Republicans Win State Senate While Democrat Panepinto Wants to
Move Truck Traffic to Lewiston

The New York State Senate 2014 elections resulted in the Republican Party regaining control of the Senate for 2015. Republicans controlled the state senate from 1965 to 2008.

There will now be 32 Republican state Senators and 31 Democrats.

The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members elected to two-year terms. They all run concurrently every even numbered year.

After the 2008 elections, the senate had a Democratic majority that changed following the defections of four Democrats who formed an Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) that aligned with Republicans in a power sharing arrangement.

In June, IDC leader Jeff Klein said the IDC would form with mainline Democrats starting in January.

The 2014 election may not seem like a change in recent senate direction but, by voters giving Republicans an actual numerical plurality, they may have prevented a change in future governance that might have affected the entire state.

Assuming the IDC did align with Democrats, if Republicans hadn't won several key seats and taken actual control, then Democrats would have controlled the senate, as well as the state assembly, and the governor's office - handing control of the entire state to New York City Democrats with their liberal legislative agenda, which includes such items as ninth month abortions (Women's Equality), students being able to shower with the opposite gender in school if the student feels mentally he is a member of the opposite gender that given day (GENDA), and a host of other laws that passed the assembly and would have been signed by the governor, but were withheld from state law by Republicans (abetted by the IDC) in the Senate not approving these laws.

Republicans will now have control of the senate with or without the IDC.

In Niagara County, Republican Rob Ortt defeated Democrat Johnny Destino by 32,179 to 16,460 or two to one. Ortt assumes the seat held by retiring State Sen. George Maziarz who is a Republican.

In Erie County, Democrat Marc C. Panepinto picked up a seat for Democrats as he narrowly won a four-way contest that included incumbent Mark Grisanti, who ran on the Independence line, Kevin Stocker, on the Republican line and Timothy D. Gallagher on the Conservative line.

Part of Panepinto's campaign platform was to make efforts to remove all truck traffic from the Peace Bridge - in his largely Democratic district - because of air pollution - and relocate the trucks to the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge.

"Peace Bridge Truck traffic is poisoning children and adults in Buffalo's West Side," Panepinto said on a campaign flier.

The flier did not explain how relocating the trucks would not poison children and adults living in Lewiston.

Because Panepinto will be among the now-minority, Democrat party in the senate, it is unlikely Panepinto's idea to move trucks now polluting Buffalo's West Side to Lewiston will gain much traction in the Republican-controlled State Senate.