Dyster posts $22,016 at start of his fundraising
Mayor prepares war chest for future
NIAGARA FALLS — Mayor Paul A. Dyster has raised $22,016 in campaign contributions during his first six months in office, including donations from several top city workers and companies that have done work for the city.
A campaign finance report filed this week shows Dyster held a fundraiser in April at Tiddleybinks on Buffalo Avenue and already has begun filling a campaign chest for a potential re-election more than three years away.
“Part of the political reality here is that money matters in this process, so I’d like to have at least some resources available,” Dyster said. “If I made a decision that I’d like to run for another term, I’d like to have started the process . . . It makes sense to spread that out over a longer period of time.”
Dyster received several donations made by companies that have bid on city contracts or have done work for the city in the past, including Armand Cerrone Inc., Mark Cerrone Inc., David Gross Contracting Corp., Girasole Appraisal Co. Inc., Flexcare and Metro Contracting & Environmental Inc.
Records show Dyster returned a $500 donation made at the fundraiser from the developer of a new city courthouse and police station under construction on Main Street. The donation was made by CLP3, a partnership between the
Amherst firms Ciminelli Development Co. and Largo Real Estate Advisors.
Dyster said he kept donations made by companies where the mayor’s office has no influence over the process in which a company is chosen but felt that accepting the Ciminelli- Largo donation would have been a conflict of interest.
“Huge numbers of individuals and members of the business community do business with the city,” Dyster said.
David Gross Contracting Corp., which gave Dyster $1,000 recorded on April 2, is run by David Gross, son of John J. Gross, a former plumbing contractor who pleaded guilty more than a decade ago to racketeering and bribery.
State records show David Gross Contracting has donated to more than two dozen Niagara County politicians in recent years and has given Dyster’s campaign a total of $2,950.
“He’s a big contractor, and he does a lot of work. He does a lot of work with the city,” John
J. Gross said about his son. “It’s a $10 million company. That’s how you do business.”
David Gross could not be reached to comment.
Dyster’s fundraiser also netted donations that ranged from $100 to $250 from eight city workers, including Department of Public Works Director David Kinney, acting Corporation Counsel Thomas O’Donnell and Fire Chief William MacKay.
Dyster said that he did not solicit donations from city workers and that the fundraiser was open to the public.
He plans to hold a second fundraiser later this month.
Dyster said he also might use campaign contributions to help support other political campaigns or initiatives. Last month, his campaign committee paid for fliers that were sent to LaSalle residents outlining the city’s accomplishments in the community.
Harold Hibbard, president of Metro Contracting and Environmental Inc., said his company gave Dyster a $1,000 donation because he has been impressed with the new mayor’s leadership.
“Finally, we found a guy that’s got integrity for mayor. That’s the bottom line,” Hibbard said. “I think he’s a hard worker. I think he’s an honest guy. From the beginning, I’ve supported him because I felt that that’s what Niagara Falls needed.”
