JIM EAGAN'S VISION: AN EC DEMOCRATIC PARTY THAT SPEAKS UP ON ISSUES AND STANDS UP FOR THE AVERAGE CITIZEN

When is WNY business success story and highly respected party fundraiser and contributor Jim Eagan running for Erie County Democratic Chairman?

Because he feels he brings a vision for the future to the race which is unique among the candidates currently in the race.

“Yes, it's true that I've contributed a lot of money to the party, not only locally but state-wide,” he points out. “It's true that I'm someone who can get his phone calls answered by any major party office holder or leader in the state. But, that's not the reason I'm running. I'm running to give people a definite reason to be Democrats again. I'm running because I want our party to stand up for the average person on issues once again. I want to build our party, not just by raising money, but by communicating a clear message that inspires people to want to be Democrats, one that lets them know that we are the party of the average hard working man and woman.”

While it's true that Cheektowaga Democratic Chairman Frank Max is running as a candidate whose many friends and supporters throughout the county make him a formidable contender...And, Erie County Legislature Chief of Staff Jeremy Zellner is running as both a youthful and experienced party leader who can garner the important endorsement of Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz....Jim Eagan is using a different approach.

“I am not seeking party endorsements right now because I want to be a Chairman who is not tied to any one party faction or group, but who will be an Erie County Democratic Leader who can and will work with all Democrats and who has good relationships with all of them no matter who they are,” Eagan explains. “We need to unite our party and under my leadership we will have one Democratic Party, not a number of different ones.”

A Democratic Party backbone of many years standing, Jim is the son of a former Lackawanna Public Works Commissioner who went on to become an indispensable executive with Midwood Financial, a firm which supplies products such as annuities to banks on a whole sale basis to the tune of over $2 billion per year. He has pledged to serve as party chairman without taking any stipend.

The father of two, he'd like to give the EC Democratic Party a new face, one which would give young people the chance to take an active role.

“We want to give people options because the Democratic Party has always been the party of choice, the party that was founded in 1792 by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison as the party of the common people,” he recalls. “That was the Founding Fathers' vision and that should be our vision too.”

Can he win?

“I believe I will win,” says Eagan, “ because I am not just running to win an election. I am running to create a new era and a new spirit and, most of all, a new vision for our Erie County Democratic Party.”