Minor parties having an impact
Oh, what crazy high jinks by those unpredictable rascals over at the Independence Party. What will that cast of characters do next?
It might be hard for anyone in politics to top their antics over the past few weeks. Erie County Chairman Tony Orsini, you recall, found himself in the spotlight recently when The Buffalo News reported that his wife, Judy, had received $5,000 from Democratic congressional hopeful Jack Davis for “consulting” services.
Ditto for Blanca Semidey, wife of Monroe County Chairman Rafael Colon, who also got five grand for “consulting.”
Monroe County Independence officials promptly kicked Colon out of office. Some tried the same move against Orsini, but the chairman has the backing of top state officials of the Independence Party, and promises to reign supreme even if he is defeated for re-election next month. Are we having fun yet?
It depends on your definition of fun. What is for sure is that the internal bickerings and external maneuverings of the state’s biggest minor party could affect elections in this part of the world.
Take the contest between State Sen. Bill Stachowski, the Democrat, and former Detective Dennis Delano, the Republican. A few weeks ago, the race fell into the “interesting but not exactly white hot” category.
Stachowski, the veteran incumbent, has never really faced a tough challenge during a long career in Albany. In addition, his Democrats outnumber Republicans in the 58th District by about 56,000 voters. And until recently, Stachowski had locked up every line but the Republicans — including the local Independence Party, which voted to support him.
But the state party overruled the locals’ backing of Stachowski and went with Delano, all because of what they called local Democrats’ attempts to “take over” the Erie County Independence Party.
“This is an all-out hit on the Independence Party by the Democratic Party of Erie County,” said Tom Connolly, state Independence vice chairman.
Connolly maintains that on a massive scale, local Dems have been circulating designating petitions for newly minted Independence members with ties to Headquarters. The idea, he said, is to “take over” the often influential Independence Party.
Democratic Chairman Len Lenihan was unavailable to answer Connolly’s charges. But Connolly warns that his state organization will fight attempts by either major party to influence the Independence Party, and that the Stachowski switcheroo amounts to a shot across the Democratic bow. “The Stachowski situation is a direct result — a message,” he said. “This is blatant party raiding and it’s just not going to be tolerated.”
Orsini calls it “collateral damage” from the Democratic efforts over which he also has long complained.
Stachowski sees it differently. He notes that Connolly has close ties to Senate Republicans, and is more than interested in seeing the Senate stay in GOP hands. “The Senate Republicans are fighting for their life, and that’s why they gave him that line,” Stachowski said.
There is some speculation that Stachowski could have challenged the ruling and engaged in a primary against Delano. But top pols like former County Executive Dennis Gorski and former Gov. George Pataki have discovered in the past that Independence primaries prove a political no-man’s land where results are never even remotely predictable.
Nobody is yet saying that Stachowski and Delano are in a close one, though polls show that Delano is definitely recognized by voters stemming from the high-profile nature of his police career.
But the unique position of minor parties in New York politics has now altered the electoral landscape in Erie County, and made the Stachowski-Delano contest at least one to watch.
