For Paul Dyster, giving up his seat on the Niagara Falls City Council to run for mayor was a matter of timing.
"This is an incredibly important election," Dyster said during a Saturday-afternoon interview. "We've got the best opportunity in two generations to break out of the economic trap we've been in since the late 1960s, and I don't want us to blow it."
The arrival of the Seneca Niagara Casino and a raft of pledged initiatives at the state and federal levels created both opportunity and urgency, Dyster said.
"The opportunity we've got is in the tourism area -- we've got to take advantage of that and see where we can go from there," Dyster said. "That can bring in people and money, as well as making the area more attractive to other kinds of businesses. We need a way for people to make a living -- not everyone can work at the casino."
Facing a choice between challenging Mayor Irene Elia, whom he's frequently voted to support during his four years on Council, seeking another term on that body or getting out of elective politics altogether, Dyster took his time figuring out where he could make the greatest impact.
"If I could have convinced myself that going back and working on the waterfront task force was the best way to get done what I want to get done, I would have done that," he said. "If you stay on the Council, you can keep your issues on the table. I could do that, but not push them forward."
Instead, Dyster joins a field of contenders for the Democratic nomination that already includes, in order of announcement, city worker Glenn Choolokian, fellow Council member Vince Anello and Niagara County Legislator Sam Granieri.
Dyster, who worked as director of Catholic University's graduate program in International Affairs at the Pentagon before returning to his hometown, said he blends the good qualities of the other candidates.
"I don't know Glenn, but I realized I duplicate a lot of the strengths the other people have," he said. "Sam gets along with people. I get along with people. The mayor can be tight-fisted with a buck. I can be tight-fisted with a buck. Vince listens to what other people have to say. I listen to what other people have to say."
Dyster's announcement surprised some observers, given his frequent votes in support of Herroner.
"I got elected in the same election as the mayor," Dyster said. "During the campaign, I promised I would work with whoever got elected. I think at the time I ran, 75 percent of the voters thought I was volunteering to work with a John Accardo administration. But that's not what happened."
Dyster offered praise for Elia's handling of the city's disastrous financial situation, saying he supported her efforts to bring the city back from the brink of bankruptcy.
"That's the great achievement of Mayor Elia and no one can take that away from her," he said. "But this election isn't about the accomplishments of the last four years, it's about who the right leader is for the next four."
In Dyster's eyes, that comes down to not just what the next mayor does, but how he or she does it.
"The voters have elected, three times in a row, a mayor who has a similar type of personality," Dyster said in reference to Elia, Jim Galie and Jake Palillo. "They were viewed as no-nonsense people who were going to cut through all the entanglements and make something happen. But as they drove single-mindedly toward their objectives, they weren't watching everyone they left to the sides and behind them. Those people wound up feeling left out and alienated."
That group includes the city's unionized employees, who have been skirmishing with Elia's administration over health-care costs for more than a year. The hiring of the Albany law firm of Roemer, Wallens and Mineaux galvanized city workers against Herroner. Dyster initially voted against the firm, perceived as union-busters (though they're 0-for-the-21st-century in Niagara Falls), because he hoped a way to contain rising insurance costs could be negotiated.
But with the administration determined to unilaterally impose a cap on the city's contribution just weeks after signing capless contracts with most of its bargaining units, the issue wound up in court. When Elia again pushed to hire the Albany firm, Dyster and Council Chair Fran Iusi switched their votes.
"At that point, we needed the legal help," Dyster said.
Soon after, he sponsored a resolution to reestablish a labor/management committee aimed at settling such issues at the bargaining table. The committee met several times last summer and fall, but the litigation continues.
"It was pretty clear that neither side was ready to move things forward," he said. "The biggest disaster of the last three years has been the health-care issue -- the hiring of Roemer and this explosion of health-care lawsuits."
While several union leaders have backed Anello, Dyster said he thinks he appeals to a cross-section of voters. He'll also try to convince the city Democratic committee not to endorse anyone heading into the September primary. The executive committee voted to recommend endorsing Anello last week, with the full committee voting on April 2.
Anello won back a Council seat with Republican backing in 2001, while Granieri switched from the GOP to the Democratic Party when he sought, and won, a third legislature term the same year. Both have said they'll seek the Republican nod this time around, but Dyster said the only other endorsement he wants is from the Working Families Party.
"I think there's something to be said for standing for something," he said.
Despite his relatively late entry into the race, Dyster isn't worried about lining up enough support to make a run financially viable.
"My strength is that I don't owe anything to any organized interest," Dyster said. "My weakness is that no organized interest owes anything to me. I'm going to have to find ways of getting the word out, while spending less money."
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | March 25 2003 |