The hype about the totality of the eclipse has passed.  While only catching a few glimpses of the event, I thought the most amazing part was the few minutes when day-became-night-became-day.  The eclipse glasses were essentially useless.  The whole event was similar to some campaigns we have seen – all bright and shiny, slowing fading away, then totally gone. Here are some facts, observations, and heard-on-the-streets: The special election in NY26 is certainly about Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy – lots of TV ads and mailers.  I’ve seen a few (Gary) Dickson for Congress signs b ..read more

We are three weeks away from the special election in NY26 to replace Congressman Brian Higgins.  Democrat/Working Families candidate State Senator Tim Kennedy is facing off against Republican/Conservative candidate Supervisor Gary Dickson. Both candidates were nominated by their respective parties in February.  Running on a parallel track the parties were proceeding with their regular schedule for the primary and general elections, which meant that petitioning to qualify candidates began on February 27. The usual procedure in situations as we have this year with a special election an ..read more

The day this post is published, April 2, 2024, is presidential primaries Election Day in New York State.  Perhaps you didn’t notice.  If so don’t feel bad, you have lots of company. The Democratic Party has decided on Joe Biden.  The Republicans have settled on Donald Trump.  Both have secured enough delegates to be selected as their party’s nominee at the summer conventions.  There were no TV ads or mailers for the New York primaries, and if there was any door-to-door activity it would seem that it was all for naught. Officially there are several candidates in these p ..read more

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

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

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

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

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

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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