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The race to fill Judge Robert Restaino's part-time position on the city court bench grows more and more interesting all the time. And complicated, too.
When Judge John Mariano retired from his full-time seat on the bench last year, Mayor Irene Elia appointed Kathleen Wojtaszek-Gariano to fill the vacancy. Restaino and Wojtaszek-Gariano squared off in last month's primary election, which left little doubt that Restaino will assume Mariano's spot come January.
Restaino's seat on the bench then, will be open. And no one seems exactly certain about the process that will fill it.
Will the Mayor again appoint Wojtaszek-Gariano, whose brother, Henry Wojtaszek, is the head of the county Republican Party and crucial to Elia's reelection campaign less than two years from now? Or will she appoint someone else? Thus far, former city councilwoman Connie Lozinsky, and former city corporation counsels Timothy Bax and Robert Merino have all expressed an interest, although all are known as Democrats. On the Republican side, Angelo Morinello -- nephew of former chief city court judge Anthony Certo -- is lobbying intensively for the post.
Or will there be a special election? This could save our politically astute Mayor from having to come down on one side or the other, given the fact that she took as many Democrat as Republican votes in her first, last and only election bid thus far.
Last week, seen noshing with Democratic Party Chairman Nick Forster at Mickey Rimmen's Arterial Lounge was Niagara Falls attorney and longtime city resident Diane Vitello, who also happens to be married to prominent local attorney Craig Touma.
Sporting a fashionable pair of Donna Karan eyeglasses -- a sort rarely seen in the Arterial's friendly confines -- Vitello also confessed a possible desire to become the next city court judge.
Restaino's hugely successful run showed the need for bipartisan support for judicial candidates and, although legal Bar Association mumbo-jumbo prevents any of the above-named potential candidates from announcing their intentions, Vitello would seem to qualify.
"We're hoping she does run," said Linda Wenz, former longtime Republican committeewoman. "We could bring her a lot of votes."
State Supreme Court Justice Amy Fricano -- who doesn't mince words -- explained both the value of being a woman and of having a Republican credential in judicial races in recent conversation .
"The bar's just a lot shorter," she said.
And whatever happened to Mayor Elia's new newspaper?
Headline articles six months ago appeared in the bumbling local dailies announcing the Mayor was going to start her own newspaper -- titled Good News -- and distribute it at the Dollar General Store or somesuch.
Man, that went away in a hurry. Apparently, the Mayor, Jeff Patterson, Paul Colangelo or anybody else that can write a lick over there had a hard time coming up with anything that would be appropriate.
No news is Good News, I guess.
Poor Fred Caso. He must've been the debating champ at the junior college he went to because he gets the format exactly right every time. But the series he's running on Adelphia Cable in which candidates for each of Niagara County's legislative districts debate each other ought to be titled "Dumb and Dumber."
Last week, it was two guys from Lockport. The incumbent, Gerald DeFlipo was most definitely the one who qualified as "Dumber."
Sample quote:
"I, um, er, um, am a small businessman."
Looks to me that the reason Caso does these shows -- I can't believe he gets paid -- is because, compared to any of the 30-odd candidates for Legislature, he comes off like bloody William F. Buckley.
In any event, the Redhead said the whole thing was too painful to watch and went downstairs to do the laundry instead.
"Er, um, I own a small business and, uh, I know you, uh, you have to make adjustments," DeFlipo sputtered.
Later, he confessed that the small business he owned was a restaurant.
Remind me never to eat there.