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Kaznowski tapped to fill council seat
By John J. Hopkins Times
Three months after losing the Democratic primary for town council by a scant six votes, Stan Kaznowski is poised to join the town board in January after the Cheektowaga Democratic Committee endorsed him Tuesday to fill a council vacancy.
Kaznowski was selected during a weighted voting system among more than 150 of the committee's 222 members Monday evening at Falcons Hall on Broadway in Depew.
Nominated by Councilmember Tom Johnson, Kaznowski received 12,893 votes to 9,110 votes for Timothy Meyers, who was nominated by Town Clerk Mary Holtz.
Kaznowski is Chief Financial Officer for Curtis Screw Corporation in Buffalo. Meyers is an airfield supervisor for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority.
The Town Board will have the ultimate decision on who fills the va- cancy, but the all-Democrat board generally follows the committee's recommendation.
"When someone loses by only six votes, you have to give him a shot," said Town Democratic Committee Chairman Frank Max. "The committee sent a message that they want this guy on board."
The vacancy will occur on January 1 when Councilmember Alice Magierski becomes town clerk, replacing Holtz, who was elected supervisor in November.
There are two years remaining on
the term, which expires December 31, 2009. A special election is expected to be held in November 2008 to complete the rest of the term.
New to the political process, Kaznowski said he learned "a lot" during his campaign.
"I've come to respect a lot of people in politics," Kaznowski said. "Hopefully I'll get the appointment, and then I can start working on addressing the needs of the residents."
Kaznowski, who is president of the Town Park Homeowners Association, has been an advocate for stronger housing regulations, especially in the older neighborhoods of Cheektowaga.
Kaznowski said he will step down as the homeowners group president when he officially becomes a councilmember.
"We'll talk about that at our Christmas meeting next week," Kaznowski added.
Johnson, who is stepping down as a councilmember on December 31, has publicly supported Kaznowski because, like himself, Kaznowski came from a homeowners group. Johnson is a former president of the Depew- Cheektowaga Home Association and still belongs to four homeowners groups.
Max agreed that Kaznowski is not a typical politician.
"Stan's not a political guy. He's an independent person," Max observed. "We're trying to get a good mix of people in that board, and I think Stan brings a lot of credentials to the table."
Kaznowski said he hopes to put his financial experience to good use with the board, but quickly added he is not just a "numbers" person. He serves as director of human resources at Curtis Screw.
"I've dealt with a lot of personnel issues and trying to work with people," Kaznowski said, "trying to improve their performance and patting them on the back when they do good."
According to Max, several Cheektowaga police officers called him after the results were announced to express their satisfaction that Kaznowski was selected, citing his involvement with crime prevention activities.
A third candidate, town businessman Andrew Kulyk and Chairman of the Town Zoning Board of Appeals, withdrew his name from consideration and threw his support behind Kaznowski.
The town board has undergone a dramatic change in recent years; when the new board member joins, only Jeff Swiatek and Patricia Jaworowicz will remain among the members in office in July 2003.
Since July 2003, Bill Rogowski was appointed receiver of taxes and is now retired, Tom Mazur was elected to the Erie County Legislature in November 2005 and Dennis H. Gabryszak was elected New York State Assemblyman in November 2006.
James J. Jankowiak succeeded Gabryszak as supervisor and on January 1, 2008 will join Johnson in retirement from public service.
Max said that when Kaznowski joins the board there will be "a good blend" of backgrounds serving the
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