Congratulations Michael Plitt

by: robert.harding

Wed Sep 16, 2009 at 14:14:28 PM EDT

Michael is running for Town Council in Darien, a small town in the western part of Genesee County. He is a Democrat and last night, won the Democratic primary. Plitt and fellow Democrat Stephen Ferry will be on the ballot for November.

Congratulations Michael. Best of luck to you in November.

GLOW Chairs Write An Open Letter To Senators Gillibrand, Schumer

by: robert.harding

Mon Feb 23, 2009 at 08:13:20 AM EST

Today, the chairs from the four Democratic committees in the GLOW region wrote a letter to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Sen. Chuck Schumer thanking them for their support of the economic stimulus package.

The GLOW Democratic Committees have released the following open letter to our Senators, Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.

Dear Senators Schumer and Gillibrand:

We, the Democratic Committees of the GLOW region (Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, and Wyoming Counties), are writing to congratulate you on the successful passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  We are grateful that you successfully fought for the funding New York state needs to helps us retain and create jobs, fund education, and meet our Medicaid needs.  We note with special satisfaction the White House projections that this new law will create 7,800 jobs in the the 26th Congressional District, which is the district of the vast majority of our residents.  However, we would note that our member of the House, Congressman Chris Lee, was opposed to this bill, despite the many benefits it will bring us.  Therefore, we would like to point out how important our federal Senators are to our counties: we have no representation at the state or federal level in the majority other than you.  We understand that the relief we get from this new law is due to the efforts of you and your fellow Democrats, and we hope your offices will get the credit for the coming aid we most surely need.

Sincerely,

Lorie Longhany
Genesee County Democratic Committee Chair

Phil Jones
Livingston County Democratic Chair

Jeanne Crane
Orleans County Democratic Chair

Harold Bush
Wyoming County Democratic Chair

The chairs make a great point: The senators are our only representatives in the majority. We need those representatives to be strong for us and to represent us well in the U.S. Senate. To date, they have. And as a GLOW Democrat, I am confident in saying that our senators will continue to represent us well in the future.  

Another Sock Puppet Exposed

by: phillip anderson

Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 20:57:57 PM EST

Jerome Grasso, LeRoy representative of the Genesee County Legislature has posted 14 comments over the past four weeks as Michael Barney.

In a conversation this afternoon, Grasso admitted that he made the posts because in his new part-time job he is discouraged from blogging.

"I love the site," Grasso said. "I ain't going to bullshit you, but I missed the site and I enjoy the site immensely."

A few weeks ago, Grasso took a two-day-a-week job with State Senator Mike Ranzenhofer working out of his Erie County office.

"They haven't banned me from it (leaving comments on The Batavian), but they just don't want me on there.  But it's a good source for news and let's be real, it's damn entertaining. What can I say? I missed it."

We were alerted by local Democrats (we will let them reveal their identities in comments if they wish) that they suspected Barney was really Grasso. They noted similarities in outlook and writing style.

Upon further investigation, we found that on a handful of occasions, Barney left comments from the IP address associated with previous comments by Grasso. The Barney persona and Grasso where the only users to ever post from this IP address.

There's a lesson to be learned here, dear staffers. I'd suggest you learn it.

(h/t to BP.)

Corfu's Republican Mayoral Candidate Arrested For Murder

by: robert.harding

Tue Feb 17, 2009 at 19:37:06 PM EST

But there was a murder in the Town of Pembroke last night. Usually, we don't write about crimes here. But this crime was unique. It involved Scott Doll, who bludgeoned his business partner to death in what is surely a vicious crime.

Doll isn't just your average citizen. He was the Republican Party's endorsed candidate for mayor in the Corfu elections this spring.

From The Batavian:

Murder suspect Scott F. Doll was recently endorsed by Republicans to run on their ticket for mayor in the village of Corfu.

Doll was arraigned earlier today on a felony count of second-degree murder in the death of his business associate and former colleague, Joseph E. Benaquist, who was found bludgeoned to death in his driveway early this morning.

...

Corfu Village Clerk Sandra Thomas informed us that Doll had only recently moved back to the village and had no prior experience in the government there. He was endorsed by the Corfu Republicans during a caucus that was held on January 26. Elections for the village are scheduled for March 17.

Now, I'm not going to make this political. The Republicans didn't know this guy was going to commit a heinous crime like this. But what a story this is. In small towns like this, we don't see these types of crimes every day. So when they happen, they are big news stories. Not only does this crime make it a big news story, but the fact that this guy was running for mayor also makes it a story.

Needless to say, Doll's political career was over before it even got started. Being charged with second-degree murder is one character flaw no one can overcome.

NY-26: A Genesee County Resident On Jack Davis' Trip To Genesee County

by: robert.harding

Sun Jul 27, 2008 at 21:47:21 PM EDT

"The farmers claim they need more foreign labor to pick those crops and some have asked for more visas for immigrant farm workers. But with our high unemployment, how can we justify hiring someone other than our own unemployed to do this work?"

That is a very uninformed statement from Davis. He obviously hasn't consulted with farmers on this.

But I will let Russ speak for me on this one. Here's an excerpt:

Jack's idea of coming to a rural area and advocating a position counter to their needs might make him seem frighteningly oblivious, but it  is characteristic of his attitude that he doesn't need the voters' input.  He wants you to listen to the Brooks and Dunn ripoff he's using as a radio commercial, let him bury you under multiple campaign fliers every week, and let him buy gasoline for people in Greece.  That's how Jack thinks it works.  Throw enough money at a problem, and he can solve it.

Check out the rest of the piece. It is a great piece and worth a read.  

SD-61: Genesee County Democrats Endorse Michele Iannello

by: robert.harding

Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 02:23:02 AM EDT

Take Back the Senate was the subject of last weekend's NYSDRC convention. The only candidate to attend the convention from the 61st Senate District?

Michele Iannello.

I met Iannello for the first time at the conference. She is very bright and she is a true change candidate. She was also very interested in the events at the NYSDRC convention and said she learned a lot. Iannello admitted that she wasn't too knowledgeable of rural issues but going to this convention gave her an idea of what to look for.

This endorsement was important for Iannello and it was important for the other three candidates as well. Town of Amherst councilmen Dan Ward and Mark Manna also attended the meeting last night. Joe Mesi was a no-show, saying that he couldn't make it because of the flu.

But in the end, Iannello took home the endorsement.

For more on Michele, read my interview with her. She is a very strong candidate. This is a seat we can win, especially with the Republican opponent that the dark side if offering.

ON THE WEB:

Contribute to Michele Iannello for State Senate

Contribute to the Genesee County Democratic Committee

NY-26: GLOW County Chairs Express Support For Powers

by: robert.harding

Sun Mar 23, 2008 at 23:16:28 PM EDT

COUNTY CHAIRS REITERATE THEIR SUPPORT FOR JON POWERS

Recent statements in local papers have suggested that the Democratic Committees in Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming Counties may reconsider their endorsement of Jon Powers.  The four County Chairs categorically reiterate their support for Jon Powers.  We believe that Jon Powers represents what is best in America, service to country and service to children.  We believe that Jon Powers offers the people of the 26th District meaningful representation in Washington and helped Tom Reynolds decide to retire.  We wish Mr. Reynolds well in his retirement.

Harold Bush Jr.
Wyoming County Democratic Chairman

Phil Jones
Livingston County Democratic Chairman

Charlie Mallow
Genesee County Democratic Chairman

Sally Rytlewski
Orleans County Democratic Chairwoman

Genesee, Orleans, Livingston and Wyoming Democrats all have endorsed Powers in his campaign. This is a great show of unity after some of these committees were asked by Jack Davis to reconsider their endorsements. Obviously with this statement they show where they stand.  

SD-61: Iannello, Ward impress at Genesee County Dems meeting; Mesi a no-show

by: robert.harding

Thu Feb 21, 2008 at 14:41:23 PM EST

As for "Baby" Joe Mesi, he was a no-show after originally being slated to attend the Genesee County Dems meeting last night.

Iannello and Ward both impressed me when I met them. Their resumes speak for themselves but as people, they are very open and they worked the room. I think we need to know more about Mesi. Mesi hasn't really opened up politically. The 61st needs to know where he stands on the issues if he wants to be considered a serious contender.

SD-61: Iannello could be the Democrats' choice

by: robert.harding

Wed Jan 30, 2008 at 18:13:18 PM EST

I know that the Genesee County Democrats really were impressed by Iannello. She is very knowledgeable about the district and she is willing to work hard for the seat. In addition, Iannello does have a strong ally on her side: Dennis Ward, the Democratic Board of Elections Commissioner for Erie County.

Iannello is seen by many as the most electable. She doesn't have any political skeletons in her closet and she can run a strong campaign. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. Nothing is set in stone yet, and certainly you never know what could happen with the Erie County Democrats involved. But Iannello looks like the possible candidate in SD-61.  

SD-61: A look at possible Democratic contenders for vacant seat

by: robert.harding

Wed Jan 30, 2008 at 13:17:06 PM EST

There is plenty of possible contenders, possible sleeper candidates and candidates who wouldn't stand a chance or might not run for such a seat, but it would be interesting to see them run.

Come over the flip for a complete look at the Democratic candidates in SD-61.

Powers receives Genesee County Dems endorsement

by: robert.harding

Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 13:09:44 PM EST

Last night, Jon Powers received a significant boost in his effort to bring leadership by example to New York's 26th Congressional District with the announcement that the Genesee County Democratic Committee had overwhelmingly endorsed his candidacy.

A number of Genesee Democratic Committeemen cited Jon's unique qualifications, track record of leadership by example in the military and tireless work ethic as reasons for their support.  "I have no doubt that Jon is the most qualified candidate in this race, and the only candidate that is in touch with issues that are important to voters in rural based counties such as ours," said Charlie Mallow, Genesee County Democratic Committee Chairman.

Jon has been very active in getting his message out among those in the so-called "GLOW" counties (Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming). As a citizen of Orleans County, it's always good to see a candidate like Jon come to you and have dinner, come to your fair, attend your picnics, etc.

The people of Genesee County are hardworking people. I've met Charlie Mallow and I have nothing but high praise for what he has done in Genesee County and for the many people who he works with. In counties like Orleans and Genesee, we are outnumbered by Republicans but I can guarantee one thing: They don't work as hard as we do when it comes to campaigning for political office and getting our message out there.

The endorsement of Jon is huge. I should have more news tomorrow for you - this time from Orleans County.