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Anticlimatic end for local elections
By John J. Hopkins Times
Cheektowaga Democrats once again made it a clean sweep on election night, winning all contested races in easy fashion Tuesday over their outnumbered Republican counterparts.
Jeff Swiatek, Rick Zydel and Charlie Markel- the three endorsed Democrat candidates- won seats on the town council while Mark Wegner claimed victory for Highway Superintendent.
Swiatek, one of seven candidates for council, captured nearly onequarter of the 50,224 votes cast. He received 12,059 votes. Swiatek said he hopes that his party's victories is a sign that voters are happy with town government.
"We run a good government and a clean government," Swiatek said. 'We provide a great level of service of this town and try to give the residents the best bang for their buck."
Supervisor James J. Jankowiak agreed, and said the town board will continue to provide good service to Cheektowaga.
"Mary Holtz will do a good job as supervisor," Jankowiak added. "I see exciting years in store for Cheektowaga."
Holtz will become the town's first female supervisor and Thomas S. Kolbert retained his post as town justice. Both ran unopposed.
Alice Magierski will take office as Town Clerk on January 1, 2008 when she replaces Holtz. Magierski defeated Republican candidate Susan Nolder, gathering 70 percent of the vote.
In the race for the eighth district of the Erie County Legislature, incumbent Democrat Tom Mazur defeated Republican challenger Jeff Sell in a replay of the 2005 race.
Mazur captured 58 percent of the vote to Sell's 34 percent. Debbie Kubiak, running on the Working Families line, garnered eight percent support.
Mazur's victory reflects local attitudes in all 15 county legislative districts with the incumbent party retaining their posts. This leaves the Democrats with a 12-3 super-majority.
A disappointed Sell told the Times that the voters appear to send mixed messages during election years.
"Cheektowaga's obviously not ready for a change. Apparently (voters) are happy with what they have," Sell said. "On one hand, people say they want change, but on the other hand, they don't do anything about it. There just doesn't seem to be a real urge for change."
Sell added that he doesn't plan on running for a political office in the near future, stating he will spend more time with his family.
Despite the heavy Democrat victories, Erie County voters decided to keep a Republican in the county executive's seat. Chris Collins coasted to victory over James Keane in the race for the top county post, winning by a nearly 2-1 margin.
Swiatek said that he believes the race for county executive was decided more by personality and voter familiarity than by party affiliation.
"The marquee race receives the most coverage and it becomes a personalized contest," Swiatek said. "The voters are able to look at the candidates, get to know them, and make a decision."
During his victory speech, Collins thanked his many supporters then, with tongue planted firmly in cheek, thanked his rival.
"I want to thank Jim Keane. I don't remember a race from which there was a more clear-cut choice between two candidates," Collins said. "We both wanted the same objective for the community, but had completely different ways of achieving that."
It was one of the few races in the county in which a Republican had the last laugh.
All of the Democratic candidates won by comfortable margins in Cheektowaga, where the party enjoys an enrollment edge of roughly 5-2 over the Republicans.
Zydel and Markel received 19 and 17 percent respectively, while Gerald Kaminski had the best showing among Republicans, grabbing 13 percent.
"I'm happy that I can continue with all of the hard work I've put forth since my appointment in January," Zydel told the Times. "We have many challenges coming our way and I'm happy to take them on."
The Town Republicans appeared to field their best candidates in years, but it appears that most of them will not seek public office in the future.
Kaminski said he is unsure whether he will run for public office in the future, but said a one-party system is not in the best interest of the public.
"This was educational and unbelievable. I learned that voters will not change. Voters aren't happy. I know this because I talked to them," Kaminski said. "But nothing will change. Voters finally had an option this year, but it comes down to parties. Am I disappointed? No. Is this what I expected? Yes."
Chauncey "Bill" Stewart, who also had a slot on the Independence line, received 12 percent of the vote including 2 percent from the Independence party. Fellow Republican Richard J. Maisano earned 11 percent of the vote, including 908 votes on the Working families line.
Maisano, a pastor at Brick-by- Brick Bible Church in Williamsville, said he will not likely run for political office again, citing his busy personal life as a major reason. He added it is "discouraging" to see the same party voted into office year after year.
"According to the outcome, people are very happy with what they've got," Maisano observed. "No matter how much people complain, they vote the same party. I'm not angry, just discouraged to see people vote for the same party or not vote at all."
Stan Kaznowski, who lost the Democratic primary, earned four percent of the vote on the Conservative and Independence lines. With Magierski leaving the council for the clerk's office, Kaznowski is hoping to be appointed to Magierski's unfinished term.
Collins, a businessman from Clarence, won using a platform of tax reform, starting with running government like a business. His message seemed to resonate with voters more than Keane, who has spent most of his professional career on public payrolls.
For Collins, he said that the key to Erie County's survival rests with a government working for the community, rather than against its taxpayers.
"There are the three 'Rs' in my plan: Reforming our community, rebuilding economy and reducing taxes," Collins told the Times. "Our future is the government working for the taxpayers, not against them. Our future is taxes that are fair and reasonable."
The Times' Steve Dlugosz contributed to this report.
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