Frank Max to challenge Lenihan for Democratic leadership

[OneEmerald]

http://http://www.buffalonews.com/ci...ry/310591.html

Cheektowaga official to challenge Lenihan for Democratic leadership

By Robert J. McCarthy NEWS POLITICAL REPORTER
Updated: 03/29/08 6:37 AM

The first battle for the Erie County Democratic chairmanship since 2002 is taking shape after Cheektowaga Democratic Chairman Frank C. Max said Friday he will challenge incumbent Leonard R. Lenihan.
Max, who has led one of the county’s largest Democratic organizations since 2006, has been quietly building support for his campaign over the past few months. He plans to mail letters this weekend to Democratic committee members across the county outlining his platform and seeking their support for the September election.
He is citing the Democrats’ failure to win last year’s election for county executive as a major Lenihan flaw, as well as the chairman’s unsuccessful effort earlier this year to replace Lynn M. Marinelli as chairwoman of the County Legislature.
“He’s been there six years and has put a lot of his family members in jobs,” Max said Friday. “We need stronger leadership at the top, and a stronger personality at the top.”
Max, 55, has assumed a higher stature in party circles after a long stint leading a dissident Democratic group in Cheektowaga. He was a major supporter of former West Seneca Supervisor Paul T. Clark’s unsuccessful primary campaign for county executive in 2007, further distancing himself from the Lenihan organization that supported former Deputy County Executive James P. Keane.
Though few leaders have publicly endorsed his candidacy, several prominent supporters will announce their backing soon, Max said Friday. Although he has not said anything publicly, Max is attempting to woo Mayor Byron W. Brown, who has been critical of Lenihan’s leadership.
Max also is expected to attract several suburban chairmen, though many prominent members of his Cheektowaga committee have opposed him.
But Lenihan faces the first challenge to his chairmanship with substantial backing of his own. He said Friday that he welcomes the challenge as “good for the process.”
“But I do question if Frank is the guy to unite this party,” Lenihan said. “I think Max and Clark attacked Keane unfairly, especially over his military record when neither of them ever served. Now the fact that he’s asking us to unite behind them is questionable.”
Lenihan also said Max, a sanitation foreman for the Town of Cheektowaga, has little experience in party matters; that many of Max’s supporters are linked to former County Executive Joel A. Giambra; and that Max’s Progressive Democrats surreptitiously funneled some of Giambra’s campaign money to candidates he favored.
Several leading Democrats have suggested that Max is a “stalking horse” for some other Democratic figure who will eventually emerge. But he denied that he is part of any such plan, and predicted he will run a strong campaign.
“I’m not anyone’s stalking horse or some secondary candidate,” he said.
rmccarthy@buffnews.com

[WNYresident]

Look into Frank Max's past.

Time to get real now.

Our area's economy is not the best and I don't believe someone with a resume like Frank Max is the answer.

Decisions wouldn't be made with the communities best interest at heart. They would be made so the "party" could benefit the most at the expense of our community.

I know there are a few posters who happen to know Frank... How about filling the readers in a little about him.

[OneEmerald]

I was there for the battle of 2002. This surely will be another battle. You have the Max haters vs Max supporters. How this plays out will be very interesting.

I don't think Lenny or Frank are the best choices to lead the Erie County party but I also have no idea who would be the best.

[Yorku]

I was there for the battle of 2002. This surely will be another battle. You have the Max haters vs Max supporters. How this plays out will be very interesting.

I don't think Lenny or Frank are the best choices to lead the Erie County party but I also have no idea who would be the best.

The guy that sits on the corner of William and Harlem picking his toes.

[mesue]

Who would be the best candidate?

[wazooo86]

with max being in it , there is one assurance for sure there will be fraud. i not saying lenny is the man either. wasn't frank max part of the clark campign! remember the cash trail .

[cheekman]

Frank(buy my tickets)Max what a joke this guy is just to much. The three amigoes are behind this they are pushing this guy real hard must be all the favores! No best candidate here both are zero's.

[WNYresident]

Frank(buy my tickets)Max what a joke this guy is just to much. The three amigoes are behind this they are pushing this guy real hard must be all the favores! No best candidate here both are zero's.

Who are the three? Educate me

[WNYresident]

I was surprized to hear Higgins may be a Frank Max backer?

Did he look into Frank Max's history?

About his episode at the Erie County water Authority?

[Yorku]

Joe Hajduk would be a better choice than Max.

[OneEmerald]

Can you provide some info on Joe Hajduk? I've never heard of him.

[Yorku]

Can you provide some info on Joe Hajduk? I've never heard of him.

Joe Hajduk was a Cheektowaga gadfly. He once brought hookers to the airport control tower.

He died a few years ago, yet is still a better candidate than Frank Max.

[pudge]

Lenihan or Max?

Two times zero is still zero!

In other words, neither are deserving. There is no lesser of two evils here!

[cheekman]

The only good thing if he got it he would be out of the town.

[WNYresident]

You know... People have been filling me in...

I think we want max to take lenny' place.. Max is right from that same mentality of the core type of people running the party. You want to beat the party just point out the qualifications of the person doing the endorsing.

Someone is working on getting some info to post.

Could it be true that Frank hired someone to wash the sanitation trucks versus having the sanitation workers do it? Some of the routes get finished early. The "washer's business" is an alledged friend of Frank's. Seems like a complete waste of money when you have hired town employees who can do the work.

We'll see how well this person comes threw with information. What I learned about our town government is a lot of the party players/volunteers work for us. This is also true in a lot of the other areas in Erie County.

Tony to Frank.

I pay taxes in Cheektowaga along with a LOT of my clients.

You wouldn't be wasting our money on something like that just because you have a friend in the business? Would Ya?

Could someone ask Frank to register and give us his answer?

I'm not going to be happy if the person who told me this is fibbing but so far they have been right on the money.... I dont know what I don't like more... People who fib or people who waste other peoples hard earn property..