County Executive Mark Poloncarz' appointment of  a well traveled patronage hack as a supervisor in Child Protective Services, (Buffalo News) brought back memories of an interesting Democratic Plumbers scheme from 2006.   That caper involved the efforts  of  then County Legislator, now Poloncarz' Commissioner of Environment and Planning, Maria Whyte, Deputy County Attorney Jeremy Toth, Buffalo attorney and political operative Marc Panepinto, now CPS supervisor, then county legislature employee, Brian Bray, and then county legislature employee, now state Assemblyman, Sean Ryan.   These intrepid party reformers ran a slate of Democratic Committeemen against incumbents allied with North District Councilmember, Joe Golombek,  in apparent retaliation for Golombek challenging their pal, then state Assemblyman, now Empire State Development Regional President, Sam Hoyt, in the 2004 Assembly Democratic Primary contest.  (These liberal talkers can be very vindictive.)   While it's OK for anyone to run for the committee, you only get to run in one election district (ED) at a time.    In 2006, Whyte was running in nine EDs, Panepinto in five, Toth in three and Bray in two.    

Since 1974, simultaneously running for two inconsistent elected positions is per se voter fraud.   See Lufty v Gangemi, 35 N.Y.2d 179 (1974)  “Since this multiplicity of inconsistent candidacies has been properly recognized as injurious to the rights of the electorate, and described as fraudulent and deceptive, and because here the multiplicity of inconsistent candidacies for the County Committee was intentional, the dissenters at the Appellate Division were correct in concluding that respondents’ designating petitions should fail entirely.

With this practice, and absent acceptable excuse or justification, the voters who signed the offending petitions must be assumed to have been misled as to the candidates’ intentions to serve as their representatives if designated and subsequently elected at the primary. Moreover, the petitions were misleading in suggesting that the various candidates listed intended to run together. These irregularities were also harmful because those who signed were precluded by law from signing petitions for other candidates for the same office (Election Law, § 136, subd.).  Thus, the petitions must be considered to have been permeated with the defect intentionally introduced into them by the circulators and those candidates who participated in the circulation.”

In 2006, the clear intent was to have Whyte resign in eight of her races, Panepinto in four, etc., so that the committee on vacancies (Toth, Panepinto, Bray and Ryan) could appoint other, as yet unknown, persons who would actually be the candidates on election day.   Thus voters could have been induced to sign a designating petition for Whyte or one of her pals without knowing the identity of the actual intended candidates.   The scheme was replete with fill-in-the-blank forms which were to be used for petitions, declinations, replacements by the committee on vacancies, and acceptances of candidacy by the replacements.   Whyte's petitions can be reviewed here:

Soon after filing the petitions, Whyte promptly declined in eight of the EDs where she was running.    The declinations were all executed on the same day and notarized by Marc Panepinto.

Sample vacancy filling forms follow:

This was a mass production effort of little subtlety.   When the plot was exposed, Golombek held a press conference in front of the Erie County Board of Elections where he was met by a large gang of Whyte supporters, including numerous county legislature employees.   Leading the charge were  Assemblyman Hoyt, and Panepinto's attorney wife, now Supreme Court judge, Catherine Nugent-Panepinto, who both vehemently and vociferously defended this effort to deceive voters.    When suit was threatened, Whyte and the gang folded like a deck of cards.   Whyte declined to run in eight EDs and the vacancies went unfilled.   It is fun to see the other players involved.    Michelle Marto, union heavyweight and wife of John Maggiore, assistant to Lt Governor Duffy, passed a petition.   Jennifer Hibit, executive assistant to County Executive Mark Poloncarz was a co-candidate with Whyte on one of the fake petitions.   Mark D. Cornell, another Poloncarz staffer, passed fake petitions in two different EDs.   There was a Debora Hayes who was a leader in a local nurse's union.   Don't know if this is her.   Who are Joshua Sanders and James Scondato?    If you can identify any of the other players, please send me a line.

With this type of background, who can doubt that Brian Bray's history demonstrates his manifest qualifications to supervise case workers in their efforts to save children's lives at CPS?      Notice how well all of these folks are eating at the public trough?    Why is it that people like me who put hundreds of hours into stopping this kind of crap always end up shivering in the dark, old, tired, sick, cold, and hungry?     Wonder if I will get my reward when Satan calls me home? 

As you can see, County Executive Mark Poloncarz has been improperly using the official seal of Erie County on his campaign web site.     If you make a contribution to Mark, will he misuse other official powers to help you?    

Now he has found a another way to raise some quick cash.    Want "to discuss the future of our community" with Mark and "senior members of his administration"?    Just pony up some more dough.   Selling access to himself and his senior staff.   This is truly shameless.    Smells like something rotten which washed up on the beach.     

Does Erie County have an Inspector General?

Buffalo Rising writer Matthew Ricchiazzi has destroyed my political career with a single story.     In a post put up today on the Buffalo Common Council's failure to subpoena five federal officials concerning environmental issues at the Peace Bridge, Ricchiazzi quotes me as saying:

“This body is the closest level of government to the people, and they have a responsibility to take action,” said Peter Reese, noted attorney, election law expert, and political operative. “We know that poor people tend to be most victimized by pollution; environmental justice may be a slogan, but it’s not a reality. If we had a competent government that cared, then we would be figuring out how to move cross boarder freight on electric trains. But the PBA wants more trucks and higher toll revenues. Contracting, being the ‘new-patronage,’ drives these grandiose expansion projects.”

Reese argues that the Cuomo Administration is interested in little more than political photo-ops in which the governor can demonstrate his successes. But Reese wonders why Cuomo assumes that perceived success must come in the form of massive construction projects and at the expense of public health.

“Cuomo is not warmly received on the left,” Reese said. “There would be enormous upside for Cuomo to carry the torch on environmental issues, especially in a city like Buffalo, with all of the vestiges of our industrial past and our elevated rates of asthma, cancer, stroke, and other environmentally-linked diseases.”

See: http://buffalorising.com/2014/02/council-summons-fed-five-for-public-hearing-as-residents-sound-off/#respond

While not tape recorder accurate, this is what I said.    I also called the Common Council "gutless" for failing to issue the subpoena, but that will be our little secret.    The last time I know of that the Council actually dragged someone in under subpoena was 1982, when a young and ambitious Niagara District Councilmember named Joel Giambra was investigating waste and mismanagement at Western Region Off Track Betting.

After nearly killing and bankrupting ourselves supporting Mario Cuomo in 1982, I was named a person most likely to benefit from patronage in the new administration, one of only three lawyers who were on board early.    In the Democratic Primary Election, my wife and I purchased every lawn and polling place sign used in Western New York, because, otherwise, there wouldn't have been any.    When we got on the bus, Mario was 39 points down in the polls and going nowhere.   "The first shall be first," said Cuomo the First, and for the past 32 years I have been waiting patiently by the phone for my call from the governor with that big job I was sure was on the way.    When Cuomo II was elected in 2010, I was certain my ship would come in at any moment.    Four years later, still no call.    Now Matt's reckless reporting of the truth has shattered any hopes I have harbored.     Thanks a lot, Pal.

Democrats are beginning to resist the whimsical ways of Erie County Democratic Chairman Jeremy "Wonder Boy" Zellner.   Last Thursday, Michelle Innello, wife of Democratic Elections Commissioner and Party Secretary, Dennis Ward, said she would run for the vacant Third District County Legislature seat, even if she was not selected by the Party or the remaining Democrats on the legislature.    Zellner and Ward ran as a team in 2012, and it is doubtful that either would have been elected without the manipulation of committeemen weighted voting engineered by Ward.   

Now Democratic Supreme Court judge candidates are openly defying Wonder Boy and holding fund raisers to fuel their campaigns.   Seems that Zellner has ordered them not to raise campaign cash until his pal Dennis Ward can declare as a candidate.   Once Ward declares, he must resign as Election Commissioner, and he is in no hurry to give up his part time plum which pays six figures plus and comes with a built in bundle of patronage jobs for campaign workers.     The issue is also complicated by the way in which New York political parties nominate Supreme Court judges.   Judicial candidates are not free to run in party primary elections, but must be selected by judicial convention delegates who are themselves elected in primary elections.    This leads to a readily corruptible, party boss driven selection process.     The NYU Law School Brennan Center for Law litigated this matter all the way to the US Supreme Court before losing (see http://www.brennancenter.org/press-release/plaintiffs-counsel-supreme-court-decision-lopez-torres-v-nys-board-elections and Lopez Torres v NYS Board of Elections http://www.brennancenter.org/legal-work/lopez-torres-v-nys-board-elections).     This year, independent Democrats intend to run non-Zellner judicial delegate slates, raising the distinct possibility that Wonder Boy won't have any puppet delegate votes to trade when he tries to cut cross endorsement deals with Republican Chairman, Nick Langworthy.    Furthermore, with five judge slots open and a desire to boost Democratic voter turnout, Governor Cuomo is said to be favoring an open election free-for-all with no cross endorsements of Republicans.    It seems that savvy judicial candidates realize they are being suckered by Zellner and placed at a dollar disadvantage to their Republican opponents.    This is just one of many examples of the ECDC levers of power being pulled for the personal advantage of a few trough feeders at the expense of electing Democrats.

On another front, even lowly committeemen are trying to force Zellner to comply with the party rules and allow democracy to break out in the Democratic Party. 

An even bigger problem is brewing.    Rank and file Democrats have become so disenchanted with Wonder Boy's antics that his early removal as Chairman is being actively discussed.    A draft petition calling for rules changes and election of new officers has been circulating.    If 650 committee members sign such a petition, they can force a meeting and a vote for party reform. 

The Independent Republicans are holding a Waffle Breakfast to honor Democratic County Chairman Jeremy Zellner on March 15, 2014.    The event is a thank you to Zellner for his faithful service on behalf of the Republican cause.    Tickets are $8 for adults, $4 for children with, Jeremy admitted free.    Breakfast starts at 7 A.M. at the Woot Snoop Firehall on Harem Road in East Cambagia.    For tickets and donations of door prizes and table favors, email [email protected]

Update on the Status of the Third County Legislative District Vacancy Fill:

Erie County Democratic Chairman Jeremy "Wonder Boy" Zellner, continues to waffle as to whether he will comply with the rules of the County Committee or just try to pull another fast one like he did last year in the three legislative districts which cost the Democrats the majority in the County Legislature for the first time since 1977.   See http://www.wnypolitics.net/1/post/2013/11/how-wonder-boy-lost-the-erie-county-legislature.html   This is Wonder Boy's tried and true method for insulting and antagonizing all the committeemen and ensuring a nasty primary with subsequent long term ill feelings.    At the conclusion of Monday night's waste of time candidates night meeting, Wonder Boy said he couldn't see how the committee could reach consensus.  

This in spite of the fact that the meeting was sparsely attended (Who is going to get a baby sitter for a meaningless meeting where no vote is to take place?) and there was no indication of relative candidate strength.     Somehow he cannot wrap his head around the idea that committeemen can openly vote to reach a consensus or decide not to endorse anyone or recommend that the vacancy not be filled until after the Democratic Primary in September or make any other intelligent decision.   When people vote, chaos doesn't follow, democracy does.    I guess Wonder Boy is so personally accustomed to blindly following orders from Syposs, Lenihan, Poloncarz and Ward, that he doesn't understand that there are other people in the room just as smart, or brighter than, he is.      The day after the Monday night meeting, Bob McCarthy reported that Wonder Boy was a quivering bowl of jello, paralyzed by "gridlock", stating, "Nobody controls this endorsement.   There is going to have to be a consensus to put this together."  http://blogs.buffalonews.com/politics_now/2014/02/gridlock-rules-marinelli-replacement-process.html   

If Zellner can just pull himself together enough to call a meeting of the committee, adults will be able to show him how it's done.     We can also show him how committeemen cast a weighted vote based on the results obtained recently in General Elections in their respective election districts.

Last Thursday, I encountered two former county chairmen, Joe Crangle and Steve Pigeon, breaking bread together at the local pub.   They both asked why Zellner doesn't just have the committeemen vote.    I guessed that Wonder Boy wasn't certain a vote would break his way.    Failing to follow the rules when they don't work the way you want is as good a definition of tyranny as I can come up with.    Kind of makes you wonder when the Jeremy Toth  righteous indignation article in Artvoice will appear, castigating Zellner.    Where are Dennis Ward's impassioned pleas for party reform now that we need them?   The hypocrisy of the current ECDC leadership is flowing like our local sewers in a cloudburst.

And while we're talking about arbitrary rules violations, the county committee rules grant every committeemen the right to a list of all committeemen with their addresses.     So far, Wonder Boy has ignored numerous requests from committeemen not in his favor, while willingly turning lists over to his pals.     A recent example follows.

Something tells me ignoring this request will result in Wonder Boy being dragged into court.

In deep fiscal trouble, Erie County Democratic Chairman Jeremy "Wonder Boy" Zellner, is openly talking with former County Executive Joel Giambra about ways to betray Democrats.   http://blogs.buffalonews.com/politics_now/2014/02/giambra-floats-democratic-backing-for-republican-grisanti.html?ref=bmh     It seems that incumbent Republican Senator Mark Grisanti is in trouble with his party base and fears a Primary Election defeat by fellow Republican Kevin Stocker in the 60th Senate District.    The 60th includes Grand Island, the Tonawandas, parts of Buffalo, Hamburg, Orchard Park, Evans and Brant.   http://www.nysenate.gov/district/60    Like Giambra, Grisanti is a former Democrat who opportunistically swapped parties to narrowly beat former Democratic Senator Antoine Thompson in 2010.   Giambra has been widely touted for his political skill in running the campaign that beat Thompson in an impossible race, but Grisanti's votes for gay marriage, the SAFE Act and close ties to Governor Cuomo have angered his Republican base.   The 60th is heavily Democratic, by a ratio of almost two to one, but defeat in the Republican Primary could leave Grisanti without a major party line.   Grisanti could have switched back to the Democratic Party last October, but it's too late now, and Republicans can't run in a Democratic Primary without an authorization (Wilson-Pakula) from the party.   ECDC rules place the power to authorize Senate candidates in the hands of the Zellner controlled Executive Committee.   Such an authorization is essentially an endorsement.   If Zellner authorizes Republican Grisanti, there will be a huge Democratic blow back.   A Primary battle from a real Democrat, such as North Buffalo Councilmember Joe Golombek, is sure to follow.    Why would Wonder Boy authorize?    He's broke and he needs cash to keep the party afloat.    Lobbyist Giambra can raise lots of money to buy an authorization for his pal, and he has already contributed $1000 to Zellner as a New Years present.   This will be fun to watch.

Meanwhile, the filling of the vacancy in the Third County Legislative District is being dragged out in a suspicious manner.  The vacancy arose when Lynn Marinelli quit for a Cuomo job after serving a full 15 days of her term.   
(Q:  Who saw that coming?   A:  Everyone.)     A no vote beauty pageant meeting is scheduled for tomorrow night in North Buffalo.

Unlike a State Senate endorsement, the rules of the ECDC place the power to endorse candidates for the county legislature with the committeemen of the legislative district.    Given this obvious foot dragging in holding the committeeman vote, it's clear that Wonder Boy doesn't have the votes to endorse his pick (Jennifer Diagostino) and Buffalo Corporation Counsel attorney, Peter Savage, appears to be the favorite of the committee.    In the time honored tradition of the Lenihan/Zellner  "reform" movement, Wonder Boy is likely to ignore the rules, usurp the power of the district committeemen, and choose to endorse from his puppet Executive Committee.     In any event, the party endorsement is merely advisory and the vacancy will be filled by three of the four remaining Democratic County Legislators (Grant, Loughran, Miller-Williams and Burke).    Grant and Miller-Williams will never vote for the same person.    Loughran is roughly aligned with Grant, and Burke supported Grant for minority leader in exchange for a staff position.    But should Burke side with Grant and Loughran, he runs the risk of being an instant minority of the legislature Democratic minority.   This third vote is important, as it will determine the replacement for the Democratic Elections Commissioner, Dennis Ward, when he runs for Supreme Court Judge later this year.    If Zellner can get a third vote in the Democratic minority of the legislature, he can have them name him Elections Commissioner, a $100,000+ plum part time job.   That would be a real life saver, as his unemployment insurance may have run out by then.   There is a real possibility that no one will get three votes and the legislature seat will remain vacant at least until the Primary Election.    Not much harm in that, as legislators really don't do much except approve the county budget at the end of the year.

Rules?   We ain't got no Rules. We don't need no Rules!   We don't have to show you any stinkin' Rules!

When last we reported on the madcap fiscal reporting high  jinks of Erie County Democratic Committee Chairman, Jeremy "Wonder Boy" Zellner, our hero was twelve grand plus in the hole in his party finance account.   Always willing to help out a fellow Democrat in distress, your writer sent the following note to the New York State Board of Elections, requesting their assistance in rescuing Wonder Boy from his peril.

The State Board, in its inimitable way, never acknowledged receipt of my plea, but suddenly, and without prior warning or fanfare, new financial reports have appeared online.   See: http://www.elections.ny.gov:8080/plsql_browser/getreports?filer_in=C21125&fyear_in=2014&rep_in=J

Well knock me over with a feather, Wonder Boy is now $4500 in the black!    Who would think I could render such service to the party, merely by sending a letter?   Seems like I should be a leading contender for the 2014 Democrat of the Year Award.    A cursory review of the new report reveals that Individual/Partnership contributions have increased from $19,743.99 to $34,798.99.   Since these are historical reports of past receipts and expenditures, this unexplained 76% increase is truly remarkable.    Similarly, corporate contributions have risen from $3,347.00 to $4,946.00 (48%), while other monetary contributions went from $4,794.00 to $5,242.00 (9%), accompanied by an astonishing decrease in expenditures from $37,818.63 to $27,821.01 (-26%).    These are breathtaking results.    Income is way up AND expenses are way down.    What an incredible turnaround!     If it were not for a sudden 400% increase in transfers out by $10,000, the ECDC would be floating in loose cash.    The previous filing is available below, and analysis of reported differences is left to the interested student.

What are we to make of this fiscal miracle?     Has ECDC treasurer, Gayle L. Syposs, been hanging with Philip Seymour Hoffman?    Tens of thousands of dollars of income and expenditures obviously misreported.    People have been convicted of crimes for less.    How does anyone know that these new numbers are accurate?    Where is the "...audit of financial records, including the income, expenditures, and outstanding liabilities of the party,..." which Article XI of the ECDC rules states "...shall be conducted by an outside independent firm, on an annual basis, with the report to be submitted to the Executive Committee" ?    Why isn't the State Board of Elections conducting an inquiry into this magic bookkeeping?   So many questions, so few answers.