Collins gets key convention role
Chris Collins crafted a reputation for himself on his march to the county executive’s office last fall with a simple yet effective slogan: “Elect a chief executive, not a chief politician.”
Now Collins travels to St. Paul next week for the Republican National Convention and the biggest political stage of all. In fact, Collins will literally stand on that stage when he addresses the convention in prime time on Sept. 2. The theme that night is “reform,” and the spin already surrounding the Collins appearance is “who better to speak of reform than Chris Collins?”
This is an official, certified big deal for the county executive. The GOP is thrilled to showcase a successful businessman who campaigned on a pro-business platform and won a big victory in an overwhelmingly Democratic county. He will be presented as living proof that such an approach can work, and fit nicely into the purpose of modern day conventions.
No longer do the gatherings feature suspense over who will emerge from the roll call of the states as the winner — Sen. John McCain wrapped that up long ago.
Instead, the parties use conventions in 2008 to convey a theme; a message. The media don’t necessarily report on roll call votes anymore, but do pick up those themes and dissect them for readers and viewers back home.
And that’s why Collins more than fits the bill for the GOP message.
Credit Collins with latching onto Michael Hook, the Lancaster native and Washington political consultant with strong connections to the political world. Hook served as deputy convention manager for the Republican conclave in San Diego in 1996, and is close to another Western New Yorker — Buffalo native Maria Cino — who is the big boss of the meeting in Minneapolis and St. Paul this year.
But it was not a heavy lift. Collins and the GOP have proven a good team.
And though he is a 58-year-old rookie, Collins is the kind of guy who is always charging ahead. Who knows what lies in his future?
This much is for sure — a prime-time appearance before a national audience isn’t going to hurt.
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A few other observations before the Politics Column goes on the road for the next two weeks for the conventions of the Dems in Denver and the Repubs in St. Paul:
• Assemblyman Sam Hoyt is living the ultimate personal and political nightmare this week after blogger Joseph Illuzzi posted on his Internet play-toy lurid e-mails he claims were Hoyt’s.
Hoyt was facing a tough re-election bid in the Democratic primary against former Council Member at Large Barbra Kavanaugh even before Illuzzi went on his crusade. Now, with just a little over two weeks before the primary, Hoyt has even bigger problems.
• Speaking of Illuzzi, a parade of pols has complained in recent days over his controversial Web site. Yet almost to a person, these same politicians pony up to Illuzzi several thousand dollars every year.
• Republican congressional candidate Chris Lee is not only sitting on the sidelines watching Democrats pile on each other, he’s collecting some major bucks, too. Lee last week imported House Minority Leader John Boehner to a successful soiree at Sole in Williamsville, and is raking in the bucks at other events, too.
That’s because he has inherited a tried and tested financial team. Pam Baker, who for many years ran Congressman Tom Reynolds’ fund-raising operation, is heading Lee’s efforts now. And the candidate’s father — Pat Lee — for many years headed former Congressman Jack Quinn’s finance committee.
These folks know how to do it.
