The race for Mayor of Buffalo in 2025
Politics and Other Stuff
by Ken Kruly
2d ago
Has it begun?  Maybe. There are some little telltale signs that steps are being taken, plans are being made.  A campaign, of course, depends are who is running. In the year or two prior to the last Buffalo mayoral election in 2021 there was considerable conversation among politicos about whether the then four-term incumbent, Byron Brown, would run for an unprecedented fifth term.  “Strive for five” was the slogan that was being mentioned.  Then it wasn’t just a slogan:  he was running again. The 2021 election was certainly different.  The incumbent had a large war ..read more
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More WNY legislative candidates sign up for public financing program, first financial reports filed; a note about online sports gambling
Politics and Other Stuff
by Ken Kruly
1w ago
New York is kicking off the operation of its new Public Campaign Financing Program (PCFP), which is intended to make it easier for new candidates for the state Legislature and those with limited resources to run their campaigns.  A previous post explained the mechanics of the program (New York State is about to start providing money to run political campaigns.  How will that work in practice? | Politics and Other Stuff (politicsandstuff.com). A total of 329 incumbent and non-incumbent candidates for the Legislature applied to participate in the program by the deadline of Februar ..read more
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Coming to a fork in the road
Politics and Other Stuff
by Ken Kruly
2w ago
Sometimes major problems for governments come at them out of nowhere like a punch in the gut.  Pearl Harbor; 9/11; COVID.  Recovery is hard and speed is of the essence. Then there are problems that grow even though they don’t look menacing and unmanageable.  Such matters are often handled tentatively or not at all.  The towns of Amherst, Cheektowaga, and the City of Buffalo come to mind. Part of the explanation for why property taxes in Amherst are 11 percent higher in 2024 appears to be a lack of serious long-term planning.  For many years taxes were not increased and ..read more
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Is past prologue?  A look at results and turnout in recent presidential election years in Erie County
Politics and Other Stuff
by Ken Kruly
3w ago
Since the 2024 presidential election is likely to be a re-run of the Biden/Trump election in 2020, it might be helpful for political aficionados to take a look back at what happened that year.  Spoiler alert:  Biden won handily in Erie County and in New York State.  Turnout was pretty good. Nationally, of course, the presidential election in 2020 was hotly contested.  Election officials, including Republicans, pretty much everywhere agreed that the elections were free and fair and that Joe Biden’s winning margins, particularly in battleground states, were accurate. Presiden ..read more
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The NY26 campaign takes shape; additional analysis of Kennedy’s campaign receipts
Politics and Other Stuff
by Ken Kruly
1M ago
We now have the official lineup for the special election on April 30 in NY26.  State Senator Tim Kennedy is the candidate of the Democratic and Working Families parties.  West Seneca Town Supervisor Gary Dickson carries the banner of the Republican and Conservative parties.  The special election will be run in the district boundaries drawn by the court-appointed special master in 2022.  The Independent Redistricting Commission’s new lines will likely soon be tweaked by the state Legislature to serve as the new districts for the primary and general elections later this year ..read more
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Some facts, observations, and heard-on-the-streets
Politics and Other Stuff
by Ken Kruly
1M ago
The political parties are gearing up for candidate petitioning, which starts on February 27th.  Spring thankfully seems like it wants to start early.  Here are some facts, observations, and heard-on-the-streets: The old guard of the Republican Party has basically said nothing about Donald Trump’s comments that suggested Russia could feel free to expand its war against Ukraine into other parts of Europe.  Condoleezza Rice, Dick Cheney, George Bush and many more – all silent.  As Simon & Garfunkel wrote, “’Fools, said I, ‘You do not know, silence like a cancer grows.’” T ..read more
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New York State is about to start providing money to run political campaigns.  How will that work in practice?
Politics and Other Stuff
by Ken Kruly
1M ago
One of the most difficult and awkward chores in a political campaign is about to get easier for some candidates in New York.  If they are eligible and can decipher the complexities of a new system, some state legislative candidates are going to be able to fatten up their campaign treasuries with public dollars. The state Legislature in 2020 approved a system for public campaign financing and created a new bureaucracy to administer the program.  The Public Campaign Financing Board (PCFB) has published procedures and has been conducting training sessions with candidates and campaign co ..read more
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WNY congressional campaign financials; Kennedy raises three-quarters of a million dollars
Politics and Other Stuff
by Ken Kruly
1M ago
It’s off to the races in this year’s congressional elections.  The only problem is no one knows what their districts will look like. When we last left this story, the New York Court of Appeals had determined that the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) should update their work to set the lines for the districts that would be used from 2024 through 2030.  They would report the plans and the state Legislature would have the option of accepting or rejecting the new districts. The problem is that we are now into February.  Nominating petitions for congressional, state ..read more
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Interesting times in the Republican Party; the Bills at the bye bye week
Politics and Other Stuff
by Ken Kruly
2M ago
So it’s over.  Two demographically unrepresentative states that will not be in play in November have spoken – well at least the relatively few voters who participated in those states have spoken.  Trump is the presumptive presidential nominee of the Republican Party.  Republicans in the other 48 states can rest up. None of that is a surprise.  Trump’s takeover of the Republican Party has sucked all the oxygen out the party.  His grievance laden campaign is about the past – mostly his past – and his future outlook is focused on his legal problems.  Issues will be m ..read more
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The race in the 26th congressional district; Kennedy’s million dollars
Politics and Other Stuff
by Ken Kruly
2M ago
Western New York seems to like congressional elections.  We like it so much that sometimes we do it three times in a congressional election year. Consider the case of NY23 in its present design and its linear predecessors, a district which in the 2010s became like the Bermuda triangle of congressional districts. Max McCarthy held the seat for three terms in the sixties. After Jack Kemp held the seat for 18 years Bill Paxon was elected. He was a rising star in the House Republican caucus until he wasn’t and left Congress unexpectedly after five terms. Paxon was succeeded by Tom Reynolds wh ..read more
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