Finally it's time to move on

It’ll all be over soon.

Like most people in Western New York — especially the media, I have to presume — I’ve been looking forward to today for quite a while. After tonight, we don’t have to worry about commercials for or against any of the candidates in the special election for the 26th Congressional District. After tonight, I don’t have to worry about Kathy Hochul and Jane Corwin blowing up my email. After tonight, I can delete the #NY26 saved search on my twitter. After tonight it’ll all be over.

I hope.

I thought the same thing a week ago today about the school budget votes, particularly the sports complex vote in the Lockport City School District. And last Wednesday afternoon, I still wasn’t sure if that proposal had passed or failed. So there is a possibility that tomorrow morning, I’ll still be waiting, wondering and watching as candidates bring in high-priced lawyers from Washington much like George W. Bush and Al Gore did in Florida in the 2000 presidential election.

The polling numbers lately in the 26th district seem very close, with one poll over the weekend showing Democrat Kathy Hochul with a 4 percent lead, which was within the margin of error, and a second showing her a six-point lead, just outside the margin of error. Please, God, don’t let there be a recount. The voters of Western New York have suffered long enough.

For members of the media, especially those covering the election — which I’ve done a bit of this time around — election night is an awesome thing. I enjoyed election nights when I worked in radio, but there’s something about working in a newsroom on election night. Waiting for polling numbers to come in from places you’ve never heard of.

I’ve heard “jokes” before that war is God’s way of teaching us geography. Elections do the same thing for members of the media. Analyzing congressional districts might not sound fun to you, but there are maps of the 26th district on people’s desks in newsrooms across Western New York.

I’ve enjoyed seeing stories I’ve written picked up by other news outlets across the state, as well as seeing stories written by people I know and respect spread out across the state.

Because of the nature of this election and the potential implications, all eyes are on us today. Media outlets I love to watch and read have been talking about the same things I’m talking about. The same things you’re talking about. It all makes the world very small, and more importantly, centered around us.

There have been days in the past few weeks where I have wished that Chris Lee had just kept his shirt on, but what’s done is done.

It’s time to move on.

Thankfully.

Hopefully.

The politician who stole Christmas

All good things come to an end.

And so it was with my enjoyment of the race for the 26th Congressional District.

I said some time ago that this whole race was like Christmas. As it turns out, it was like that Christmas nightmare where you didn’t get any presents. Or that one birthday that went so wrong that you hate your birthday from then on.

I am so sick of hearing Jane Corwin whine. Even sicker with the knowledge that all that whining will likely land her a seat in Congress.

I’d love to hear what Corwin is going to do for us, but her camp is far too busy talking about the taxes that Kathy Hochul raised.

Now, to be fair, I don’t know anything about Kathy Hochul. I’ve never met her. And I doubt I’d vote for her.

I have, however, met Jane Corwin. And I liked her. She’s as smart as she is attractive. But the beauty she holds physically is matched by the ugliness in which she’s conducted herself in this campaign.
From day one, the Corwin camp has talked about Kathy Hochul being “Nancy Pelosi’s hand-picked candidate.” I’ve never heard Hochul mention Pelosi. Nor have I heard that Pelosi has mentioned Hochul — or for that matter, has any clue who she is.

And yet, it’s Corwin bringing in Speaker of the House John Boehner to stump for her. Hmm. Disingenuous, much?

Now, of course, it’s the Democrats complaining about Corwin’s plan to bring Boehner in. Frankly, that’s equally disingenuous. If there were a Democrat that was able to come save them, they’d surely bring that person in.

And to top it off, Len Lenihan and his ilk are claiming that the reason they’re opposed to Boehner coming to Western New York is because of Friday’s amendment on aviation safety that seems to be unanimously opposed by the families of the Flight 3407 tragedy. Also disingenuous. Lenihan opposes Boehner being in his backyard for purely political reasons and any other explanation looks petty … and is an affront to the families of the victims of that plane crash.

The thing that struck me the most is my genuine belief that the amendment passed Friday would not have come to fruition if Chris Lee was still in office. And whether Jane Corwin, Kathy Hochul, Jack Davis or Ian Murphy wins this special election May 24, the voters of that district will not have half the congressman they had in Chris Lee.

I’ve been looking forward to May 24 as though it were Christmas. Now I’m looking forward to it as though it were tax day, a day to get past.

It’s truly a shame that people couldn’t run for election based on what they’re going to do for us as opposed to scaring us about what their opponents might do.

If terrorism is the act of making people conform to your will through fear, what does that make politics lately?

All good things come to an end. And I fear that with this race, my love of politics does, too.
I can only hope I’m wrong.

Can't stick to one topic ...

It’s one of those weeks where my mind is way too active for me to stick to any one topic for the duration of a column. So instead, here’s my thoughts on everything.

The labor dispute in Wisconsin is an interesting one. Many of my conservative friends now herald Gov. Scott Walker as their new hero.

Many of my liberal friends, meanwhile, seem to think he’s the new anti-Christ. I think both are exaggerating just a bit.

I’m not nearly as familiar with Wisconsin’s budget problem and political landscape as I am with New York’s. But if it’s even remotely similar, they need to do something to save money before the whole thing goes down the drain. In New York, Gov. Cuomo has his strategy. In Wisconsin, Walker has his. Both have their opponents. Both have their supporters.

In general, I will support an executive who tries to get an unwieldy government under control. Smaller is better. At least when it comes to government. As such, I’m OK with Walker’s position.

•••

When the Sabres new owner, Terry Pegula, took over, I was thrilled with the prospects for the future. And then the team won. And then they won again. And the Sabres were never going to lose another game — at least in my head, they weren’t.

Saturday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings brought me back to reality a little bit though. The Sabres looked great in the first period. And not as great in the second and third. Having a 2-0 lead, they eventually lost 3-2 in the shootout. Same Sabres as before.

So maybe they’re going to lose some games now and again. But the Pegula era of Sabres hockey is bound to be a good one. I’m looking forward to it greatly.

•••

My opinion on Chris Lee still hasn’t changed — despite the new allegations. I thought he did his job of congressman well. His job of husband, apparently, he wasn’t as good at. But that’s between him and his family. These new charges have brought new jokes. And undoubtedly new pain for the Lee family. It’s sad, surely. But some free advice to wannabe politicians? Your skeletons will come out. If you don’t want your private life public, pick a different career. And if you must run for Congress, keep your private life clean.

•••

I got a news release last week from congressional candidate Jane Corwin, stating that she had a “major announcement” to make and she’d be dropping by a few of the cities within the 26th Congressional District to let the people know what that announcement was.

The newsroom was abuzz. What could she be announcing? Friends e-mailed and texted me asking what Jane had up her sleeve. I didn’t know. I couldn’t even speculate. I took a couple stabs in the dark. Boy was I wrong. Corwin’s big announcement? That she was running for Congress.

No. Really.

Dearest Jane, the fact that you were running for Congress was already well-known. That “announcement” wasn't worthy of a Facebook status, let alone a press conference in four different cities.

So you wanted to get out and meet the people? Cool. Come say “hi.” But don’t sell it as some major announcement. Because now I’m already skeptical of whatever your next press release may be.

Let me remind you of Aesop’s fable, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” It ends very similarly to a Grimm’s Fairy Tale. And surely, you don’t want your congressional campaign to suffer the same fate.

Politics - the gift that keeps on giving

Immediately after Christmas, I declared the holiday season to be over. But for me, the day the Chris Lee fiasco became public knowledge, it was Christmas all over again.
I’ve said here before that the political season is to me what Christmas is to small children. My eyes light up. I get excited. I have trouble sleeping. And I can’t imagine what present I’ll get to unwrap next.
Last week, I got the cool gift that all the kids were hoping for — in the form of an e-mail from Jack Davis announcing his intention to seek the congressional seat recently vacated by Lee.
As I said at the time; “This just adds another ring to this circus.”
I like Jack Davis. He’s a rare bird who will tell you what he’s thinking. He doesn’t care if you agree with him or not. He doesn’t pander. And he won’t be silenced. He and I don’t see eye-to-eye on all the issues, but there are very few — if any — people that I could say I agree with on 100 percent of the issues, political or otherwise.
Of course, Jack can afford to be Jack. Literally. The man’s got more money than most of us will ever have, unless we happen to win the lottery. And even then, we may not equal Jack’s worth. For good or for bad, Jack Davis’ entrance into the congressional race has ensured us that Western New York will stay in the nation’s limelight for the duration of the special election. He’s bound to say or do something to draw attention.
As Terrell Owens would say; “Get ya popcorn ready.”
•••
As the weather warms and we get closer to spring, I am reminded more and more why I love living here. Over the weekend, the kids and I went to the Pizza Bash in Cheektowaga. I had some incredibly tasty pies.
And a couple that weren’t so tasty. But the best part is all the people out and about dressed in Sabres gear partaking in one of the many things we do right in WNY — pizza.
It was a much different crowd from the night before, when I was so fortunate to go to the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. No Sabres gear there, but the orchestra was phenomenal. Another thing we do right.
Although it’s still cold out, my mind has turned to spring and summer.
And thoughts of naps in Delaware Park, picnics at the Buffalo Zoo and kayaking the Erie Canal seem to rush to the forefront. As do fairs, festivals and outdoor concerts.
I officially have spring fever.
Fortunately, I have a distraction in the circus that is the 26th Congressional District.

A tale of two Chrises

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.

For Erie County Executive Chris Collins, it's the worst of times. Hoping to become the first Erie County resident to run for governor in over 50 years, he can't seem to keep his foot out of his mouth long enough to say anything impressive to average voters.

Sure, he's polling well among the tea-baggers of the world, but that's like having someone who claims they saw Bigfoot be the only one to believe you. Hardly re-assuring. Heck, he's not even beating David Paterson in a recent poll. And I firmly believe Paterson would lose the governor's race to a bag of rocks.

While I would normally want to see someone from the area do well in statewide politics, Collins is an embarassment to Western New York and I can only hope that he stays home and duct tapes his mouth before the rest of the state starts to think the rest of us are anything like him.

First he compared Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver – who's Jewish – to Hitler. Then he said it was a joke.

Then he allegedly offered his seat at the State of the State speech to a young woman in exchange for a lap dance. That, he says was a “private conversation that was completely and deliberately mischaracterized.”

I can only imagine what Collins will do for a third act.

As I said, I hope he stops talking before the rest of the state think we're all like that. And don't give me the whole 'but he's from Erie County. What do we care?' bit. You need to recognize that the rest of the state doesn't care that Erie and Niagara counties are different. Just like all your out of state friends assume you drive to Manhattan every weekend and can see the Statue of Liberty from your kitchen window. If Chris Collins runs for governor, he will be the face of Western New York.

Meanwhile, it's the best of times for another Chris from Erie County. Freshman Congressman Chris Lee is receiving accolades and making Western New York proud through his words and actions in Congress.

I'll be honest, Lee scared me at first. He was endorsed by his predecessor, Tom Reynolds, who I can only describe with words this paper won't print. Instead I'll use the words of a former listener. “Tom Reynolds is Dick Cheney without the warmth.”

Reynolds was the perfect example of what I don't want my kids to be when they grew up; cold, cruel, calculating and 100 percent partisan.

Lee has shown that he's no Tom Reynolds. And that's a good thing. He's also No Chris Collins.

The National Journal's Almanac of American Politics calls Lee a “rising star.” Politico refers to him as one of the “rookies of the year.” And Democrats and Republicans alike inside the beltway seem to say he's easy to work with. No one seems to say anything like that about Collins.

Last I had heard, Lee was still without an opponent in this year's mid-term elections – an astounding feat for a freshman congressman. While I typically hate seeing politicians go unopposed in elections, I can't currently think of any reason not to give Lee another two years in office.

If I were to advise the Democratic Party, I'd tell them to sit that race out and concentrate on other areas. Of course, if I were to advise the Democratic Party, I'd tell them to be Libertarians, so they probably wouldn't listen to me anyway.

In Western New York politics, it is the spring of hope. And the winter of despair. And I can only pray that hope comes out on top … and Collins fades quickly into the darkness.