John Destino, who came less than 700 votes from defeating incumbent Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster last November despite being outspent 3 to 1, is about to launch a Republican primary campaign against State Sen. George Maziarz in the newly configured 62nd District.

“I think people are definitely ready for change,” said Destino about his decision to run against the 17-year GOP incumbent, “and the theme for our campaign will be a Declaration of Independence from King George.”

A lawyer and elected school board member, Destino will formally announce his candidacy on Wednesday morning, May 30, at the Giacomo Hotel in Niagara Falls, and later in the day will travel throughout the district that now includes the city of Niagara Falls as well as all of Niagara and Orleans Counties and the western part of Monroe County.

It is fitting that Destino is making his announcement at the Giacomo, a very successful project by prominent developer and former Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino who is expected to invest serious financial support into Destino’s effort to topple Maziarz who he describes as a “poster child” for term limits.

Destino says Paladino “is one of the few people who came in and saw a project through completion. We need more people like that who don’t just come in and fleece the taxpayers. His run for governor nailed it: Albany is the problem and George Maziarz is Albany.”

Destino will need all the financial help he can muster against Maziarz who boasts a campaign war chest in the neighborhood of one million dollars and the ability to raise much more given his powerful offices in the State Senate where he serves as Vice President Pro Tempore and chairman of the energy committee.

But Destino says despite Maziarz’ clout in Albany, Western New York hasn’t fared very well over the last couple of decades and the time has come for a change. He says Maziarz and other long-term incumbents are about “more power for themselves at the expense of constituents,” and that Maziarz is an example of one who has become dependent on special interests overseeing that power and has wound up serving them, as evident by the campaign contributions from corporations and downstate.

There’s no doubt Destino’s strong showing in the mayoral race has boosted his political stock and he has continued to push his agenda for change at the school board where he has fought nepotism and favoritism, calling it a microcosm for his State Senate race.

“I’ve been fighting to dismantle bad government at the school board,” says Destino, “and have received no help from others, including Maziarz. And as soon as Niagara Falls comes under his power, he’s right in there with the people I’m trying to take down.”

Destino knows he will have to work very hard to get his message of change to the primary voters against an incumbent with a big war chest who will likely receive plenty of support from the GOP organizations in the district and from his friends in Albany.

But Destino also sees a certain vulnerability, saying that over his long career “George has made a string of enemies who would like to see his tenure come to an end.”

Getting back to his Independence from George theme, Destino says many people are tired of being ruled by one person and are ready to turn George out to pasture after 17 years and have a government that more represents their interests and not those of special interests.

Before graduating from UB Law School, Destino worked as an information technology professional with the Seneca Gaming Corporation. He won election to the city school board in 2010 on a campaign of reforming the friends-and-family style of nepotism that he said ruled the district.

He met his wife, Julia, while both were students at UB, and they have three sons, ages 2, 4, and 7. Destino was born and raised in Niagara Falls and the family moved to Lewiston while he was in high school. He graduated from Niagara Wheatfield High School in 1994.

Destino favors term limits, civil unions over same sex marriage, and less government. Maziarz easily won re-election in 2010 over Democrat Amy Witryol of Lewiston but he spent about $400,000 to secure that victory. Witryol has already announced that she will run for the seat again this year.

The Destino-Maziarz race will attract a number of well known political operatives on both sides and figures to be high profile from the start, beginning with Wednesday’s announcement at Paladino’s Giacomo. There’s no doubt that Maziarz has an experienced and well-oiled campaign machine and plenty of money to work with. But you can rest assured that George is not happy about facing a primary challenger at this stage of his career.

The new 62nd New York State Senate District includes all of Niagara and Orleans Countis plus the town of Sweden and Ogden in Monrow County.

This race and the contest for the 60th District seat now held by Republican Mark Grisanti, who did not receive the Conservative Party endorsement he was expecting in Erie County, promise to deliver plenty of political fireworks leading up to the primary in September and the November elections.