Top Lewiston Democrats say they feel used and abused by state Assemblywoman Francine Del Monte and are openly plotting to find a candidate to challenge the two-term incumbent in the 2004 Democratic Primary.
Lewiston Democratic committee members are peeved at Del Monte's failure to help out in fund-raising for local candidates, and say she's so cheap she buys only one ticket for campaign events they stage on their own.
They went ballistic on learning she was bringing state Comptroller Alan Hevesi to town to raise money for her own war chest, a $99-a-plate event that drew around 50 people last Tuesday to Shadow on Third Street in Niagara Falls.
"We've been her grassroots supporters and she pays us back by holding a fund-raiser for herself while we're going broke in the middle of an election trying to get candidates elected," said one disgruntled Dem. "People aren't going to forget this."
Paul Dyster, who narrowly lost the Niagara Falls Democratic mayoral nomination in September, has been frequently mentioned as a potential challenger, and county Legislator Renae Kimble is also reportedly considering a run in what may end up as a three-way primary race.
The other fund-raiser that night was held in Wheatfield at Suzanne's. It was technically a Republican event, hosted by County Chairman Henry Wojtaszek and featuring Gov. George Pataki, but you wouldn't have known it, given the large number of Democrats present.
The $150-a-plate event raised nearly $90,000 for the county committee, and Pataki praised Wojtaszek as "the best county chairman in New York State."
This had state Sen. George Maziarz beaming like a proud papa, as he has nurtured Wojtaszek's political career from the beginning.
Mayor Irene Elia's standing in the party was made apparent by the fact she wasn't even given a seat at the main table. Always a gentleman, County Clerk Wayne Jagow graciously allowed Elia to take his chair. She still wasn't permitted to speak, however, and sat largely ignored.
Her opponent, Vince Anello, worked the room like the pro that he is, knowing full well he'll need the cooperation of Republicans in the county Legislature, the state Senate and the Governor's Mansion in order to turn the city around.
For some reason I still don't really understand, a majority of city voters found Elia's "I'm not a politician" message persuasive in 1999. After nearly four years of on-the-job training, she's still not one, though it seems that voters have come to realize that being a politician isn't necessarily such a bad thing for a mayor.
The county Republicans' spectacular success in raising money for their candidates this election cycle was matched only by the county Democrats' utterly dismal performance, despite the fact that the Democrats have an overwhelming advantage in registered voters. While Wojtaszek was in the Reporter office nearly every week, and on the phone nearly every day stumping for his candidates, we didn't see Democratic Chairman Frank Soda once.
The one fund-raiser the Democrats threw for their county candidates, at the Inn on the River and featuring state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, may have actually lost money, and a frugal cashier at Tops Friendly Markets could conceivably have more money in her bank account than Soda and company have in theirs.
Say what you want about Nick Forster, but when he was Democratic chairman, being the Democratic chairman actually meant something.
And Mary Martinez, candidate for town justice in the Town of Niagara, can't win for losing. Our old friend Cocktail Bob threw her out of his Cudaback Avenue establishment after she caused a disturbance there, and we reported in June that she was arrested on a bench warrant for failure to appear in Niagara Falls City Court.
Now she's facing charges for stealing as many as 150 campaign signs belonging to her opponent, popular incumbent Justice James Faso.
Maybe I'm as nutty as she is, but I can see a lot of potential entertainment value in a judge who's managed to get 86'd from Cocktail's, be arrested by the NFPD and become the subject of a criminal investigation by the Town of Niagara police all in the course of a year!
Because, let's face it, with Elia out of office, we're going to need all the comic relief we can get.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | November 4 2003 |