT
MACAROONS NITE CLUB, 
DICK RD CHEEKTOWAGA FROM 6-8PM. CHECKS CAN BE MADE OUT TO: FRIENDS OF TIM MEYERS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 597-9711.

The first meeting between the Mayor of Buffalo, Byron Brown and members of his staff and Erie County Democratic Chairman Jeremy Zellner to discuss a possible party endorsement of the Mayor's re-election has taken place. According to reliable sources, the meeting was positive, productive, and friendly though no decision has been made by either party. Conversations between the Mayor and the Chairman and their supporters will continue.

Though Erie County Legislature Chairperson Betty Jean Grant has been circulating information related to Democratic mayoral challenger Bernie Tolbert's announcement of candidacy, she told us specifically that she has “made no decision” related to the contest for Second Floor City Hall supremacy and, as of right now, is “not endorsing anyone.”

By the way, Tolbert WILL announce his candidacy this coming Saturday at 11am at the Smith Family Life Center as reported in this space yesterday. Also as reported here, County Legislator Terry McCracken has announced that he is NOT running for re-election. Tolbert plans to run a hard hitting campaign, attacking the Mayor on inner city economic development, crime, and education.

Buffalo mayoral challenger Bernie Tolbert is telling supporters that he will announce his candidacy this coming Saturday, May 11 at 11am at the BW Smith Family Center, 833 Michigan Ave. Of course, we have heard this kind of thing before from the Tolbert camp, but this time it could be the real thing.

One guy who apparently won't be running is Erie County Legislator Terry McCracken, who has announced that he won't seek re-election this year. That leaves the 8^th district Democratic nomination race to successful businessman Wes Moore, a private sector standout who looks like a CEO and is running with the support of Cheektowaga Democratic Chairman Frank Max, among many others.

While some have criticized New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for the speedy passage of his gun safety related SAFE ACT earlier this year, successful WNY businessman Jim Eagan does not agree.

Did Gov. Cuomo really push through the bill quickly in order to improve his prospects in the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries? Many think so, including some Democrats. Eagan doesn't agree.

“Passing the SAFE ACT quickly wasn't about politics,” he declares. “It was about the safety of our children. After the Newtown tragedy, Gov. Cuomo wanted to make sure he acted fast so that the same thing didn't happen to defenseless children in this state. This is not a partisan issue. The vast majority of New Yorkers, both Republicans and Democrats, are in favor of background checks for all gun buyers. Who could be against them?”

In other news, many WNYers were moved by that Ch. 2 report over the weekend that featured Assemblyman Micky Kearns and his severely retarded brother. The issue was the failure of the Albany Legislature to renew the full appropriation for services to the developmentally disabled. Instead, the Assembly and NYS Senate left a $90 million shortfall in this funding.

By all accounts, Saturday's Grand Opening of the new Erie County Democratic Party headquarters, under County Chairman Jeremy Zellner, was a big success, with as many as 400 loyal Dems turning out, including Cong. Brian Higgins, County Executive Mark Poloncarz, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, and County Legislature Chairwoman Betty Jean Grant. Clearly the most watched and noticed attendee at the event was Mayor Brown.

The fact that the Mayor was on hand for every minute of the festivities from beginning to end seemed to many clear evidence that he is definitely interested in the County Democratic endorsement for re-election, as long as all the various negotiating points and potential bones of contention can be worked out.

The Mayor's steadfast presence at the event was especially impressive when you consider that it was a busy day for him, with Gun Buy Back transactions going on in the city throughout Saturday.

One person who was not there was independent Democratic Sheriff candidate Dick Dobson, who, we are told, was out going door to door and attending other events that day in support of his campaign.

Getting back to the County Dems event, many of those present seemed especially impressed with newly introduced Democratic candidate for County Comptroller Lynn Szalkowski. In fact, one inside with close ties to Mayor Brown is reported to have said that County Chairman Zellner “deserves a lot of credit for finding her.”