The Erie County Independence Party will back Timothy M. Kennedy for the State Senate this fall,

dealing another blow to the candidacy of incumbent Democrat William T. Stachowski of Lake

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Chairwoman Sandra Geise Rosenswie said her party's leaders voted for Kennedy, now giving

him two key minor party lines — Independence and Conservative. The minor party lines

often prove crucial in determining close elections, as is expected in Stachowski's 58th

District this year.

The Independence endorsement is also a blow to Assemblyman Jack F. Quinn III of Hamburg,

the Republican candidate who also sought the party nod.

Stachowski has now lost the important minor parties that always supported him in the past.

Rosenswie said her committee's support for Kennedy was "decisive," and that the "incumbent"

label will prove a problem for Stachowski and others like him this year.

"They heard this going door to door," she said of Independence members carrying designating

petitions. "The public is ripping mad at incumbents. And it's not just him."

The Independence move also indicates a new level of "independence" for the party, according

to Rosenswie. A year ago, state Chairman Frank MacKay told a gathering of top political

leaders — including Democratic Mayor Byron W. Brown and Republican County Executive

Chris Collins — that he and his Executive Committee would defer on all upstate

endorsements to G. Steven Pigeon, political point man for Independence founder B. Thomas

Golisano.

That move followed Golisano's spending $4.4 million in the 2008 state legislative races and

his threat to be active in 2010 contests also, especially in the Assembly. So far, however,

Golisano has taken no concrete steps toward financing this year's legislative elections.

Speculation, meanwhile, had centered around Pigeon's role in the Independence nod. Pigeon,

the former Erie County Democratic chairman, is a $150,000 employee of the Senate. And

Democrats are now engaged in a high-stakes battle to protect vulnerable members like

Stachowski.

Sources familiar with several polls, however, indicate Stachowski trails Kennedy and Quinn.

They point out that Pigeon is still influential in the party and is quietly backing Kennedy,

whom he sees as the strongest candidate and the one most likely to help preserve the Senate's

Democratic majority.

Rosenswie emphasized that MacKay recently told local Independence supporters that he will

now ratify all local decisions made by her and her committee.

"Does Pigeon have any influence with the state? I don't know," she said. "I do know one

thing: He doesn't tell us what to do."

Rosenswie acknowledged that Pigeon was dictating Independence endorsements throughout 2009.

"There was no doubt about it," she said. "Frank MacKay made it clear to me and everybody

else."

But she added that Golisano is now a Florida resident, and it remains unclear to what

extent he will participate in New York politics as he did in 2008 legislative races and in his

alliance with New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in 2009.

"Steve Pigeon gets a lot of credit for stuff in Erie County that he has had nothing to do

with," Rosenswie said. "He's been made out to be a whole lot stronger and influential than he

really is."

MacKay did not return a call to comment.

One source close to the situation indicates Pigeon has been a Kennedy supporter and that

Kennedy backed recent Pigeon efforts to name political consultant Jack O'Donnell to the Erie

County Water Authority. They note that Pigeon also helped fashion the current majority in the

County Legislature, and that Rosenswie is now a Legislature employee.

The same source said MacKay's acknowledgment of Rosenswie's endorsements is a result of

Rosenswie's close cooperation with Pigeon.

Rosenswie continues to accuse the current Democratic chairman — Leonard R. Lenihan

— of attempting to take over her party by running Independence candidates for county

committee who are friendly to Democratic Headquarters.

Lenihan denied any takeover attempt, and said he takes her assertion that Pigeon no longer

runs Independence "with a grain of salt."