Judge has set this year’s primary date for June 26. That means petitions will have to go out by about March 15. Meanwhile we hear that congressional lines for the Empire State will be announced next week.

On the day when the Albany redistricting plan came out which gives NYS Senator George Maziarz a new district that includes all of Niagara and Orleans Counties and two communities in Monroe County, it was clear that his lifelong support for lower taxes, less government, and more economic development will never change.

“My message will remain the same in the new district as it was in the old one,” he has said many times. “I will always be for lower taxes, less government and for working hard to bring more economic development to upstate in general and especially to my district.”

In pursuit of the latter goal, Senator Maziarz reports that he is already burning the midnight oil to find companies that can take advantage of Gov. Cuomo’s $1 billion plan for Western New York economic development.

“I have already spoken to three CEOs of companies to try to get them to come here and take advantage of this opportunity,” he reports. “I will continue to do this and will not stop until we bring the kind of good paying jobs to this area that our people need.”

Meanwhile, the Senator is especially pleased that the State has been able to eliminate its remaining $1.5 billion budget deficit without tax hikes.

“I am very happy that we have been able to handle our deficit without raising any taxes or fees or increasing any assessments,” he says. “I think we all realize that raising taxes is not the solution.”

Nor is the practice of spending more and more money to serve the needs of deserving New Yorkers when a less expensive approach would do just as well.

“First, we need to eliminate the fraud in the program which is costing us millions,” Senator Maziarz declares. “I also believe that we can cut the cost of our medicaid program while still serving the needs of deserving recipients. We can use generic drugs rather than the more expensive brand named drugs. We can do many things to cut the cost of the program, while, at the same time making sure our seniors get the care they need.”

Finally, moving on to the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, Senator Maziarz is maintaining his neutrality for now while hoping for a competitive New York GOP primary on April 24.

“I have not endorsed anyone up to now,” he says. “Looking at the campaign it think it is very possible that for the first time in history, the New York GOP presidential primary could be in play in the Republican presidential race and I think that’s great. I’ll be watching the race very closely.”

With the proposed new district lines now out here’s what we’ve learned: Republican NYS Senator Mark Grisanti has been given a largely suburban district in which to run, one that starts out in a small chunk of the City of Buffalo and then snakes down into part of Lackawanna, Hamburg, Brant, and Cattauragus. NYS Senator George Maziarz new district will include all of Niagara and Orleans Counties as well as two towns in Monroe County.
 
 
Republican Assemblyman John Ceretto is left with a largely suburban domain that includes the Town of Grand Island in Erie County as well as the City of Niagara Falls..

MAZIARZ GETS ALL OF NIAGARA COUNTY…GRISANTI GETS HAMBURG, TONAWANDAS, ORCHARD PARK, GALLIVAN GETS WEST SENECA

With Senate and Assembly lines scheduled to be announced in Albany at 2pm today, here’s what we’ve heard so far. NYS Senate George Maziarz will now have all of Niagara and Orleans Counties in his district, including the City of Niagara Falls. NYS Senator Mark Grisanti will be moved totally into Erie County grabbing a small part of Buffalo along with Hamburg, the City and Town of Tonawanda, and Orchard Park. NYS Senator Pat Gallivan will be moved into West Seneca.

RIVERA RESIGNS AS NIAGARA COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CHAIRMAN

Niagara County Chairman Dan Rivera has resigned his post in order to spend more time pursuing private business opportunities.

“I am leaving on my own volition so I can spend more time working on my private business,” Rivera explained in an exclusive interview with NewWNYPolitics and Niagara Falls Politics.com. “I am really enjoying working on my business and feel that the time has come for me to devote more of my time to it.”

Once Chairman Rivera announced his resignation to the Niagara County Democratic Executive Committee, the Committee elected attorney Jeremy Schnurr, a Rivera ally, to serve out the rest of the current incumbent’s unexpired term. There will be an election among Niagara County Democratic committee members to elect a chairman to serve out a full two year term within 20 days after the 2012 primary whether it is in June or August.

“I’m still going to be a committeemen,”says Rivera. “I’ve been selected to be a presidential delegate candidate and will be on the ballot on April 24. So I am still going to be active politically. I’m just not going to be the Chairman.”

Among those who may run who are not part of the pro Rivera camp is former NYS Assembly and Senate aide Gary Parenti, a businessman and international political operative.

DYSTER: TAKING THE LEAD IN SEEKING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT $$ FOR NIAGARA FALLS…”EVERYTHING WE DO IS FOR THEM”

As with so many things that effect the future of Niagara Falls, Mayor Paul Dyster is taking the lead in making sure the Falls gets its fair share of Gov. Cuomo’s $1 billion economic development pot.

“Immediately after we heard about the Governor’s initiative, we started contacting companies with which we have initiated projects here in Niagara Falls which have never been completed and asking them if the money Gov. Cuomo has made available would now make their project doable,” Mayor Dyster reports. “We also began looking at businesses to see if we could find companies whose work would complement what is being done by existing business that are already here. We are going to continue what we’re doing until we are able to find businesses that will create the jobs that the people of this city need.”

No wonder Mayor Dyster became the first Falls Mayor to be re-elected in over two decades with his victory last November.

Of course, long before Andrew Cuomo became our Governor, Paul Dyster was working hard to re-invent his city’s downtown with a series of “Hard Rock” concerts that have revitalized commercial interest in the area.

“I think the downtown concerts have been a big success,” says the Mayor. “Just recently we’ve had seven companies express interest in locating in downtown Niagara Falls, something that wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t created a lot of interest in downtown through the concerts. But, we are also very proud of other initiatives we’ve started such as the Culinary Institute, which will be starting later this year and the Holiday Market and the Buffalo Ave. project and Lewiston Rd. and so many others…”

“I’m especially happy to see college students coming back to downtown again,” Mayor Dyster adds. “To me college students are to a downtown area what yeast is to bread…You can’t grow a downtown without them and now we are seeing the college students come back.”

Meanwhile, Mayor Paul Dyster is taking the lead in solving other city problems including the longstanding effort to get the city’s share of Seneca Casino revenues flowing back to City Hall coffers.

“I am in constant touch with both the state through Lt. Governor Duffy and with the Senecas and, actually, we have better relations with both than they have with each other,” the Mayor points out. “I have been working getting a settlement for the city that would not be dependent on the two parties completely settling their differences.”

As always, Mayor Dyster’s compass is pointed toward the future.

“I and my staff are going to continue working hard to build a better future for the people of Niagara Falls,” he declares. “Everything we do is for them.”

“A MAN OF HIS WORD”…LET’S TACKLE STATE MANDATES NEXT

What’s the biggest change that’s come to New York since Andrew Cuomo became Governor?…Some WNYers might point to Cuomo’s $1 billion for Buffalo plan. But, Niagara County Assemblyman John Ceretto suggests an even more fundamental difference:

“Right now the Governor and the Legislature, Republicans and Democrats, the Assembly and the Senate are all united behind the goal of making the State of New York more efficient, more business friendly, with lower taxes and less state mandates so that we can create the jobs we need for our people,” he says. “There is nothing more important than that. This is something I have prayed for and knew would happen and now it is here.”

Assemblyman Ceretto is especially pleased that the Governor and Legislature have been able to work together to cut a $10 billion budget deficit to about $1.5 billion. He is also concerned about the expense imposed on local government by onerous state mandates.

“We are going to have to make some tough choices in order to eliminate the rest of our budget deficit,” he adds. “But, I know Governor Cuomo is going to take the lead in accomplishing this . He has proven that he is a man of his word. I’m really pleased that in his recent State of the State message he is keeping his word in another area by proposing cuts to state mandates. I experienced the terrible burdens of state mandates on local government when I was a member of the Niagara County Legislature. They have to be eliminated or drastically curtailed.”

“Right now counties pay a large percentage of the cost of medicaid,” Assemblyman Ceretto points out. “The Governor has proposed that within five years the state would totally take over this burden. Since medicaid represents 70% of the county’s budget, this will mean that a tremendous burden will be taken off the backs of our Niagara County taxpayers. That’s a very good thing. ..Yes, I believe the State of New York can absorb the additional costs.”

All in all, the Assemblyman believes that this is a great time to serve the people of Niagara County in the Empire State’s capital.

“Now New York is finally on the right track,” he concludes. It’s something so many people have hoped for and now it’s here.”

SCHIMMINGER “VERY PLEASED” THAT CUOMO PUT $1 BILLION FOR BUFFALO PROPOSAL IN BUDGET…”A REGIONAL PROGRAM” TO FIND ANOTHER GEICO

Who was behind that recent historic meeting between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the WNY Albany delegation at which the Governor explained his “$1 Billion for Buffalo” program? Assemblymember Robin Schimminger reports that he might have gotten the ball rolling by asking a Cuomo aide to come to the group’s weekly gathering.

“I reached out to the administration and asked that Howard Glazer, the Director of State Services, come to our weekly meeting held in at 12:30pm on Mondays,” he recalls. “About two minutes before the meeting was supposed to start, I got a call from the Governor’s office asking if we would go over to his conference room because Governor Andrew M. Cuomo himself wanted to talk to us. It was a very helpful meeting.”

Among the points made clear at the Cuomo/WNY conclave is the regional nature of the plan.

“This has been called a $1 billion for Buffalo plan, but the Governor made clear that it is regional in nature,” Assemblymember Shimminger reports. “It reminds me of what happened with Geico when that company came to WNY. Originally, they came with the intention to take advantage of the Empire Zone program in the City of Buffalo. But, eventually, they said, ‘Could we locate outside the City but still get the tax breaks’ and that’s exactly what happened. The important thing is that the program has to create jobs that benefit the entire region.”

Still, even after the meeting, the question that remained in many WNY minds was: Will the Governor put the program in his budget?

“I would have been satisfied with a gubernatorial pledge that he was going to fund this program,” says Schimminger. “But, I was very happy to see that the Governor put $100 million in his budget for the program this year and $100 million next year, with the promise that other money will be made available when needed.”

Assemblymember Schimminger wants the Buffalo Niagara Enterprise to lead the search for new businesses that might want to take advantage of the program, not Empire State Development.

“With Tom Kucharski and the BNE, you know they will be doing everything they can to locate new businesses in WNY,” he points out. “But, with Empire State Development, a state-wide organization, they are not likely to be as committed to WNY. If a company decided that they might want to change their mind and locate in the Finger Lakes, they might go along with that idea.”

All in all, Schimminger is very happy with how things have gone so far.

“We have a very strong Governor who is committed to bringing new business and new jobs to WNY, a Governor who has shown he can make things happen and that he keeps his word,” the Assembymember adds. “That is very good news for all of us.”

Cuomo Still Honeymooning; Record High Job Performance

51% Say Race Relations in NY are Excellent/Good; 47% Fair/Poor

Majority of New Yorkers Think State is Headed on Right Track

Loudonville, NY. Governor Cuomo continues to have a strong favorability rating his best since April and voters now give him the best job performance rating he‟s had in 13 months as Governor, according to a new Siena College Research Institute poll of registered New York voters released today. Several of the Governor‟s State of the State proposals are strongly supported, some are narrowly supported, and his proposal for a new convention center in Queens currently faces significant voter opposition. His proposal to spend $1 billion on WNY economic development initiatives is supported by a 49-41% margin.
Voters are nearly evenly divided on the state of race relations in New York, with 51 percent rating them as excellent (7 percent) or good (44 percent), while 47 percent call them fair (36 percent) or poor (11 percent). For the first time since November 2006, a majority of voters think New York is headed on the right track.
After a little more than a year in office, the Governor may not be a newlywed anymore, but his honeymoon with voters continues stronger than ever. At 73-20 percent, Cuomo’s favorability rating is the best it has been since April, and his 62-37 percent job performance rating is by far the best it‟s ever been, said Siena pollster Steven Greenberg. Cuomo‟s favorability rating tops 70 percent in every region of the state and his job performance rating is at least 60 percent in every region. While it‟s not surprising that he does best with Democrats, he is stronger with Republicans than with independent voters in both ratings.
The Governor may face criticism from a variety of sources on a number of issues but it doesn‟t seem to matter with voters. His staying power to date stands out even more than the big numbers, Greenberg said. Think back to Governor Spitzer, who had a better favorability rating than Cuomo on their respective first months in office. However, by his second January Spitzer‟s favorability rating was a barely positive 44-41 percent, a far cry from Cuomo‟s 73-20 percent.

STATEMENT FROM CONGRESSWOMAN KATHY

HOCHUL HONORING MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY

The following is a statement from Congresswoman Kathy Hochul in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day:

“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the standard bearer for the civil rights movement and a voice for Americans that suffered through centuries of oppression. Today, our nation has made significant strides in granting equal rights to every man and woman thanks to his contributions.

“We should all take this day to remember the sacrifices that Dr. King made and the cause to which he dedicated his life. Our world is a better place because of Dr. King’s efforts and Americans truly live free today because of his leadership.

“Dr. King’s life will continue to inspire future generations of Americans. His peaceful message of equal rights and justice for all, in the face of fierce and violent opposition, has solidified his place as one of America’s great leaders.”