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Most of us here in Niagara County didn't vote in the primary election. But today there are a few good reasons to get out and fulfill our civic responsibility.
In the City of Niagara Falls, there's Vince Anello and Charles Walker, two voices for change in a municipal government that for too long has been satisfied with maintaining the status quo. Anello's sometimes tempestuous Council career ended with a narrow loss in the 1999 election, for the most part because he spent more time working on John Accardo's mayoral campaign than he did on his own. Walker, nearing the end of his first term in office, has shown himself to be an effective leader during a difficult time in the city's history.
The Council exists to provide oversight to the city administration, something Council members Paul Dyster and Fran Iusi have shown themselves unwilling or unable to do. With Dyster and Iusi guaranteed two more years on the Council, and candidates Gary Krull and Candra Thomason firmly in the administration's camp, losses by Walker or Anello would mean an effective end to the concept of "loyal opposition" here.
For residents throughout the county, the charter referendum presents an interesting challenge. But anyone who has gone through the torture of watching a county Legislature meeting knows that a strong executive, along with a reduction in the number of legislators, is needed before any substantive change can take place in Lockport. Ours is the largest county in New York State to try and get by without an executive, and the lack of cohesive vision has been the sad result.
Legislator Sam Granieri felt so strongly about the issue that he left the Republican Party -- which generally opposes the new charter -- for the Democrats, who favor it. In the wake of the tobacco settlement scandal, the indictment of Legislator James Ward in the Elections Board scandal and the $12 million budget shortfall currently being faced by the county, it seems absurd to argue that things are fine the way they are. A vote in favor of the new charter is a vote for progress, something we all should be hoping for.