Erie County: "Career Politician" Talking Point A Twisted One

by: robert.harding

Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 12:02:12 PM EDT

Erie County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz, who has butted heads with Erie County Executive Chris Collins - the man helping push this notion of "career politicians" by putting forth his own slate of candidates - is one target of such labeling. Collins was asked who he thought was a "career politician" in his mind. One of the names? Mark Poloncarz.

Here's the Collins definition of career politician: "It starts with somebody who sees politics as a career path. It is someone who caters to the special interests in order to advance or preserve their career.

"It is somebody who makes decisions based on the political ramifications, not based on what's in the best interest of taxpayers. It is typically someone who does not have a lot of history of other experiences, meaning private-sector experiences."

He agreed that career politicians nest on both sides of the aisle.

Collins, a Republican, easily rattled off a few Democrats in county government he thinks qualify: Reynolds. Legislature Chairwoman Lynn M. Marinelli. County Comptroller Mark C. Poloncarz, who is completing his first term and made his living as a lawyer before seeking office in 2005.

The one item in the piece that sticks out is when Collins was asked about what Republicans are career politicians. When asked about Senator Dale Volker, who has been in office for over three decades, Collins gave this response:

"I don't want to get into name-calling necessarily."

So if he has to name Democrats who are career politicians, he is willing to do so to fit his political agenda. But once he has to name Republicans, he refers to it as "name calling" and dodges the question. Convenient dodging by a man who wants to run for governor next year. Talk about career politicians.

In Erie County, the problem with the "career politician" label is that it is being thrown around by, well, those who themselves could be affixed with the "career politician" label. Collins, for example, has served as county executive since 2008 and is already talking about seeking higher office. His name has been mentioned as a possible GOP gubernatorial candidate in 2010 if Rudy Giuliani doesn't run, which is a possibility.

But from there, it only gets worse for Erie County Republicans.

Kevin Hardwick, the Republican challenger to Michele Iannello in the 10th Legislative District, has labeled his opponent a "career politician." Yet, a look at Hardwick's record shows who the real career politician is.

That isn't the only instance where the Republican accusing the Democrat of being a career politician is actually a career politician (or more of one) than his or her opponent. Republican Shelly Schratz is calling her opponent a "career politician" even though she has more years of experience as an elected official and also has sought other offices unsuccessfully.

It is an interesting strategy for the Collins Republicans. They are calling their Democratic foes "career politicians" in an attempt to make them seem like they are old, stale and just warm bodies in chairs at the Legislature Chamber. But these are candidates who have served many years in office. They have also ran for other offices unsuccessfully (Hardwick ran twice for Legislature and lost in the early 2000s).

But the troubling part, from Collins, is that he couldn't name a single Republican. Even though he said that there was career politicians on both sides, he wasn't willing to throw a member of his party under the bus. That tells you what kind of guy Collins is. It's no secret he wants to run for governor. It's no secret these candidates running against incumbent legislators and Poloncarz are his candidates. His hunger for power is so massive I can hear is stomach growling from here in Orleans County.

You can't think of a single Republican? And when Dale Volker, a man who has served 36 years as a New York state senator, is put in front of your face you say you don't want to engage in "name-calling"?

Name-calling isn't okay when it's someone of your own party AND someone who, as a senior Albany Republican, surely would help to have on your side should you run for governor in 2010. But name-calling is acceptable if you're trying to take down the Democrats.

If Parking Isn't Free, Make It Free

by: robert.harding

Thu Aug 27, 2009 at 09:42:45 AM EDT

In Erie County, not all county employees get to park for free. Because the offices are located in downtown Buffalo, there is limited parking for county employees that is free. The system to award free parking has been not-so transparent and has many flaws.

So if you can't park for free, why not just make your own "official business" placard to put in your window?

Erie County auditors examining the odd patchwork of parking for county employees downtown found that some workers have devised a way to beat the system and park free.

They create an "Official Business" placard, post it on the dashboard and park their personal vehicles wherever they wish.

The city's Parking Enforcement Bureau admits it doesn't ticket those vehicles when parked in proximity to important county buildings, even when the placard is on private cars that don't move throughout the day.

"If you can get a good laser printer, put "official business' on it, and put the county seal on it, you can pretty much park wherever you want," County Comptroller Mark C. Poloncarz said Wednesday, after his auditors completed a review of parking in and around the county- government complex.

He said that his auditors in recent months found official-business placards on privately owned cars parked around the Erie County Holding Center, Rath County Office Building and Old County Hall.

They also found no apparent connection to official business, aside from the fact the owners work for the county or some government agency.

There is a lot wrong with this system. However, with no policy in place for the limited free parking that is available, it was bound to be a disaster. But now you have county employees making their own placards, which is a problem. In fact, it should be illegal to create a document like that. It misrepresents reality (also known as fraud) and it has led to parking enforcers to NOT ticket these cars because, based on what they know, the cars are there for "official business."

Comptroller Mark Poloncarz wants more accountability and oversight. But he has been met with resistance from the County Executive's office, who actually stooped to a low by resorting to name-calling in the Buffalo News piece.

The county executive's office responded Wednesday by accusing the comptroller of again focusing on tedium.

"Once again, Erie County taxpayers have been shortchanged by an unqualified comptroller more focused on politics than on protecting taxpayers," spokesman Grant Loomis said. "For the last five months, the comptroller has spent an undisclosed amount of manpower and taxpayer resources on a political fishing expedition that will not save one penny of taxpayer funds.

"Chicken Little" - as Collins has dubbed Poloncarz - "has now become Inspector Gadget," Loomis said.

Calling someone "unqualified" is a personal insult and one that shouldn't have a place in government, regardless of politics. Claiming that the comptroller is "more focused on politics" is laughable, considering it is the county executive who listed Poloncarz as an obstructionist when Collins was recruiting candidates to run against Poloncarz and two Erie County legislators.

Also, the claim made by Loomis that Poloncarz "has spent an undisclosed amount of manpower and taxpayer resources on a political fishing expedition that will not save one penny of taxpayer funds" is an interesting take. This parking fiasco probably won't save the taxpayers money, but rather, if the situation is fixed, it could produce revenue. A clear cut parking program will make it known who gets free parking and who doesn't. Those who don't get free parking will have to pay.

There are ethical questions involved, especially with county employees using the county seal in an inappropriate manner. If that's not serious enough for the county executive to care, then maybe a serious review needs to be done of his job performance and his belief in a "culture change." Apparently, this is a long-standing practice. So if Collins isn't willing to change a long-standing practice, he must not be a big fan of changing the culture.

EC-Leg: Collins Recruits WGRZ's Lynne Dixon To Run Against Reynolds

by: robert.harding

Thu May 21, 2009 at 07:19:51 AM EDT

WBEN radio host and Canisius College professor Kevin Hardwick announced on Sunday that he would be running against Erie County Legislator Michele Iannello and now another local media personality will resign from her post and run for Erie County Legislature on the Republican line.

Lynne Dixon, who resigned from Buffalo's NBC affiliate WGRZ Channel 2, will run against Legislator Bob Reynolds, who represents the 12th Legislative District.

Here is more on the story from The Buffalo News:

Dixon, 43, is a registered member of the Independence Party, which is expected to give her a strong claim on that nomination. The sources say she also has submitted a letter to Conservative leaders declaring her intention to run. They have scheduled her for an interview on Tuesday.

The Channel 2 reporter marks the second, high-profile media figure selected by Republicans in recent days to run for the County Legislature. Kevin R. Hardwick, a Canisius College political science professor who hosted the "Hardline with Hardwick" government and politics show on WBEN Radio, said over the weekend he will challenge Legislator Michele M. Iannello, D-Kenmore.

When Collins started out, he was targeting three incumbents. Two of those incumbents were Iannello and Reynolds, both of whom he claimed are "obstructionists." The third target is Erie County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz, who will be a much more difficult candidate to find an opponent for. It is a countywide race and Poloncarz will be a very tough candidate to run against.

It is interesting that Collins has turned to the local media for his talent pool. Hardwick wasn't a huge shocker, given his past in politics and clearly the desire was there to get involved again. But getting Dixon to run is something that is a bit of a risk. She was referred to in the News piece as a "high-profile" pick, but it's hard to tell just how high her profile is. It would be another story if she was an anchor. They tend to be more recognized. But she was a reporter and got minimal face time.

Collins is trying to flex some political muscle here. In November, the test will take place to see if he has any political muscle. Hardwick will be a tough challenger, but Iannello is very popular in her district. Dixon might be a "high-profile" figure, but I don't see her beating Reynolds. And Collins will need to find someone with real credentials to run against Poloncarz, who is a very tough opponent and is already being considered a challenger for county executive in 2011.  

EC-Leg: Hardwick To Halt Show, Run Against Iannello For County Legislature

by: robert.harding

Mon May 18, 2009 at 08:21:24 AM EDT

For the past four years Dr. Kevin Hardwick has hosted "Hardline" on WBEN, examining the political issues on a local, state and national level. Today he stepped away from the microphone in order to enter the race for the 10th District of the Erie County Legislature. Hardwick says that he is doing so after County Executive, Chris Collins pleaded with him to do so and that Collins has "...certainly indicated that he will help me politically, financially. To what extent, we'll find out over the course of the next few months."

Hardwick's opponent in the race is Michele Ianello who has won re-election and thinks that Hardwick's candidacy is simply a move by Collins to get her out of office, "The county executive believes he can just have me fired...I have provided oversight of county finances and I represented the people of the tenth district in the way that they want to be represented." Ianello also labels Hardwick as a "rubber stamp" for Collins agenda.

Hardwick counters by noting his opposition to the Republican party in his previous runs for the same seat (2001 and 2003), "...any attempt to paint me as this puppet of the county executive, I think we can look at my history and know that I had no problem standing up to powerful people before and if the county executive crosses a line, certainly I'll be there to try and stop him."

It is rather difficult for Hardwick to make such an argument - that he isn't a puppet of Republican County Executive Chris Collins - when Collins has made it known that he wishes to target three individuals in county government. That list, which also includes County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz, has Iannello's name on it.

If Collins makes it possible for Hardwick to win, I can't imagine Hardwick fighting back too much. He might pick his battles to make it seem like he's a John McCain-type, but since Collins will make an investment in him "politically and financially," I can't see Hardwick questioning too much, if anything, that Collins will do should Hardwick be elected.

SD-61: Ranzenhofer Skips Out On Committee Meetings

by: robert.harding

Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 11:52:24 AM EDT

But I have a question for Mr. Ranzenhofer: Can you call it experience if you don't show up?

According to CANY, Ranzenhofer had the worst attendance record of all the legislators from 2004 through 2007. During that time period, he missed 14 committee meetings. That was more than Legislator Barbara Miller Williams. Why did Ms. Miller Williams miss nine committee meetings? Because she is serving our country as a reservist.

That's right: Ranzenhofer missed more meetings than Ms. Miller Williams did. What is Ranzenhofer's excuse? If elected to Albany, will he decide to charge the taxpayers for his travel to Albany and then decide he doesn't feel like showing up for votes or meetings?

CANY based their report card on the Legislature's committee schedule. So far this year, Ranzenhofer has missed three committee meetings. In fairness, that's not the most meetings missed this year. But when combined with his 2004-2007 figures, that is the second-highest figure of missed committee meetings on the Legislature. The person with the most? Ms. Miller Williams.

And before charges of partisan attacks start flying around, it is worth nothing that the son of the woman Ranzenhofer seeks to replace received an "A+" grade from CANY for his perfect attendance from 2004-2007. That legislator is Ed Rath, who is the son of Mary Lou Rath.

The Mesi campaign took advantage of this yesterday and issued a press release that highlighted a Ranzenhofer quote about being committed to the people. You can read that below the fold.

Again, if Ranzenhofer can't make committee meetings at the county level, how can he be trusted to fulfill his duties in Albany?

ON THE WEB:

Joe Mesi's ActBlue Page

VIDEO: Blogger Alan Bedenko For Erie County Legislature

by: phillip anderson

Sat Nov 03, 2007 at 09:34:29 AM EDT

Go, Alan! If you are anywhere near Erie County, I'm sure he could use some help.

Albany isn't the only place that needs reform

by: Unstable Isotope

Tue Jan 09, 2007 at 20:30:23 PM EST

Today's tale comes from the Erie County legislature.  George Holt has pled guilty to not paying sales tax (more than $20,000!) for some restaurants he owns.