All campaign committees involved in primary elections this year were required to file their financial disclosure reports with the state Board of Elections on May 26.  Several Democratic and Republican primaries are worth noting.  The campaign account information for transactions reported since January 2023 includes the following: Buffalo, Ellicott District Councilmember, Democratic primary.  Matt Dearing;  raised $11,816; spent $8,742; has $3,073 remaining.    Leah Halton-Pope: raised $45,644, with approximately a third of the money coming from donors with a ..read more

It seems like it is way too early for this, but like it or not, the 2024 presidential primaries have begun and they will last forever – or at least it will appear that way. Both the Democrats and the Republican/Trump parties have contestants lining up.  No one knows how busy the primaries will be but when a politician with a dollar and a dream envisions him or herself as president, the starting gate awaits. On one side things might get crowded. Many folks in the Democratic Party would have preferred that President Joe Biden defer to a younger generation of candidates.  But…  He ..read more

If there is one thing that unifies Western New York more than anything, it’s the love of this community for the Buffalo Bills.  Win or lose, through snowstorms and sunny days, the fan base is as solid as any in the National Football League. Those strong emotions, of course, ebb and flow over time.  There have been more losing seasons than winning ones.  There have been long playoff draughts.  We are now, however, in one of the high points in the team’s history.  Four playoff appearances in the past five seasons and some great players, led by Josh Allen, have fandom spi ..read more

Mayor Byron Brown’s proposed 2023-2024 City Budget demonstrates a new reality:  Buffalo must deal with financial issues head-on.  Past budgets have relied on if-come revenues from new city sources, exaggerated estimates of established funding streams, and new money from other levels of government to cover the city’s expenses.  With a proposed increase in property taxes and higher fees for sanitation services, city government is coming to see that its financial future requires taking ownership of their problems. No one likes to see their taxes go up. It is true that there is subs ..read more

The surprising results of the 2022 congressional elections, which left Republicans in control of the House of Representatives by a much smaller margin than was expected throughout the campaign, create some anxiety and anticipation on both sides of the aisle.  The limited number of truly competitive seats encourages speculation about which party will be in charge of the House in January 2025. Among the political soothsayers who spend considerable time analyzing every single House seat, here are some observations: The Cook Political Report states there are 22 House seats that they consider ..read more

Primary Day in Buffalo and Erie County offers some interesting contests.  The Common Council primaries might produce a shift in control of that legislative body.  The County Legislature primaries are in just one district; they are simply a power struggle between the Republicans and Conservatives. Subject to Board of Elections or court actions, there could be six primaries for the Council seats in June.  Only the Delaware District (Councilmember Joel Feroleto); the Niagara District (Councilmember David Rivera); and the South District (Councilmember Christopher Scanlon) have no pr ..read more

A week with lots of sunshine can do wonders for the soul. Here are some facts, observations, and heard-on-the-streets concerning federal, state, and local politics and government: There are rules governing the conduct of federal court judges but none that apply to the Supreme Court. That allows Justice Clarence Thomas to rely on unidentified colleagues from days gone by to guide his ethics decisions. Which, it would seem, means that Thomas is lacking a moral and ethical compass of his own. Luxury trips taken; property sold to a billionaire friend. Looking forward to Senate hearings about the ..read more

It is nicer to think of the expression “April showers bring May flowers,” but like it or not there are a bunch of primaries sprouting up all over Erie County. In the midst of serious and protracted budget negotiations among Governor Kathy Hochul, the Assembly, and the Senate those parties found time to add an extra four days to the deadline for filing party designating petitions for offices on the ballot in 2023.  Anecdotally, there have been stories about certain candidates struggling to get sufficient signatures to qualify for the ballot.  Petitioning in March is always going to pr ..read more

As this blog is being published, the New York State 2023-2024 budget is officially three days late. Such a development is hardly news in Albany. Over the past 40 years at least 25 of the new state budgets were approved later than the April 1 deadline. The budgets were late 20 consecutive years between 1985 and 2004, averaging 54 days. The longest delay was in 2004 – 133 days! Reasons for the delays have all, in a sense, been political but they have been political in different ways.  For most of the previously noted 40-year period control of Albany was divided.  The Assembly has been ..read more

Less than a month into her candidacy for Erie County Executive, Republican Chrissy Casilio-Bluhm has wandered into controversy.  Perhaps she could use some PR help. The focus of her difficulties has been Twitter posts under her former handle, Chrissycaboom.  She passed along comments suggesting the Damar Hamlin near tragedy was a PR stunt; that the 2020 election was stolen; and other conspiracy theories of the far-right. Casilio scrubbed away those tweets, but that did not prevent enterprising journalists from reporting on them.  First there was WNYmedia Network; followed by Geo ..read more