Reply With QuoteFunny how Sam Hoyt can put an "Independent" voice on the city council, but he cannot be an "Independent" voice in his own job.
A furious political battle for control of the Common Council is expected this summer, as Mayor Byron W. Brown seeks a voting majority to back his agenda, and opponents try to make the Council an independent power. At least 10 candidates are planning primary campaigns in five pivotal districts that in many cases match Brown against candidates with close ties to Assemblyman Sam Hoyt. While some primaries involve no real factions, the Brown-Hoyt tussle is raging in the Niagara and Delaware districts and spilling over into one County Legislature race.
It all stems from the retirement of Niagara Council Member Dominic J. Bonifacio Jr. — often considered the fifth Brown vote on the nine-member Council — and the new balance of power it brings.
“This is about governing for this administration,” said Deputy Mayor Steven M. Casey, Brown’s political point man. “We need folks in place to help us achieve our ultimate goals. It’s really that simple for us.”
Hoyt, who has quietly built substantial power through his Assembly district on the Democratic committee, said the administration forgets that city government also includes a legislative branch.
“Steve Casey primarily, but the mayor as well, are simply looking to have a Common Council in lockstep with the mayor’s agenda,” Hoyt said. “Anyone with an independent thought and who might occasionally disagree with the executive’s approach is not welcome in the Common Council.”
Several sources say an unwritten agreement between the Hoyt and Brown camps to let incumbent Council members go unchallenged disintegrated when Bonifacio retired and both groups advanced their own candidates.
As a result, intense competition is brewing for Bonifacio’s seat in the Niagara District, with designating petitions slated to begin circulating next week.
The retiring Council member endorsed Peter Savage Jr., an assistant corporation counsel favored by Brown. The Hoyt candidate is Buffalo Police Officer David Rivera, while Judith Einach, a community activist who unsuccessfully ran an independent campaign for mayor in 2005, also has entered the race.
Democratic committee members from the district are slated to make their endorsement tonight.
In the Delaware District, Brown forces are running Jessica Maglietto against incumbent Council Member Michael LoCurto, Hoyt’s former chief of staff. Maglietto administers CitiStat, a centerpiece of the Brown administration, and will run with strong backing from the mayor’s political organization.
“When you have some young people who want to run against Michael LoCurto, you have to look at them,” Casey said of Maglietto. “And we need to find a working majority.”
The Brown-Hoyt feud has entered the county arena, too, with strong indications that City Hall is encouraging former Legislator Albert DeBenedetti to reclaim his old seat from incumbent Democrat Maria R. Whyte, a Hoyt ally.
“I’m just dumbfounded,” Hoyt said. “Maria Whyte and Michael LoCurto are two of the most competent — and the key word here — independent elected officials in Western New York.”
The rest of the Council primaries shape up as normal intraparty challenges, with no connections to the Brown-Hoyt tiff.
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/93106.html
People who wonder if the glass is half empty or full miss the point. The glass is refillable.
Funny how Sam Hoyt can put an "Independent" voice on the city council, but he cannot be an "Independent" voice in his own job.
Hey Sam, tell me more about your independent vote for the NYS Comptroller. Tell me how often Maria Whyte and Michael LoCurto have voted independent of the democratic majority.
The silence is deafening......Originally Posted by Townsfolk
LoCurto was the only member to vote against the Casey Cam. Also one of three to vote against the Casino.
Whyte went against the Party's patronage hack Larry Adamczyk, publicly feuding with Marinelli over the proposed deal. She was also the lone voice coming out against the tax lien deal and managed to get some protective provisions included that otherwise wouldn't have been there.
That's just off the top of my head.
I didn't know about that regarding whyte - I almost wish there was an "insider" blog or newsletter that would let us know about things like that. You must have inside knowledge, but I appreciate you telling us.
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