Haxton Declares War on Lackawanna City Hall Corruption!

[andreahaxton]

Great quote in today's Buffalo News:

"For us it was [spend] more time on service and electing Democrats, less time on spin and patronage. If the emphasis is strictly on patronage and control, that's not the culture that's going to survive in this day and age." (Leonard R. Lenihan, Erie County Democratic Chairman, quoted during his last days in office).

Patronage and control...isn't that Andrea Haxton and many others have been saying all along?

We all know we were born into this negative halo-effect of corruption that has shrouded Lackawanna for the past century. They have raped, pillaged, and plundered us right into the ground, and for naysayers, take a drive through South Park in South Buffalo or go to South-gate Plaza, or by Harlem and Kensington, Main and Bailey. Sadly folks who do not vote it out will let it continue and flourish for the family and friends club. Let 2011 be the first year of voter education and reformation!

WE, who see what we should have been and can still be, are the only ones that can get OUR kids out from under the nepotism filled umbrella we grew up under.
The time is now---let's each start by being our own PR Marketer and spread the news about this Forum to educate people who don't like or follow politics because the ugly turns them off.
The only way around is through!

[getalife123]

Len Lenahan is absolutely correct in his assessment of the new politics. Andrea and many others have been imploring people to see beyond the old ways of doing business and embrassing the changes that are coming down the road. Why should we accept the world according to (enter the name of your favorite political hack). It is really time to take back our government once and for all. In the words of Neil Armstrong, "one small step for mankind......) so voters start talking to your friends and make a change. WE can make a difference. Then in our future we maybe asking everyone to join us and choosing the topic of "What do we want Lackawanna to be". It has potential to be great, a place to be proud of and more importantly a great place to live and grow.

[andreahaxton]

Thursday August 18 at the Lackawanna Senior Center Polka Night, I saw an amusing sight that I confirmed with him as he was driving out........

Dennis Gaughn candidate for Danny Kozub's County Legislator position was told to leave when he tried to meet the folks listening to the music and seek signatures for his Independent Petition drive.
Kind of reminded me of the way they attacked Tim Kennedy back in March 2010 when he put up his signs for his candidacy for Senator in his rented storefront on South Park and Ridge.


Remember I mentioned before, September 1936, the Socialist and Communist parties were alive and well in "Lack"awanna!

Too bad someone is forgetting that they live in the Unites States of America......home of the free! I find it very disheartening that the Civic Duty responsibilities that we were taught as kids is very sadly to say, just a theory!
Reality: The Family and Friends Club in Lackawanna and across the County will do anything they can to block-knock-sock any opponent who dares to buck their controlled, self-serving pyramid regime'.
Lots of deals are being made......what a joke all these games are. I am praying for the power-mongers that forgot who the Dealer is.

[andreahaxton]

I forgot to mention that the Polka music was very good!

Next year suggestion, hope to have more concerts........Soul/Jazz--Latino--Arabic--Croation--Serbian, etc. bands would be nice! Thanks.

[andreahaxton]

Today, September 5, 2011, I, Andrea Haxton Sunshine Party(I am a Democrat running on my own line) Candidate for Lackawanna City Council President November 8, 2011:

Challenge my Council President Candidate opponents to another debate after September 13 Primary election!

Date: To be announced
Time: TBA
Pace: TBA

No yellow pads---no cell phones---no written down questions!

Just the issues....Let's Keep It Real in order for Lackawanna Citizen's to see Our True personality--intelligence--commitment, and experience shine!

Opponents:
Please, submit your response on this Forum for all of Lackawanna to see.........Ms. Bokan-S., Mr. Ahmed, Mr. Pirowski.
Thank You!

[andreahaxton]

Day 2,Waiting for a reply fellow Council President Candidates......

[andreahaxton]

Day.......


Just thought of this......boy would I ever like to debate Jaworski and Szymanski! How about it boys------meet you at any playground, name the date and time! We will rumble for: The Truth!

Patronage my butt! You are ALL Family and Friends! Would someone like to draw the dotted line?

[WNYresident]

Len Lenahan is absolutely correct in his assessment of the new politics. Andrea and many others have been imploring people to see beyond the old ways of doing business and embrassing the changes that are coming down the road. Why should we accept the world according to (enter the name of your favorite political hack). It is really time to take back our government once and for all. In the words of Neil Armstrong, "one small step for mankind......) so voters start talking to your friends and make a change. WE can make a difference. Then in our future we maybe asking everyone to join us and choosing the topic of "What do we want Lackawanna to be". It has potential to be great, a place to be proud of and more importantly a great place to live and grow.

getalife has a valid point...

Elections are coming up...

[Wake Up New York]

Today, September 5, 2011, I, Andrea Haxton Sunshine Party(I am a Democrat running on my own line) Candidate for Lackawanna City Council President November 8, 2011:

Challenge my Council President Candidate opponents to another debate after September 13 Primary election!

Date: To be announced
Time: TBA
Pace: TBA

No yellow pads---no cell phones---no written down questions!

Just the issues....Let's Keep It Real in order for Lackawanna Citizen's to see Our True personality--intelligence--commitment, and experience shine!

Opponents:
Please, submit your response on this Forum for all of Lackawanna to see.........Ms. Bokan-S., Mr. Ahmed, Mr. Pirowski.
Thank You!

Andrea I have been following lackawanna politics for at least ten years now and while I have no ambition to run for any political office at this time I do try and stay informed as to what is going on. Unlike to many other people who just vote party lines or because its a friend, or family member, or even through fear of loosing ones job I try and vote for whom and what is better for this city that I Live in. With that being said I could not vote for you at this time because for beginners you have an ax to grind with everyone who either has done something to you or with whom you feel doesnt know the truth according to you. I was at your debate and you couldnt help but try and get the other candidates to engage in an argument about some issues, instead of just giving us your opinion on the question asked you wanted to FORCE WHAT YOU BELIEVE is the correct answer onto others. I will tell you this you do your home work on the issues and I do believe that you are very knowledgable in some of Lackawannas past politics however I dont think that you have the best answers for Lackawannas future. You had your chance also in the political arena and from what I can see your biggest problem is no one wants to work with you because your to busy trying to always prove your point in the wrong manner. Simply put you dont play well with others. How can we expect you to get anything done or accomplished with this type of attitude. Just like this post you are chomping at the bits to try and discredit the other candidates. We dont need anyone doing that. We are knowledgable voters and can determine that for ourselves (the ones of us who actually vote for whats best). Also another problem you have is you like to say that your ward is the only ward always forgotten well that is simply not true however you are very bias when it comes to the first ward I dont want someone as council president who will give even more of my hard earned tax dollars to the first warders, see you dont get it you are still stuck in the past by trying to compensate for the past while the people who want true change dont want to discuss the past they want to make a better future. I feel that every Lackawannian should vote for anyone who has never been involved in Lackawanna politics. At the very least we can then break up the hold on our community by a few families. Hey even Walt cant screw things up any worse than the lifer politicians, especially with the help of his attorney !!

[andreahaxton]

Andrea I have been following lackawanna politics for at least ten years now and while I have no ambition to run for any political office at this time I do try and stay informed as to what is going on. Unlike to many other people who just vote party lines or because its a friend, or family member, or even through fear of loosing ones job I try and vote for whom and what is better for this city that I Live in. With that being said I could not vote for you at this time because for beginners you have an ax to grind with everyone who either has done something to you or with whom you feel doesnt know the truth according to you. I was at your debate and you couldnt help but try and get the other candidates to engage in an argument about some issues, instead of just giving us your opinion on the question asked you wanted to FORCE WHAT YOU BELIEVE is the correct answer onto others. I will tell you this you do your home work on the issues and I do believe that you are very knowledgable in some of Lackawannas past politics however I dont think that you have the best answers for Lackawannas future. You had your chance also in the political arena and from what I can see your biggest problem is no one wants to work with you because your to busy trying to always prove your point in the wrong manner. Simply put you dont play well with others. How can we expect you to get anything done or accomplished with this type of attitude. Just like this post you are chomping at the bits to try and discredit the other candidates. We dont need anyone doing that. We are knowledgable voters and can determine that for ourselves (the ones of us who actually vote for whats best). Also another problem you have is you like to say that your ward is the only ward always forgotten well that is simply not true however you are very bias when it comes to the first ward I dont want someone as council president who will give even more of my hard earned tax dollars to the first warders, see you dont get it you are still stuck in the past by trying to compensate for the past while the people who want true change dont want to discuss the past they want to make a better future. I feel that every Lackawannian should vote for anyone who has never been involved in Lackawanna politics. At the very least we can then break up the hold on our community by a few families. Hey even Walt cant screw things up any worse than the lifer politicians, especially with the help of his attorney !!

******************************************


Let's keep this real now, Wake Up. I refuse to get into a back and forth with you, you are entitled to your opinion and I respect it.

It is obvious that you do not know me or you would know that my family home has been in the Second Ward since 1969 and my Daughter lives in the Third Ward. If I did not care about the entire City I would have adopted an apathetic attitude like so many others and moved back to Hamburg 22 years ago. I started fighting for better playgrounds and the rest is history. Keep stepping out of the box and see how vehemently you get attacked by people who disagree with you. I realize it is the nature of the beast. My faith that change is near, and caring for ALL the People in Lackawanna, far out-weigh the attackers attempts to keep status quo.

" very bias when it comes to the first ward I don't want someone as council president who will give even more of my hard earned tax dollars to the first warders"
Whoa...... why don't you move to Hamburg and get away period because you do not understand how the shape of the First Ward affects the entire City! And due to politicians with lack of vision and caring for EVERYBODY, the rest of OUR City is starting to crumble. Why don't you stay up on the pulse of The People all over the City--lots of original First Warders all over the City/Country who care about the blight in Lackawanna. I am glad you care too but somehow, your not seeing the big picture.

" Ax to grind "?
I stand on Psalm 37 and know vindication is NOT mine. I pray for those who have corrupted themselves over power! I speak the truth and others hate me for it. I do not have any malice in my heart, I have always been a team player and seek only prosperity and progress for Lackawanna's posterity. I am all about fairness. Very simple agenda.

"I was at your debate and you couldn't help but try and get the other candidates to engage in an argument about some issues, "..........
You see we were in a DEBATE, not a Forum-----I did not agree with where a fellow candidate got his figures and I subtly questioned him. So?

Lastly, if Lackawanna does not learn from the past we will have no future either. I took a stand for the " Steel City " not the wishy-washy- Jelly City!
ALL of my opponents have Party/ "Family and friends " connections and there will be pay-backs!

Let's keep this real, Wake Up New York.
Not trying to discredit any candidate....they are doing a fine job of it themselves.

[Wake Up New York]

******************************************


Let's keep this real now, Wake Up. I refuse to get into a back and forth with you, you are entitled to your opinion and I respect it.

It is obvious that you do not know me or you would know that my family home has been in the Second Ward since 1969 and my Daughter lives in the Third Ward. If I did not care about the entire City I would have adopted an apathetic attitude like so many others and moved back to Hamburg 22 years ago. I started fighting for better playgrounds and the rest is history. Keep stepping out of the box and see how vehemently you get attacked by people who disagree with you. I realize it is the nature of the beast. My faith that change is near, and caring for ALL the People in Lackawanna, far out-weigh the attackers attempts to keep status quo.

" very bias when it comes to the first ward I don't want someone as council president who will give even more of my hard earned tax dollars to the first warders"
Whoa...... why don't you move to Hamburg and get away period because you do not understand how the shape of the First Ward affects the entire City! And due to politicians with lack of vision and caring for EVERYBODY, the rest of OUR City is starting to crumble. Why don't you stay up on the pulse of The People all over the City--lots of original First Warders all over the City/Country who care about the blight in Lackawanna. I am glad you care too but somehow, your not seeing the big picture.

" Ax to grind "?
I stand on Psalm 37 and know vindication is NOT mine. I pray for those who have corrupted themselves over power! I speak the truth and others hate me for it. I do not have any malice in my heart, I have always been a team player and seek only prosperity and progress for Lackawanna's posterity. I am all about fairness. Very simple agenda.

"I was at your debate and you couldn't help but try and get the other candidates to engage in an argument about some issues, "..........
You see we were in a DEBATE, not a Forum-----I did not agree with where a fellow candidate got his figures and I subtly questioned him. So?

Lastly, if Lackawanna does not learn from the past we will have no future either. I took a stand for the " Steel City " not the wishy-washy- Jelly City!
ALL of my opponents have Party/ "Family and friends " connections and there will be pay-backs!

Let's keep this real, Wake Up New York.
Not trying to discredit any candidate....they are doing a fine job of it themselves.

Andrea I did not state that you lived in the first ward, quite honestly I dont care where you live. I did however state that the last several times that I have heard you speak which included a couple times at council meetings you come across as being on a boo-hoo for the first ward quest. Next when I tell you I dont want to see my hard earned money that I paid in taxes wasted on the first ward and you tell me I should move to Hamburg. It amazes me that you dont see the flaw or your own ignorance in your solution ! If everyone who lived in Lackawanna that didnt want to see their hard earned money wasted in the first ward moved to Hamburg,there wouldnt be a whole lot of tax money left to spend. Also I am getting sick and tired of people who want to cry out for the playgrounds, I have children and I dont want to see anymore of my tax dollars spent there either. You just dont get it there are a whole lot of other things in this City that need to be addressed with tax dollars besides fricken toys. We need our firehouses fixed up, we need roads fixed, City Hall looks like a piece of crap, We need to get some businesses in here, we need to get some old housing which is actually a hazard demolished if you want your kids to be on a swingset that bad and cant see all the other problems in this City go buy one !!! Here is a homework project for you Andrea without including any taxes paid by non homestead properties why dont you list for us what the total homestead property taxes collected for each ward are, then list what percentage of properties in each ward are homeowner occupied and what percentage is rental properties, then list what the total school tax collected in each ward for homestead properties, and then finally list for us what is the percent of children that attend our school system per ward and include the Charter School because I believe that they take our tax dollars per student that attends there. I want you to state the numbers because I know how well you do your homework. As far as the debate went you knew what the forum was you knew how the rules were, correct me if I'm wrong but did you not attend the Mayoral debate. The rules were explained to you before the start that a question would be asked and each candidate will have an equal opportunity to answer it, therefore per say it was not what you want to call a debate see you just DONT GET IT. You can learn from the past and people should learn from the past and not make the same mistakes in the future, however that doesnt mean you should try making up for the past by over compensating for mistakes especially when it is being done with someone elses money, sweat, or dignity (through that last one in just for the hell of it). Finally Andrea I did not say you were a bad person as a matter of fact I said you usually do your home work on topics quite well however once again you are not a TEAM PLAYER and as stated before you dont PLAY WELL WITH others. You need to take some classes on how to deal with people and by the way please dont throw religion intom this I have found that people hide their own faults with religion so just keep to the politics.

[getalife123]

Wake up New York I throughly understand what you are saying about the needs of this city, they are as obvious as the day is long. We need a change that guarantees a change to make Lackawanna the best that we can be.

I have a question as to a Team Player. First it takes two to tango. Isn't the role of a Team Player to make the city a better place to reside? Is a Team Player someone who sells out on their principles? As much as I hate it, politics is a dirty flithly game. I guess you can tell by reading the articles. What we really need are people that are not in it for anyone other the the citizens of this city. From Mayor to Council President we really need people with integrity and intelligence. We need people with a vision for our city and probably the most important aspect, we need people that can deliver that vision. As they say in business, "we need a bang for our bucks". We need to eliminate all waste and fraud. We need to get rid of the old boy mentality that has crippled this community. We can never move forward until this is accomplished. We don't need a politican that is "connected". They are the people that have led us to where we are now. Einstein said that doing the samething over and over and expecting different results is insanity. He is absolutely correct with that observation. I believe that it is more difficult for the top to pull the bottom up than for the bottom to pull the top down. Being difficult is no reason not to continue trying.

I am not sure what the homework assignment would accomplish other than to say the parents in the better community pay more out of pocket per child to attend school because of higher home assessments. It could also be said that when the non-homestead taxes are included that those communities with the industry conversely pay more per student than those without the heavy industry and they have had to adjust to the noise and pollution that goes with a industrial community. I guess that is the American way. The Charter School is what some in our community see as a way to a better education and hope that it will improve their children's future way of life. Would it not be great if after graduating form college that they thought of Lackawanna as the best place to raise their families.

As for Andrea, she provides us with the tremendous amount of information about our past. It is difficult to correct past mistakes but we must not repeat them. I have never observed a bias or distortions in the information that she furnishes. She states what she believes and whether or not you agree is your choice. We need more politicans that would actually do what they say and not have an agenda that rewards their political cronies.

[andreahaxton]

" As for Andrea, she provides us with the tremendous amount of information about our past. It is difficult to correct past mistakes but we must not repeat them. I have never observed a bias or distortions in the information that she furnishes. She states what she believes and whether or not you agree is your choice. We need more politicans that would actually do what they say and not have an agenda that rewards their political cronies. "


The amount of money being spent on lots of fancy flyer's and everything else really amuses me! I asked before, whose money do you think it is anyway?
NYS Board of Elections web has the Campaign ---Revenues and Expenditures are on there and candidates MUST file a 32 and 11 DAY Pre-and Post Election Forms.


" reward their political cronies "...........Bingo!

ie. While on the Council a job came along for a certain employee......they came into my office, shut the door, and proceeded to tell me that if I did NOT vote for this ......" that they and their family will NEVER vote for me again ".
Guess what? I knew it was a wrong ""deal"" with what they did by taking a job that other people had to earn by taking a Civil Service test and..........give it to this person through the back door. More to the story, some folks may be able to figure this out....others would be shocked to hear who they are.

This is what " rewards to political cronies " means......having to compromise and go against your own integrity in order to payback people who say they "put you in". I humbly appreciated every voter's vote, but if meant losing some votes the next time if I ran, in order to do the right thing, I'll do it again.
The deals flying around Lackawanna for this election season are disgusting! I can't wait for the dust to settle over the mess. How does someone give a hand-shake, which is their badge of honor--right, look them in the eye, And back-stab them? Lots of pay-backs ,lots....will good really come of it all?

[andreahaxton]

" His Will Be Done "

I sincerely wish everyone a good day, a peaceful---fun day.
We all will continue to live here, I hold no grudges or whatever you want to call them feelings. I hope ALL Candidates/Family and Friends feel the same way. I only want the the best for Lackawanna and trust that whatever the outcome is at 9 pm, life goes on. And " His Will WAS Done ", not ours.

Good Luck to ALL, Fellow Candidates! Hang in there, it is going to be a long day. Just do your best .......and God will do the rest!

Andrea Haxton
Write-In Candidate for Lackawanna City Council Presidate Tuesday September 13, 2011

Sunshine Party Candidate for Lackawanna City Council President November 8, 2011!

[andreahaxton]

Just how do the good Citizens of Lackawanna break through the stranglehold "the machine" has on this City?

Political Machine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


In this 1899 cartoon from Puck, all of New York City politics revolves around boss Richard Croker.
A political machine (or simply machine) is a disciplined political organization in which an authoritative boss or small group commands the support of a corps of supporters and businesses (usually campaign workers), who receive rewards for their efforts. The power of the machine is based on the ability of the workers to get out the vote for their candidates on election day.

Although these elements are common to most political parties and organizations, they are essential to political machines, which rely on hierarchy and rewards for political power, often enforced by a strong party whip structure. Machines sometimes have a political boss, often rely on patronage, the spoils system, "behind-the-scenes" control, and longstanding political ties within the structure of a representative democracy. Machines typically are organized on a permanent basis instead of for a single election or event. The term may have a pejorative sense referring to corrupt political machines.


So do we sit back and let our anger about what they have done to OUR Schools and City turn to apathy, or do we adopt the attitude that, " We have just begun to fight! " ?