It looks like Niagara Falls Democratic Chairman Mike Lewis didn't do state Rep. Francine Del Monte any favors by filing a complaint with the state Board of Elections over an advertisement that appeared in last week's Niagara Falls Reporter. The ad, in support of Del Monte challenger John Accardo, stated, "The polls say Francine Del Monte is in trouble," but neglected to cite the poll used as the source of the statement.
The poll in question was made available to the Reporter over the weekend. It had been commissioned earlier this year, and the results show Del Monte to be in far worse trouble than the Accardo advertisement alluded to.
For example, when asked, "When you think about Assemblywoman Francine Del Monte, is there something specific you can tell us about her or an issue you associate with her?" an astounding 49 percent answered no, and another 9 percent said "not sure." A measly 8 percent thought that "she was doing a good job" after a decade in office.
Those numbers are virtually identical to those racked up by former Niagara Falls mayor Irene Elia in the fourth year of her term, just prior to her landslide defeat by Vince Anello in 2004.
When asked "Would you vote to re-elect Francine Del Monte regardless of who ran against her?" the numbers got even worse. Just 38 percent answered yes, 46 percent said no, and another 16 percent said they weren't sure.
Asked specifically about issues such as the local share of the Seneca Niagara Casino revenue, her support of sending $500 million in locally generated state Power Authority revenue to Albany, and the huge spending, tax and fee increases instituted since she took office in 2000, the numbers get worse and worse.
The brutal poll results are perhaps best reflected in Del Monte's list of campaign contributors, who overwhelmingly hail from parts foreign to her 138th state Assembly District.
Figures from the state Board of Elections show that Del Monte has received $48,669 in campaign contributions since the beginning of 2009, and only $8,450 -- or 17 percent -- came from within Niagara County. Del Monte has received 23 donations from Albany-based contributors, eight from out-of-state contributors and 24 donations from political action committees.
Del Monte takes money from Charter School lobbyist Patricia Lynch, formerly a top aide to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. She received contributions from E3 Communications President Earl Wells and Hodgson Russ Attorney and NFTA board member Adam Perry. She also received two separate contributions from HSBC bank and $500 from Citigroup.
She also received donations from pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly and Co. and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. And other Del Monte contributors this year included the AFL-CIO, Long Island-based solid waste Landfill Covanta Energy, Occidental Chemical Corp. and National Grid Electric Company.
Del Monte is facing former Niagara Falls councilman and fellow Democrat John Accardo in the September primary and, should she win, county Legislator John Ceretto in the November general election.
With the help of the New York City bankers, drug companies and powerful labor unions, Del Monte has a huge funding advantage over her opponents.
While Accardo has raised around $20,000 -- mostly from friends and family -- and Ceretto has scraped together a bit over $2,000, Del Monte has amassed a war chest of nearly $50,000.
She is unapologetic about the sources of her money.
"(The banks and lobbyists) know I go to bat for them," she said in a recent interview. "I am their voice in the assembly."
Her rivals are less sanguine.
"When you follow the money, you follow her vote," said Ceretto. "Time after time, she's voted against the interests of her own district."
For his part, Accardo said not listing the specific poll used in last week's advertisement was an oversight by his campaign, but was highly critical of the campaign finance system in general.
"It's grossly unfair. The system is rigged so the incumbents get re-elected," he said.
Accardo said any meaningful reform would occur only by requiring that fundraising activities be limited to donors based in the Assembly district. Had such a system been in place, he pointed out, Del Monte would have raised less than half the money he has.
"Her last campaign fundraiser was in Albany," he said. "Why do you suppose Albany lobbyists would be eager to donate so much money to a candidate from Niagara County?"
The prospects for such reform are slim to none. Entrenched incumbents like Del Monte are wedded to the corrupt Albany system that affords them their lavish lifestyles and overwhelming monetary advantages over challengers each and every two years.
Selling their votes for cold, hard cash rather than doing what is best for the people they've been elected to represent is the dirty little secret they share.
Back in November of 2001, following some particularly harrowing activity on the part of the corrupt leadership of Laborers Local 91 here, this newspaper surveyed sitting politicians on whether or not they would continue to accept the blood money being handed out by the soon-to-be-indicted group.
Henry Wojtaszek, the prominent attorney who then served as the county Republican chairman, said that no further contributions would be accepted by any GOP office holder or candidate.
Democrats pledging to refuse contributions included Accardo, former district attorney and current County Court Judge Matt Murphy and former sheriff Tom Beilein.
Del Monte -- who had then recently received $2,500 from the outfit federal prosecutors called a "criminal enterprise" -- defended taking the money and said she would continue taking it right up until the indictments were handed down.
Later, she developed a close relationship with former mayor Vince Anello, who was later indicted on numerous federal felony counts of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, failure to provide honest services, embezzlement and filing false documents.
It wasn't too long ago that Del Monte told her newspaper of record, the Niagara Gazette, that Niagara Falls was a better place to live than it was a decade ago, when she was first elected, despite all evidence to the contrary. The 9 percent of you who believe that should probably go vote for her.
The rest of us, who believe our eyes, know that things haven't gotten better over the past 10 years, not only in Niagara Falls but throughout Niagara County's 138th District.
It remains to be seen how many of us will vote for change.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Aug. 24, 2010 |