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. 

The New York Office of Children and Family Services ripped the performance of the County CPS unit yesterday.    OCFS reviewed almost 900 open case files.   It appears that case workers do as little as they can within regulatory requirements for investigation and documentation so they can close cases quickly, often within 10-15 days.  

County Executive Mark Poloncarz humbly accepted full responsibility for this debacle stating, "Expecting a contemporary CPS worker to respond to a call and solve an issue immediately is akin to expecting law enforcement to respond to a 911 call and instantly resolve the problem."    He went on to express his belief that the state has out-of-date policies and procedures.    http://www.wivb.com/news/local/agency-issues-scathing-report-about-cps     When the County Exec and Andy Cuomo chat, you have to wonder if they have time for anything but blaming each other for policy and program failures.

So what's a guy to do?    Maybe the County Exec should spend less time on intraparty Democratic politics and more time on his job?

Perhaps his pal, Michael Szukala, who Poloncarz appointed to the newly created job of Medicaid Inspector General, could take time out from coloring maps showing where Medicaid recipients live and do something productive.   General Mike, here's a clue: Medicaid recipients are poor people.  They live in poor neighborhoods.   And we have the second poorest city in the country in Erie County.   It's called Buffalo.    I'll bet lots of Medicaid recipients live in Buffalo!   Unless we decide to move them to McMansions near your trendy Amherst home, colored maps won't be of much value will they?    But, on behalf of taxpayers, I want to thank you for all you do as President of Poloncarz's personal political club, The WNY Democrats for Progress.   http://www.wnyprogress.org/officers.html     I'm sure abused children appreciate your work as President too.

In the midst of all the whining about the purported illegal activities of Steve Pigeon's Western New York Progressive Caucus, it's fun to look at financial reports filed by those doing the complaining.    For instance, since October 16, 2012, the Erie County Democratic Committee has reported receiving $175,000 from " VOTE-COPE COMMITTEE ON POLITICAL EDUCATION OF THE", 800 TROY SCHENECTADY RD, LATHAM, NY 12110.    Unfortunately there is no such committee.    However, there is a "VOTE-COPE UNAUTHORIZED COMMITTEE" of the United University Professionals listed with the same address, but it hasn't given the ECDC any money during that time period.   How fascinating.

In order to find out who is actually sending Wonder Boy Zellner this loot, one has to turn oneself inside out and search the NYS Board of Elections database for anyone who has given money to the Erie County Democratic Committee.    Fortunately this sleight of hand retrieval reveals that a committee named "VOICE OF TEACHERS FOR EDUCATION / COMMITTEE ON POLITICAL EDUCATION OF THE NEW YO" controlled by the New York State United Teachers is the source of this bonanza.    If this NYSUT political committee had misspelled the name of the ECDC, we would never know the source of $175K in political loot.   You have to wonder, if someone gave you a $175,000 political contribution, wouldn't you at least know their name and report it properly?   

This is a very large contribution for NYSUT  to a county committee.   By comparison, NYSUT gave the "BRONX DEMOCRATIC COUNTY COMMITTEE HOUSEKEEPING" entity $5100, the " DEMOCRATIC COUNTY COMMITTEE (RICHMOND)" $4000, and the "KINGS COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE" $8000, during the same time period.    Kings County includes Brooklyn and has about 2.6 million people.   Bronx County has 1.4 million people and Richmond County  (Staten Island) has about 500,000.    So NYSUT gave $17,100 to Democratic committees representing 4.5 million people and $175,000 to the ECDC representing 920,000 in Erie County.     Furthermore, this NYSUT political committee gave the "DEMOCRATIC SENATE CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE" for the whole state  (19.6 million population) $155,000 in the same time period.

What gives here?   Why would NYSUT invest this kind of money in the ECDC?    What teacher/education issues have been forwarded in the last year?    Which teachers have been supported as candidates?    During this time period, Wonder Boy lost a congressional seat (Hochul to Collins), the county comptroller (Mychajliw, twice), the Grisanti state senate seat in a heavily Democratic district, and the Democratic majority in the county legislature (first time since 1977).   What kind of return is this on a political investment?    If you belong to NYSUT, call your union PAC representative and ask them WTF is going on.  

 It's that magic time of year when three lame duck county legislators (Mazur, McCracken and Hogues) get to show their true character and prove how much they care about the citizens of Erie County.    Chris O'Brien was ordered to resign to make way for a Democratic Party hack, but we're sure the three musketeers will show them a thing or two.    In order to guide them and the rest of the big six Democratic legislators who will make this monumental decision, all our avid readers should call their elected representative and tell them to vote for the following:

First Choice)  Peter A. Reese

After due deliberation I am the clear best choice.  Some might claim I'm biased, but in the words of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, "but since it's me, I have to support myself..."   My goals are clearly stated in my resume submitted Friday:

Goals as Water Authority Commissioner

            The purpose of the Erie County Water Authority is the improvement of the health, welfare  and  prosperity of the people of Erie County by operating water treatment and supply facilities.  See Public Authorities Law §§ 1053, 1054, and 1058.    There is nothing in the statute to indicate that the Authority is to serve as a source of jobs for the relatives of public or political officials.  

My primary focus as commissioner will be on the effective and efficient operation of water facilities without regard to irrelevant external political concerns.    The first step is an analysis of all Authority functions, including facilities and staffing to determine whether the current configuration is the best possible.   Following this review, I will attempt to make improvements to ensure that the Authority fulfills its goals in the best interests of the citizens of Erie County.    I will also attempt to implement performance based budgeting methods to provide transparency and accountability for Authority activities.   My background in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research makes me well qualified for this appointment.

I intend to contribute any salary I receive as commissioner to local animal welfare organizations.

How you gonna top that?     Kind of gets you all verklempt.  Even the non-Democrats love me.

Third Choice)  Daniel Ward/Paul Wolf (tie)

This one is a tossup next best selection if I get rubbed out in the next few days.    Both are attorneys in good standing and outstanding citizens of excellent character.   But Ward is already elections commissioner (or is that his brother Dennis?).  

Q:  How many patronage jobs does one guy need?               A:   None

Wolf seems like a nice enough guy, but can we trust someone who runs The Center for Reinventing Government (http://reinventinggov.org/)?    For God sake, the guy is a lawyer.   They invented government.    Did he get it wrong the first time?    Why does he get a Mulligan?    And why is he "Challenging the Status Quo!"?    The status quo is working fine for the local glitterati. 

Fourth thru Next to Last Choice)  Who Cares?

The fix is already in suckers.

Last Choice)  Jerry Schad

This guy is Amherst Democratic Town Chairman place keeper for Party Secretary and Elections Commissioner, Dennis Ward (or is it Dan?).    He already has a $40K per year patronage job as counsel to the Democrats on the county legislature.   And he doesn't have to account for his time.

Q:  How many patronage jobs does one guy need?               A:   See above.

It's not our fault that he has to "volunteer" as lawyer for Zellner, the Democratic Committee and Betty Jean Grant.    You take the gain, you feel the pain.  

Prediction:   This is the last guy the county legislature is ever going to appoint as ECWA Commissioner.

Coming articles to look for:   Wonder Boy Meets NYSUT and The Man Who Would Be Judge: Cleaning Up Dennis Ward

Everyone has an opinion as to why Erie County Democratic Chairman Jeremy (Wonder Boy)  Zellner managed to lose the Democratic Party majority on the Erie County Legislature for the first time since he was born in 1978.    Something which has been overlooked by other commentary is a fact well known since the salad days of Joe Crangle:  The chairman of the ECDC doesn't need to win any general elections to retain power.   All that is necessary is to keep an iron grip on the Committee by winning the biennial reorganization meeting following the even year primary election.   The rules of the Committee do the rest, as the chairman gets to name enough executive board members to give every boot licking yes man in the county a push button vote under the chairman's control.    The rules give the votes of these supplicant puppets equivalent weight to the vote of the chairpersons from the largest towns, thus producing an impossible to overcome majority for whatever the chairman wishes.   Once in control of the Committee, patronage, power and favor seeking soft money will normally come flushing in like the action of your butt activating the infrared sensor on the toilet seat in the bus station rest room.   As New York is dominated by downstate population power, most Albany leaders just go along with whoever manages to be in charge here.    Erie County looks like Eastern Ohio from Manhattan and Albany leaders seldom want to pay any attention to what is actually going on here.  

This results in a view of the chairmanship as a final destination to be plundered  rather than a post from which to serve the party faithful.    In Wonder Boy's case, this rewards structure is enhanced by the fact that he has a patronage plum job as chief of staff of the legislature, to the tune of $80K per year.  (Not a bad gig for someone barely qualified to work at Walmart.)  Retaining this job requires support of a majority of the county legislature.   Since the legislators who employ him depend on the party endorsement which he controls, Zellner has a screaming conflict of interest which has somehow gone unchallenged and unexplained.  As his personal enrichment is more important than electing Democrats, Wonder Boy can only back Democrats who will blindly obey his whims.   That's where the crux of the issue lies.   Zellner cannot allow a Democrat to be elected who will not back him without question as chairman and chief of staff.    As a result, he openly violated the rules of the ECDC, intentionally failing to reorganize town and zone committees or hold endorsements in districts he didn't control.    This robbed he ECDC members affected of their rights to participate in party decision making and allowed Wonder Boy to misapply ECDC resources to support his boot licking candidates without the support of district committee members.   This is a formula for disaster in a close race, and Wonder Boy struck out three times.   

1)  Independent newcomer Pat Burke snuck down the middle between committee member backed Rick Zydel and Zellner's unendorsed candidate  in LD-07 (Cheektowaga, Buffalo Lovejoy and South).    It is unlikely that Burke would have run or won if Zydel had been endorsed.   The future path of young Burke is uncertain, as only one other independent Democrat has ever been elected to the county legislature and she only lasted one term.

2)   LD-08 (Cheektowaga, Lancaster, Alden) was a special circumstance.    When it became clear that Republican Ted (Money Bags) Morton was going to run, it so frightened the incumbent legislator that he decided not to run for re-election and reportedly applied for a job out of town.    Morton had spent lavishly on a prior run for Cheektowaga Supervisor in 2011 which he narrowly lost.   He can apparently spend whatever he wants on politics.   Had the committeemen been allowed to exercise their right to endorse, Wes Moore was considered a favorite.  Wonder Boy never scheduled an endorsement meeting and went with the troubled Alden Town chairperson who was widely viewed as a weak place keeper while a more viable candidate was sought.    After  Wonder Boy's pick beat Moore in the ensuing low turnout Democratic Primary Election, she was unceremoniously trounced by Morton in the general election.   Morton's win cost Democrats the majority in the legislature, but Morton's victory was way too easy, and he is rumored to be nominating Wonder Boy as Republican of the Year.  

3)  The endorsement votes in LD-10 (West Seneca and points southeast) are concentrated in West Seneca.   This is not Wonder Boy country, so he again chose not to schedule an endorsement meeting and decided to support an unknown recent law school graduate.   She was beaten like a rented mule by former Democrat turned Conservative incumbent Joe Lorigo.   Three auto endorsements by Wonder Boy, three train wrecks.

In another key contest, insurgent political veteran Barbara Miller-Williams took back her seat from ineffective first termer Tim Hogues in LD-01 (Buffalo).   The Miller-Williams vs Hogues battle was unavoidable, as Hogues had been nominated by the ECDC executive committee in 2011, denying Miller-Williams any opportunity to enter a primary election and give the Democratic voters a choice.   Hogue's unanticipated loss to Miller-Williams probably cost Wonder Boy the votes necessary to remain as chief of staff, even if Democrats had held the legislature majority.   

In one of the more comical contests, school teacher William Conrad was reported to be staging a competitive race in LD-04 against popular incumbent Canisius College professor Kevin Hardwick.   That's when Zellner sent out a personal letter to voters in the district, which began, "Two years ago I earned your support when I ran for the Erie County Legislature...."    Apparently Wonder Boy suffers from amnesia, as he was clobbered by Hardwick  in 2011 by nearly 4000 votes.    However, Zellner's 2011 race was notable for the fact that he spent nearly $54,000 to garner 9543 votes, an astronomical cost of nearly $6 per vote!     This is Ted Morton level spending and much of his financial support was garnered while Zellner was employed as Executive Director of the Democratic party, well positioned to strong arm the faithful to the detriment of other more viable Democratic candidates.    Clearly, his voters would have been better served if he had bought them each a pizza.    This year, Zellner's attempt to capitalize on his self-perceived popularity failed miserably and Conrad was beaten so badly by Hardwick that it probably wasn't even a good lesson. 

Coming articles to look for:   Wonder Boy Meets NYSUT and The Man Who Would Be Judge:  Cleaning Up Dennis Ward.

Right to the end, our local political analysts and pundits kept reporting on Bert Dunn's campaign on the Law and Order ballot line which "he created for himself," and allowed him to spin the lie that he was an independent who didn't owe anything to party bosses.   Let's examine some facts.   Dunn was endorsed by Jeremy (Boy Wonder)  Zellner even though Bert openly stated that he wasn't a Democrat, despised Obama and Cuomo, and Ronald Reagan is his personal hero.  While not all Democrats are enchanted with Barry and Andy, very few of us hold Reagan in high esteem.   Wonder Boy's mentor, former Democratic Chairman Lenny Lenihan's "consulting" outfit, Glendale Associates, got an $8,000 payment from Bert to guide his glorious march to victory.   A little research reveals that Bert is an opportunist who changes his party almost as often as his underwear.    He is a lieutenant in Howard's sheriffs department and in line for appointment to captain, the highest level of civil service.    He has openly supported Sheriff Howard, Carl Paladino and the Republican Party in the past.   Bert has reportedly skated on some interesting high jinks during his police career, including driving stunts with his patrol car while on duty (http://www.politicsny.net/feature.php?id=97&c=2#sthash.KUrpHGIZ.dpbs).   This is not the kind of guy who runs against his indulgent boss.   

With Dunn as the endorsed candidate, Zellner's fellow travelers passed Democratic designating petitions and got Bert into the Democratic primary using the full resources of the Erie County Democratic Committee.    But that wasn't enough.   Unable to get the Working Families line for his Reagan adoring candidate, Wonder Boy led the effort to establish the Law and Order ballot line right out of ECDC headquarters.     ECDC employees Elizabeth Abbott, Marisa Bartolatta, Kristen Bishop, Shea Brode,  Michael Carbone, Jacob Deely, Siobhan Maloney, Jeffrey Sheridan, Christina Wasinger, Ta'Dia Wideman, and Andrew Woods circulated nominating petitions for Bert on the so called Law and Order line.    They were joined by Wonder Boy himself, as well as Zellner pals ECDC Vice Chairman Margaret McLaughlin and NYS Health Department employee Robert Sienkiewicz.     That's right, the ECDC Chairman himself circulated petitions to establish another party's ballot line!   {See Petiion below}   Joining this noble cause to establish an "independent" campaign for Bert were Board of Elections Democratic employees Michael Agostino, Thomas Gleed, Thema Haron, David Ksiazek, Harrell Little, Gary Pajonk and Adrian Pinto.   When the Moreland Commission has some spare time, they might want to subpoena the Board of Elections employees to see if they were coerced to work on Dunn's independent campaign.    I'm sure their interest in creating a new party is just a coincidence and they freely volunteered their time because they love supporting non-Democrats.   As a final measure, ECDC employee Jeffrey Sheridan was listed on the cover sheets of the Dunn Law and Order nominating petition as the person to contact to correct deficiencies and the petition was filed by the above named Christina Wasinger.

Then something went terribly wrong.   Bert lost the Democratic Primary.    Who could have known that you can lose an election?    By creating an independent ballot line for Dunn, Wonder Boy poisoned the well for any Democrat who might happen to defeat the headquarters selected Reaganite.    Dunn's continuing campaign on the Zellner created Law and Order line following his Primary Election defeat by Dick Dobson doomed any chance for any Democrat to best the clearly beatable Sheriff  Howard.

So let's sum up.   Dunn was on the ballot in the Democratic Primary because party boss Zellner endorsed and petitioned him there.   Dunn's Law and Order ballot line in the General Election was obtained by party boss Zellner.   Without the efforts of Zellner, Dunn isn't even on the ballot, any ballot.   So where is the independent here?   

Unresolved questions remain.   Was the Democratic Party endorsement for sheriff  purchased, at least in part, by the eight grand payment to Lenihan?   Did Zellner block the Working Families from endorsing Dobson?    (Working Families had no candidate.)   With the political genius of Lenihan on payroll, why was Dunn completely unprepared to counter late primary campaign television attacks concerning his previously reported Obama, Cuomo and Reagan comments?   Was Dunn's campaign a serious effort or an expensive sabotage of any Democratic opposition to Howard's re-election?    Dunn's future career path in the Sheriff's Department will be interesting to follow.