ENDORSERD DEMOCRATIC ASSEMBLY CANDIDATE KOZUB CHARGES AMODEO IS RUNNING ONLY TO HELP HIS LAW FIRM. OTHER ATTORNEYS...TOO MANY LAWYERS IN ALBANY ALREADY?

How many professional politicians do you know who get up at 3:30am every morning to drive an NFTA bus? If you don't know any, then you don't know Danny Kozub, who has continued to cheerily greet early morning bus riders every am during his entire career as a Lackawanna Councilman and Erie County Legislator.

"Yes, it's true that I make my living as a bus driver every morning and then go to work in my district office at at the Legislature in the afternoon," says Kozub. "The big difference between me and Mike Amodeo, who is a high priced lawyer. is that I will not be able to continue my job with the NFTA if I'm elected to the Assembly. I will have to take a leave of absense. But Mr. Amodeo will be free to continue with his law firm. Since his law firm represents public entitites such as municipalities, that means, he will be making contacts in Albany that will help the firm. Maybe that's the reason his law firm is contributing so much money to his campaign."

"Mr. Amodeo accuses others of feeding at the publc trough," Kozub continues. "But, since he represents towns and school districts as a high priced attorney, that means that he's the one who is getting rich off of the taxpayers and now he wants to double his taxpayer funded income while falsely accusing others of doing so."

Tired of incessant Amodeo mailings which accuse him of double dipping because of his NFTA job, Kozub is striking back,

"OINK, OINK" MAILING BY AMODEO STINKS, ASSEMBLY CANDIDATE RYBCZYNSKI DECLARES

Suppose you sent your 8 year old daughter to get the mail only to have her come back crying because she found a piece of promo depicting her daddy as a pig squealing "oink! oink!" in a filthy trough? Suppose you had to field calls from an indignant ailing father who had also found such a "letter" in his mail box?

"I told everyone when I started running for the Democratic nomination for the 146th disrict Assembly seat that I was going to run a clean campaign, that I was going to keep away from personal attacks and stick to the issues," says Brad Rybczynski. "Then to have my young daughter ask permission to be able to get the mail for the family and then to see her have to see something like this coming from my opponent, Mike Amodeo, is really disturbing. Plus my elderly parents have also gotten this thing in the mail. This mailing of his is not only disgusting but it's also misleading. At the very least, I'd like to ask Mr. Amodeo to take my own home and my parents' home off his mailing list."

Apart from the offensive nature of this latest Amodeo promotional piece, Rybczynski insists that it is also inaccurate and disceptive.

DIPIETRO ON GALLIVAN: "A DIFFERENT DEFINITION OF CORRUPTION?"

David DiPietro, candidate for the State Senate in the 59th District (R., Tea Party), today challenged his opponent Patrick Gallivan’s boast that he will be a champion against public corruption.  Gallivan said in a YNN debate on Thursday that he will fight the “culture of corruption” in Albany.

    “I guess Patrick Gallivan has a different definition of ‘corruption’ than the rest of us do,” DiPietro said.  “His public record involves illegally receiving state pension funds, nepotism, a conflict of interest in a criminal investigation, allowing employees to double dip the pension fund, and money laundering judicial campaign contributions.”

    Sources:

•    illegally receiving $11,799 in state pension funds (Letter from State Comptroller’s Office, June 24, 2010)
•    nepotism (Buffalo News, April 18, 1999)
•    conflict of interest in a criminal investigation (Buffalo News, September 17, 2003)
•    allowing employees to double dip the pension fund (Buffalo News, April 18, 1999)
•    money laundering judicial campaign contributions (Buffalo News, July 14, 2002)

DiPietro also noted that Gallivan’s key backer is Albany lobbyist Tom Reynolds and he has accepted contributions from trial lawyers and a law firm that was accused of defrauding the state (Business First, April 28, 2009).  “How will Gallivan pay back these special interests?” DiPietro asked.

DEMS EXPECTNG TO ENCOUNTER PARAGONS OF PARTY PRINCIPLES AT ELLICOTT SQUARE ON PRIMARY NIGHT WILL FACE THE "MADE AS HELL" CROWD INSTEAD...ANTI-VIOENCE MEETINGS AT MERRIWEATHER LIBRARY EVERY OTHER WED. BEGINNING SEPT. 15...DID BARRON VIOLATE CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS IN REPLY TO NEWWNYPOLITICS?

Loyal Democrats expecting to encounter strictly Friends of Bill and Obama backers on Sept. 14 as they make their way to the lobby of the Ellicott Square Building for the customary Democratic Party primary night festivities may be in for a schock. While it's true that the Erie County Democratic Party has held its primary and election night observances at Ellicott Square ever since God created sour green apples, (election night, 2005 was a notable exception when a joint celebration with Byron Brown's first mayoral victory party at the Hyatt was the order of the evening) this year the owner of the ESB, one Carl Paladino,  will be taking over the premises for his own GOP primary night watch as he battles Rick Lazio for the Republican guvernatorial nomination.

So instead of ex Barack campaigners the place will be filled with folks who are "Mad As Hell" at all the candidates who normally give victory speeches only a few steps from the offices of the leadershp ofErie County Democrats. Our sources are telling us that the EC Dems may not have a primary night party this time around, though that edict may be subject to change.

NYS Senator Antoine Thompson's re-election bid has been endorsed by Local 282 of the Buffalo Professional Firefighters. This major endoremsent is not only prestigious, but is also likely to mean additional volunteers and other support for the Senator's already front running campaign.

Meanwhile, with the support of Common Cause and the Sunlight Foundation, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will announce a new push to make Congress more transparent and accountable in Buffalo on Friday afternoon. The freshman Senator from New York will make her pitch at the Frank Merriweather Jr. Library Auditorium, 1324 Jefferson at 2:15pm on Friday, Sept. 3.. Senator Gillibrand will announce a new effort to pass bipartisan legislation she wrote that would make the federal earmark process fully transparent for all lawmakers. Under provisions of her legislation, Senators who might want to sneak spending amendments for projects in their states into bills without anyone knowing they did it, will know be identified publicly. The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee overwhelmingly passed the legislation last month.

NORTH DISTRICT COUNCILMAN DECLARES "I DON'T CARE ABOUT PERKS, ONLY SERVING MY DISTRICT"...WOULD GLADLY RISK "SIBERIA TREATMENT" FROM SILVER TO STRIKE OUT AGAINST A BROKEN ALBANY...CHARGES HOYT WITH "DEFENDING SPEAKER"

What can WNYers do to put an end to Albany outrages from perennial tax and fee hikes to the singlehanded murder of UB 20-20 by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver? To Democratic Assembly candidate Joe Golombek, the answer is simple if not necessarily easy: "Throw out the incumbents," including his opponent, Sam Hoyt.

"We wouldn't even have to throw out all of them," Golombek explains. "All you'd have to do is throw out some of them, beginning with Sam, and then I think the others would get scared and start getting the message and we'd finally start getting some reform in Albany."

As for Silver, Golombek, unlike many others, seems unafraid of challenging his 14 year hold on almost absolute legislative power, even if it means losing perks and privileges.

"If elected, I would definitely join Assemblymember Mark Schroeder, who has announced he's considering running against the Speaker, in voting against Silver, based on his complete unwilliness to do anything to reform the way Albany does business and his decision to kill UB 20-20, which is something people in the district are concerned about. I don't care about the perks or how much Sheldon Silver might retaliate against me. On the other hand, my opponent, 20 year incumbent Sam Hoyt, has been defending Silver, calling him, 'my friend from Manhattan.' I'm not surprised at his reaction. Like many others, he is simply more interested in  enjoying the perks and privileges of office than he is in doing anything to improve our economy in WNY or to turn around this state."

SNOOTY FOX TO BE SCENE OF PANEPINTO EVENT, THIS WED. SEPT. 8

The NYS Supreme Court campaign of Catherine Nugent Panepinto will hold a fundraiser THIS WEDNESDAY, Sept. 8 from 5:30-7:30pm at the Snooty Fox on Delaware Ave. in Buffalo. The contribution levels are $125 for Friends and $250 for Advocates. Checks can be made out to: Nugent-Panepinto for Justice; 485 Norwood; Buffalo, NY 14222. For more information, call 852-1888.  

BROOKLYN COUNCILMAN INSISTS BENEFITS OF DEM RULE AREN'T TRICKLING DOWN TO BLACKS, LATINOS...BELIEVES MINORITIES UNDERREPRESENTED IN HALLS OF POWER

While it's true that there are more African-Americans and Latinos in public office than ever before, it is also true that the benefits of these advances aren't being enjoyed by rank and file minority citizens, according to Brooklyn City Councilman Charles Barron. That's why he formed the Freedom Party of New York and that's why he's running for governor on a third party ticket that includes Bronx attorney Ramon Jimenez for attorney general and Buffalo activist Eva Doyle for Lt. Governor.

In an exclusive interview with NewWNYPolitics and Noticias-WNY, this three term Big Apple legislator explained his reasons for making the run.

"African-Americans and Latinos are still being hurt by institutional racism which leaves us underrepresented in elective office in this state," he says. "Despite the minority members who are currently serving in high office, our community still is being shortchanged in areas such as education and access to quality health care and good housing. We won't be taken for granted by the Democrats, There will be no minority member running as the state-wide nominee of the Democratic Party this year despite the fact that blacks and Latinos comprise 35% of the population of the State of New York. That's why I'm running."

Under Freedom Party rules, whites can participate in the organization's campaigns, but could not hold leadership positions or be nominated for office by the group.

How would a Governor Barron change things?

IMMIGRANT LEADER ASKS FOR TASK FORCE ON AFRICAN IMMIGRANT ISSUES

Buffalo American Diversity Leader Mohamed Mohamed is reporting that Mayor Brown proved to be "receptive" to the concerns of the local African immigrant community in a recent meeting.

"Mayor Brown told me he feels immigrants are already making a very positive contribution to the City of Buffalo and will make an even bigger positive contribution in the future," Mohamed said. "The Mayor also said he believes Buffalo offers a good quality of life for immigrants. He added that he hopes immigrants will take advantage of community development grants....

To read the rest of this story, click on to: www.black-wny.com

A FORMER ASST. US ATTORNEY WHO HAS ALREADY HOUNDED WALL STREET MISCREANTS, COFFEY PLEDGES TO ALSO FIGHT ALBANY CORRUPTION BASED ON A "READY, AIM, FIRE" APPROACH TO LAW ENFORCEMENT

While all Attorney-General candidates talk about fighting Wall Street evildoers, front running AG contender, Sean Coffey is the only one who can say he's done it, as an Asst. US Attorney who knew how to hit the Gordon Gechos of the world where it hurt them the most.

"I made the members of the board of directors of companies that had cheated ordinary investors pay out of their own pockets, not just out of the corporation's funds," he recalled recently in an exclusive interview with NewWNYPolitics and NiagaraFallsPolitics. "I forced them to pay out 20% of their net worth and that was a good thing because if they are only being forced to pay out of the corporation's funds, that isn't much of a disincentive not to cheat people. But, if they have to pay out their own money, they'll think twice about doing it again."

Already labelled "The New Nemesis of Wall Street," by a prominent Big Apple paper years before he launched his AG campaign, Coffey has enjoyed a rich and diverse career that began with graduation from the Naval Academy and proceeded through service as a Naval aide to then Vice-President George W. Bush and careers as both a successful private attorney and a tough as nails federal prosecutor.

As a youngster, he spent some time as a resident of Niagara Falls while his father worked on the Niagara Power Project.

SCHROEDER: "I'M NOT PART OF THE CLUB...I DON'T ASK SILVER'S PERMISSION TO DO THINGS"..."I WORK FOR MY CONSTITUENTS, NOT THE SPEAKER"...CHARGES SILVER NIXED 20-20 TO  HOLD ON TO STRANGLEHOLD OVER SUNY

Assemblymember Mark Schroeder will not keep silent in the wake of the resignation of University of Buffalo President John Simpson, apparently precipitated by the demise of UB 20-20. Instead, he has told NewWNYPolitics in an exclusive interview that he may challenge NYS Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver for his post as a way of affirming his opposition to Silver's apparently successful efforts to scuttle this job creating program.

"I hold Speaker Silver personally responsible for the killing of UB 20-20 and the subsequent resignation of UB President John Simpson," Schroeder told us. "The Speaker apparently didn't care that this program could have created thousands of jobs in WNY while totally revitalizing our economy. Why did he do it? He killed the program because he personally controls the Board of Regents, but he doesn't control the SUNY Board and he would not give up his power to set tuition rates at SUNY colleges, which is the primary power he has over the SUNY schools. He would rather keep WNY an economically crippled colony of New York City than give up any of his power as Speaker, which is equal to that of a Governor."

Still, most members would not even consider challenging a sitting Speaker, no matter how wrong or abusive he might be, any more than they would ponder a bid to replace God...

"I can do this," says Schroeder, "because I was never a member of the club. I never played the Speaker's game. I never was one of those members who would go to the Speaker to ask permission to do things. I don't work for the Speaker. I work for the residents of my district."

According to Assemblyman Mark Schroeder, the impending retirement of University of Buffalo President John Simpson, and the state’s failure to approve UB2020, can be blamed on one person – Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

"Speaker Silver did everything in his power to kill UB2020, and along with it, any chance to resurrect our economy," said Schroeder. "I am sick of my constituents being treated as second-class citizens."

The UB2020 expansion plan would mean thousands of new jobs, $5 billion of investment in Buffalo, as well as a strategy to help the rust-belt city recover from decades of economic decline by building a new economy based on education, innovation and technology.

"I thank John Simpson for his valiant efforts to make UB a world class university, invest in downtown Buffalo, and help give our struggling city a chance at a brighter future," said Schroeder. "I don’t blame him for being frustrated – I have been frustrated with the Speaker since the first day I arrived in Albany."

Back in April, Schroeder publicly slammed Silver for "killing" UB2020, and vowed not to support the Manhattan Assemblyman for speaker next year if the plan was not approved. Now, Schroeder said, simply not voting for the speaker, like he did in 2005, may not be enough.

"Maybe it is time someone challenged the speaker for his gavel," said Schroeder. "Since no one else seems to be stepping forward, perhaps it is time I considered a run for speaker."

"Right now, it is obvious Upstate has no voice in state government," he continued. "We are treated as a colony of New York City, with no say in how we are governed and no power to save our cities. If there is any hope for the millions of us who live north of New York City, we need a change in leadership, and we need it now."