Secret story behind Gay Marriage vote and Maziarz’s primary
By Frank Parlato
Once in a while a man stands up in politics for what he believes in. Nine times out of 10, the low-life denizens of politics, the me-firsts of zero principle, try to punish him for it.
Case in point: Ralph Lorigo, chairman of the Erie County Conservative Party. Here is the background:
Mark Grisanti, in 2010, was the Republican candidate for the 60th New York State Senate District which included Buffalo and Niagara Falls.
He faced Antoine Thompson, the incumbent Democrat, in a district with a large Democratic plurality.
Grisanti got the Conservative Party endorsement because he told the Erie County Committee that he opposed gay marriage:
“To me, marriage is between a man and a woman,” Grisanti said. “It's been a term, a term of ours for years that has been around for thousands of years. It's like calling a cat, a dog. I don't think that that needs to be changed.”
Grisanti defeated Thompson by 525 votes. The margin of difference being the Conservative line.
After he was elected, under pressure from gay rights groups, and others of the liberal left, including Lady Gaga, the singer, and Gov. Cuomo, Grisanti had a shift. Behind the scenes, his mentor Joel Giambra, his senate ally George Maziarz and his newest ally, Cuomo, were pushing for gay marriage, each for their own reasons and it resulted in Grisanti casting the deciding vote for gay marriage in New York State.
Giambra, the former Erie County executive, now a lobbyist working with former Senator Alphonse D’Amato, is a former Democrat, now Republican, who admits he voted for Barack Obama in 2008.
Grisanti was the logical choice to cast the deciding vote for gay marriage, since his district was Democratic. He was the lone Republican senator who could give allies the deal they wanted – gay marriage - and not get punished at home.
Grisanti was promised a golden parachute by Cuomo if he lost his next election, as well as substantial campaign contributions from the gay community to help ensure he did not.
Maziarz, in his Republican district, could broker the deal behind the scenes and still vote against gay marriage to please his Republican constituents.
By doing this these brave men avoided an influx of gay money that would have been used in this election cycle to take control of the Senate.
Grisanti made history on June 24, 2011, when he cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of the Marriage Equality Act, saying that “a man can be wiser today than yesterday."
Fast forward to this year: Grisanti came again to the Erie County Conservative Party seeking their endorsement. He was denied. Led by Chairman Lorigo, the endorsement was given to a pro-traditional marriage Democrat, Chuck Swanick.
All hell broke loose. Threats were made by Giambra and Maziarz to Lorigo. The Republican majority was at stake if Grisanti lost; by not having the Conservative Party line it could spell the end of GOP Senate control.
Lorigo refused to back down.
His opponents went after him. There was almost no lie they did not tell. Robo calls were made to registered conservatives condemning Lorigo – giving out his personal cell phone number and offering misleading information. Letters and emails of dubious authorship were written attacking him. Mailers went out attacking Lorigo, including one where a prostitute was pictured as analogous to Lorigo selling out the party.
Lorigo held the higher ground.
He told the Reporter at the time:
“Regardless of where you stand on the gay marriage issue, there is a more important issue. It is called honesty. We have to hold candidates to their word. Mark Grisanti came to our committee, before he was elected, and promised everyone that he would do one thing. Then, after he was elected, he broke his promise….
“All of us, on both sides of the gay marriage issue, must agree that honesty is the primary virtue not only for a candidate but for all people…
“Upon reliance of Grisanti’s promise, we endorsed him and helped him get elected in a close race.
“After he got elected, he broke his promise. The political expediency of breaking that promise- in this case supporting gay marriage - was more important than keeping his word.
“This is not about gay marriage. This is about holding candidates to the simple condition of honesty. To win the Conservative Party endorsement you must keep your promises.”
These words served to enrage the Maziarz forces and they redoubled their efforts to attack Lorigo.
Enter Carl Paladino, the former gubernatorial candidate whose strong showing on the Conservative line lifted the party to the third line on the ballot.
On one side were Giambra, Maziarz and Grisanti. On the other was Paladino, Steve Pigeon and Lorigo.
The newly configured 62nd State Senate district found nine-term Senator Maziarz facing a Republican primary with 36-year-old lawyer and Niagara Falls school board member Johnny Destino who was funded by Paladino.
Maziarz won easily.
Lorigo, up for re election for county chairman of his party, also won.
Entering the fray at some point was the chairman of the Conservative Party of Niagara County, Dan Weiss. His party’s endorsement went to Maziarz over Destino despite Maziarz’s allegiance with the man that made gay marriage legal in New York.
Weiss went outside his county to support Grisanti and condemn Lorigo.
It was largely speculated by insiders that Weiss was being used by Maziarz and Giambra. In an interview with Weiss last week, he denied he was a puppet of Maziarz.
The Real Niagara Times blog disagreed. They wrote, in an article titled, “Weiss Believes His Party Supports Gay Marriage” that “We are shocked and dismayed that Niagara County Chairman Dan Weiss (is) playing party politics so Grisanti can get the Conservative line.... the Conservative principles (were exchanged) for patronage jobs and favors.... Weiss is an embarrassment to the party.
“Weiss is a political puppet and hack that lacks any true conservative principles. You must ask yourself how did Dan Weiss become the chairman of the Conservative Party? Because his mom, Patty Weiss is a Republican Chair? Why do most conservative leaders have connections to Republican family members? … Weiss stands for nothing but his own personal gain.”
Paladino also spoke about Weiss, “It appears that Weiss was the messenger for the treacherous Dean Skelos and Al D’Amato and their cohorts who are desperately trying to salvage Mark Grisanti after he sold his integrity and character to boost Andrew Cuomo.”
Then speaking of Lorigo, Paladino added, “During my 2010 run for governor, Ralph taught all of us about true commitment to conservative values. My campaign was a stark contrast to my liberal primary opponent (Rick Lazio). Ralph stood steadfast in my corner enduring a blizzard of criticism and pressure to back the less conservative candidates. Oftentimes, I was awed by how he defended me on the basis of principle, not politics. An unprincipled man would have retreated. Ralph stood strong. As a result, the Conservative Party moved up to the C line on the ballot and was truly reinvigorated. At the same time Weiss, Skelos and D’Amato cowered behind Rick Lazio. If the Conservative Party rank-and-file had abandoned their principles like those Cretans the Party would not exist today.
“Weiss’ cynical statement was about politics not Party, driven by puppeteers not principles. I stand behind Ralph Lorigo like he stood behind me in 2010: on shared values, with an eye toward advancing the Conservative Party into the future.”
Weiss, in his inexplicable support of Grisanti, not only went outside the county to attack Lorigo. He also went against Conservative State Chairman Mike Long. Long was not pleased.
“Niagara County has no official standing (in the Grisanti race) … It's like one county declaring war on another when they have no authority," Long said.
Long, who pushed to withhold support from Republican senators who voted for same sex marriage, added that Weiss was “acting strictly as an agent" of Maziarz.
According to Paladino, whose Maziarz’s “friends and family” publication lists Weiss’ mother as a Maziarz “Friend.” He wrote, “Patty Weiss. She is George Maziarz’s personal pit-bull… Patty’s son, Dan Weiss, is the Chairman of the Niagara County Conservative Party and is a teacher in the Niagara Falls School District.”
Steve Pigeon worked closely with Maziarz for more than a decade and engineered the coup that gave control of the Senate to Republicans. He became a reluctant opponent to Maziarz in this recent battle.
“I refused to take orders from Maziarz and he turned against me,” said Pigeon. “As for Dan Weiss, he takes orders. He is a puppet of Senator Maziarz. He never did anything on his own. He is known, far and wide, in all political circles, as Maziarz’s shill.”
Political consultant Gary Parenti, who also worked closely with Maziarz, then had to oppose him, agreed, “Nobody goes to Weiss to ask for the Conservative Party endorsement. They go to Maziarz. Everybody knows there isn’t a candidate in Niagara County that goes to see Weiss first.”
Last week, Weiss sent a letter to Lorigo, a masterpiece of hypocrisy if ever one was written.
Weiss wrote he was “appalled by recent statements made by the candidate that you (Lorigo) personally selected to represent our party on the Conservative line … On two separate occasions, Democrat Charles Swanick, the individual you believe most embodies the philosophies and ideals of the Conservative Party, stated that he planned to vote for Barack Obama for president. This is outrageous….
“Obama represents everything that is Wrong with this country… Nonetheless, your candidate, Charles Swanick, proudly supports the re-election of Barack Obama. You must be Very Proud of your decision.
“We are collectively calling on you to condemn Mr. Swanick’s comments supporting Barack Obama, and, for the betterment of our party, our state, and our country, to condemn the candidacy of Charles Swanick by publicly rescinding your Support. …You can do the right thing by letting members of the Erie County Conservative Party know that candidates that do not adhere to the party’s core principles will not be supported by our party....”
“Core principles,” the man says. This is odd coming from the man who said “Mark Grisanti …has the full support of the Niagara County Conservative Party.”
He supports Grisanti, who violated one of the core principles of the conservatives, and changed the social agenda of the entire state – but is now worried about a minor party candidate saying he will vote for Obama.
(In the coming weeks, we plan to delve into the relationship between the Niagara County Conservative Party and the Niagara County GOP. We plan to explore how members of the Conservative are linked to the GOP; and if some committee members were actually phantoms, unaware their names were used. Stay tuned)