Posted on 02/05/2005 9:01:37 AM PST by The Mayor
Group seeks to unseat incumbents throughout Western New York
By ANTHONY CARDINALE
News Staff Reporter
2/5/2005
More than 40 politically minded people from all over Western New York showed up Thursday evening for a meeting of a new organization intent on unseating incumbents in the next election.Primary Challenge zeroed in on Erie County legislators who support a penny increase in the sales tax.
"We have been in existence for four weeks, and already we have mobilized a small army," said Leonard A. Roberto of Batavia, head of the group. This first public meeting was held in Veterans Park Baptist Church in Depew, where Roberto is the pastor.
First-time candidates will receive help from Primary Challenge, regardless of political affiliation, he said, as long as they have never held public office or a committee position with the Democratic or Republican parties.
Roberto, also a businessman, ran against County Executive Dennis T. Gorski under the flag of Ross Perot's Independence Party in 1995, then challenged State Sen. Mary Lou Rath, R-Williamsville, in 1998. Once a member of the Independence Party's executive committee, Roberto said he got fed up with party politics and decided to work from the outside.
(Excerpt) Read more at buffalonews.com ...
Grand Island businessman Rus Thompson, one of the group's organizers, said he is considering a run against County Legislator Charles M. Swanick, R-Kenmore, or for Grand Island Town Board.
"We should target every legislator who voted for the sales tax increase," Thompson said. "We're taxed to the hilt already."
and here Primary Challenge
New York Ping!
They need to concentrate on unseating Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver- the obstructionist!
Hope they succeed.
And everyone who voted to increase the taxes on the dairy farmers should also be sent packing.
This is a great effort...just wondering to what extent the group is organized and supported as a Libertarian entity, if at all. One of your theoretical supporters has been published by Rockwell and that troubles me.
Don't get me wrong: Given the state of the county and the state I think that the effort needs support, but I worry about fringe groups dividing the Republicans leading to a Democrat monopoly. Yeah, I know the pubbies aren't much better, but they are a whole lot better than the socialist Dems.
As an ex-WNYer, this is wonderful news! I wish them the best.
"It's 11 o'clock, do you know where you incumbent is?"
I agree and we can do nothing untill the elections next year.
We will need to get some candidates into the assembly to vote NO!
We have got to get rid of the veto proof majority silver maintains.
We need to focus on every incumbent one election season at a time.
When we take a couple of seats in this election they will know we are coming and we will gain ground.
Do you have me on your ping list? I haven't left the state yet, you know!!!
:-)
We are not orginized as any entity at all.
The person you are talking about is focused on election law and that is it.
We are not focusing on any issues, we are focused on getting good candidates to challenge the incumbents in the primary.
We are working on a code of ethics for the candidates we will support.
I hear that!
I just wish so often that nice wonderful politicians like the honorable and esteemed Sheldon Silver would get their political cashing out.
*Retching and puking after the herculean effort of trying to sound nice*
Thanks Jigsaw!
Yup, probably in a back room working on a new law or tax to implement on us.
Yes, didn't you get the ping?
nope!
how about that one?
Sounds great!
yup I got that one! thanks
I agree with you but no one ever takes them on in the primary.
With the political atmosphere in this area people are looking for leadership.
What's that saying.
In the absence of leadership the people will listen to anyone that steps up to the microphone..
How many years have we been fed the same old crap from the incumbents that they are for reform but, nothing, nothing ever comes from it.
When Chuck Swanick switched parties I called him up and I wanted to know why? Why after being a democrat for so many years would he switch and what was his motive.
He sold me on his excuse and I stood behind him and just simply stated to him that if he breaks the trust I have in him once then he lost all any credibility with me.
Well he did and I will challenge him, he voted for another tax increase, he voted to keep the same pork and patronage that has corrupted this area for 40 years.
It is time to take him out and every other person that voted for the same tax increase.
We have recruited some top candidates and I will reveal more when the time is right.
The Primary is where to do it and these people cannot intimidate me.
I have had it up to here!
For years the Republican party has backed candidates that have no spine or have made a deal. They do not help fund the candidates they endorse for a run against the incumbent.
It is time for us to take over the process and put people into office that have ethics, morals and a real heart felt desire to fix this mess they call a government.
It is time to end the government dependent society and bring Erie County and Western New York back from a delapated, hollowed out welfare society.
Are you with me?
Sorry for the rant..
No Sh*t!!!! Taxed and regulated... why do you think I left!? (Went home for a visit over Christmas just in case I'd a forgot and started getting homesick. Was cured in a hurry!)
After 3 trys to run for office and 3 times stepping aside or being knocked out of the loop I am not wasting my time filing for endorsements. I will let the people decide.
There are to many people that have left and are planning on leaving.
My son will be graduating from school this year, will he beable to find a job?
Answer, No..
I am here for the fight.
I can't tell you how disappointed I was when the incipient campaign to replace Sheldon Silver with upstart Assemblyman Michael Bragman was quashed by the old guard of the state Dem. Party, who are dependent upon their leader for lulus and choice committee assignments, among other forms of political largess dispensed ad libitum to pliant party apparatchiks.
A failure to dislodge the entrenched, corrupt political culture that thrives in Albany doesn't prove anything to me, other than the fact that we need to redouble our efforts the next time around.
-good times, G.J.P.(Jr.)
I'm afraid that the only things that will get Silver out of his job as Speaker or his district seat in the lower east side of Manhattan are a coffin or a scandalous crime.
Agree. We need to get the message out and change people's way of thinking. I know, it takes time and effort, but we're working on it.
Love the pic, Mayor. You look smashing.
Good luck in your efforts. I saw Giambra(sp?) on Inside Albany today. Is he the Erie county executive? Is he a dem or RINO or what?
:)
-good times, G.J.P.(Jr.)
Why Thank you Victoria !
No need to be sorry for the rant, because it's correct.
*chuckle*
Oh yes.
It's true. :-)
I sent this thread to the 5 that voted against the sales tax increase. I should name them and ask them to get behind our effort.
drbarry15@erie.gov ~ Dr Barry Weinstein
elise@cusack14.com ~ Elsie Cusak
mccarville13th@erie.gov ~ Steve McCarville
marshall@erie.gov, ~ Denise Marshall
ranzenhofer@erie.gov ~ Mike Razenhofer
Let them know how mush they are appreciated.
debenedetti@erie.gov ~ Al DeBenedetti voted against it but I don't trust his motives and he is doing alot of posturing in front of the camera.
He pulled a kerry, he voted for it before he voted against it..
jzchase@erie.gov ~R~
cswanick@erie.gov ~R~
ErieCoDistrict2@hotmail.com ~D~
kuwik@erie.gov ~D~
holt@erie.gov ~D~
smith@erie.gov ~D~
lynnm@buffnet.net ~D~
wroblewski@erie.gov ~D~
dusza@erie.gov ~D~
These 9 nimrods voted and supported the tax increase from the get go.
They need to be removed from office and are at the core of the problems in Erie County
Also Cusak and Marshall put forth a budget that cut the pork and patronage that was not even looked at.
I applaud their effort..
Yes he is the County Executive.
He was a dem and switched to Republican.
He was what alot of us thought the best thing to come down the pike.
He ran on reform and cutting pork.
He has done neither, I am very upset with him at this point.
I backed him and voted for him twice.
Thank you Sir!
Who is in the ninth district ?
Timothy M. Wroblewski - District 9
One of the dems that voted for the sales tax increase!
I haven't lived in Syracuse since 1989 and Bragman had his own set of ethical problems, if I recall correctly.
How they voted!!!
http://info.speakupwny.com/html/erie_county_legislators.html
I'm not saying that he would have made a great speaker, or even a good one, for that matter.
However, it would have been an interesting experiment to see what the assembly would have looked like, had it been led by a relatively moderate upstate Democrat.
Will do, Please look for a dem that you like and trust that may want to run in a Primary.
I agree, at this point anyone but silver.
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long winded?
Hehe!
:)
Over the top..
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