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Chris Collins
Cuomo For Poloncarz
Oct 20th - 2:35 pm
Erie County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz’s campaign just announced that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has formally endorsed the WNY Democrat in his campaign to oust GOP Erie County Executive Chris Collins.
The endorsement is coming via press release – for the moment. But, according to the Poloncarz campaign, the governor will be making a trip west to hit the hustings with the candidate “in the coming days.” In the meantime, here’s his statement:
“Mark has done an outstanding job as Erie County Comptroller. He has rooted out waste and fraud and fought hard to protect the taxpayers of Erie County. He will make the tough decisions necessary to reform Erie County government.”
“His experience and commitment make him the clear choice to move Erie County into the future, and I look forward to working with him to strengthen the economy of Western New York and improve the quality of life for all the people of the county. I urge you to vote for Mark Poloncarz for Erie County Executive.”
This shouldn’t come as a big surprise. As I wrote last week, it would be very helpful for Cuomo to have Collins out of the way when 2014 rolls around. And since the Siena poll – rejected by the Collins camp – showed Poloncarz within striking distance, it stands to reason that the state’s most popular Democrat would at least lend his name to help his party out in a local race.
After all, he already did as much – more, actually, in the form of an in-person appearance at a fundraiser, for Democratic Suffolk County executive candidate Steve Bellone, who’s running for the office being vacated by another short-lived 2010 Cuomo rival, Democrat-turned-Republican Executive Steve Levy.
It will be interesting to see just how deeply involved Cuomo gets in the Poloncarz-Collins race. The state Democratic Party, which he controls, is already deeply involved. But, as the Buffalo News’ Bob McCarthy noted recently, Erie County Democratic politics is not easily navigated – as state Democratic Party Executive Director Charlie King knows all too well.
Yet Another State Dems Attack On Collins
Oct 13th - 12:13 pm
As Liz wrote yesterday, there are signs Gov. Andrew Cuomo has more than a few tacit connections in the Erie County executive race against Republican Chris Collins.
That includes a $10,000 donation from Albany lobbyist and lawyer Jerry Weiss to Democratic challenger Mark Poloncarz.
And today, Democratic Party spokesman Rich Horner sends out a statement knocking Collins for picking a National Fuel executive to serve as his top deputy. But, as the Buffalo News notes, the executive will keep his job with the company while also working for the county. The executive, Jeffrey Hart, plans to donate his $104,000 county pay to charity.
The New York State Democratic Party calls on Erie County Executive Chris Collins to release all documents relating to the eye-popping agreement between Collins and National Fuel Gas Company. Collins’ Deputy County Executive Jeffrey Hart is ‘on loan’ from National Fuel and collects a salary from the company, all while National Fuel rakes in business from the Collins administration. Chris Collins should release all records and come clean immediately about whether National Fuel has gotten sweetheart deals in exchange for campaign cash because of the unusual arrangement of having an employee on the inside of the Collins administration.
At the very least, Hart’s appointment is a clear conflict of interest and violates every good government protocol. In its worst light, Collins is practicing pay-to-play. People should know the real deal. These are ethical questions that demand answers and the people of Erie County deserve to know exactly what this arrangement means for them. Did National Fuel get sweetheart deals because their PAC and former CEO contributed $37,000 to his campaign? Did Hart steer any contracts or business to his real employer National Fuel? Is his compensation tied to any business-generating incentive with Erie County?
Collins’ Democratic challenger Mark Poloncarz has come up with a plan to make his Deputy County Executive a ‘Jobs Czar’ with actual duties like economic development and job creation. Poloncarz is not interested in lining millionaire’s pockets with more money, but in making sure the hardworking taxpayers of Erie County can make ends meet.
The new focus on the Collins-Poloncarz race comes after a Siena College poll showing a slight lead for Poloncarz, 49-46. The survey was rejected out of hand by the Collins campaign. Still, with the weight of the Democratic Party behind Poloncarz, who has struggled to race funds against a Republican with statewide aspirations, the race would see heightened attention in the lead-up to Election Day.
Cuomo Connections In Erie County Exec Race
Oct 12th - 3:30 pm
Aside from Mark Poloncarz himself, it could be argued that no one has more to gain by the Democratic Erie County comptroller’s success in his quest to oust incumbent Republican County Executive Chris Collins than Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
It’s not so much that Collins, who was forced by a series of verbal slips (a generous characterization) to abandon his would-be 2010 gubernatorial campaign before it even got off the ground, would likely be a huge threat to Cuomo in 2014. Although he’s got some cash and also a political alliance with Carl Paladino and perhaps could tap into the Buffalo businessman’s considerable WNY base of support.
But the mere prospect of a potentially credible GOP challenger with obvious statewide aspirations must be an annoyance, and if he could be removed from the scene three years early…Well! So much the better.
Poloncarz wasn’t the Democrats’ first choice. They really wanted former Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul to run after seeing a poll that showed her leading Collins heading into the November election.
But then came former Rep. Chris Lee’s unexpected departure due to a shirtless Craigslist photo sent to a woman who wasn’t his wife, and Hochul insisted on running in the NY-26 special election. In the end, she even had Cuomo’s support (in the form of a video endorsement and an in-person visit from LG Bob Duffy, which might not seem like much, but is considerably more than Assemblyman David Weprin got in NY-9). And now she’s a congresswoman.
Now, thanks to a Siena poll that shows the county executive race is far closer than expected, 49-46, (a poll that the Collins camp has rejected, for the record), Democrats outside Erie County are starting to pay attention to the race.
Collins: Cap With No Mandate Relief Would Undo Society
May 4th - 11:11 am
Erie County Executive Chris Collins today warned that a 2 percent cap on property taxes without significant mandate relief would “be the undoing of society as we know it.”
Collins, a Republican and launcher of an aborted campaign for governor last year, also said in a Talk 1300 AM radio interview that the budget agreed to by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers was largely “status quo” that shifts costs to school districts.
But he reserved his greatest concern for the 2 percent cap on property taxes that was approved by the Republican-led Senate in January. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver told us Tuesday that he would introduce his own proposal with some changes, but keeps the 2 percent cap.
“We have to have mandate relief and all of us being punished by state mandates … it would be the undoing of society as we know if it passed without mandate relief,” Collins said of the cap.
He criticized the mandated spending — especially for Medicaid, a huge cost driver for his county.
“The county of Erie has the largest Medicaid burden of any of the counties outside of the five boroughs,” Collins said. “That burden is so onerous in the case of Erie County it takes up 100 percent of property values.”
Collins knocked the state for not doing enough to control the required spending on local governments.
“The finger points all the way back to Albany,” he said.
Collins, after dropping out of the gubernatorial race in 2010, was a strong supporter of Buffalo businessman Carl Paladino’s campaign.
He also said federal officials aren’t doing enough to help western and upstate New York and that too much attention has been showered on the downstate region.
“Why is the world treating Erie County and Nassau County, with all its wealth, as the same,” he asked.
Cox In Enemy Territory (Updated)
Aug 31st - 2:34 pm
State GOP Chairman Ed Cox got an earful in Western NY last week (AKA Paladino Country), where he traveled in hopes of building a donor base to help build a GOTV program to rival the effort already being set up by the RNC.
Cox, who is now backing the “credible” party designee, Rick Lazio for governor, scheduled a sit-down with Assemblyman Jack Quinn, who is viewed as a rising GOP star and one of the party’s best hopes at re-taking a Senate seat this fall (he’ll be facing off against whoever wins the 58th SD Democratic primary…(fixed)).
Imagine the chairman’s surprise when his breakfast meeting at Pano’s, a Buffalo diner eatery on Elmwood Avenue, was crashed by Quinn’s consultant, Brendan Quinn, and Erie County GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy (a Carl Paladino supporter), who said he had not received a heads-up from Cox about his impending visit.
“He told people he was out here to build a donor base for the state party and wanted to find 20 people in Buffalo to give $10,000 apiece,” Langworthy told me.
“We have a lot of our own interests out here separate from what’s going on in state committee….it’s not like we have the deep pockets of New York City. I didn’t find out about the meeting until several of my donors called me to say he had asked them for money.”
“…He’s downplaying the ability of the RNC to fund the Victory program,” Langworthy continued. “I think that’s nonsense. He says he needs to do his own program because the RNC is going to be underfunded so they’re not going to be able to support the things they started.”
Collins: Lazio’s Not A ‘Credible Candidate’
Jul 22nd - 5:41 pm
Erie County Executive Chris Collins didn’t hold back this afternoon when I asked him during a “Capital Tonight” interview whether he had even considered endorsing Rick Lazio for governor instead of his fellow Buffalonian, Carl Paladino.
“I would never go down that road because he’s not talking about the fundamental changes needed to fix our state,” Collins replied.
“It’s, you know, political soundbites, and there’s no energy there and clearly his lack of enthusiasm is evidenced by his recent financial filing. I don’t view him as a credible candidate. Carl is the real deal. Not only is he a credible candidate. He’s the only one talking about issues.”
As I said earlier, it’s no surprise that Collins has chosen to endorse Paladino over Lazio, since he mulled fighting the former congressman in a GOP primary for Row B. (Collins told me he was a “reluctant candidate” and only considered running because no one else was stepping up to the plate who he considered sufficiently credible – and conservative – to really bring the fight to AG Andrew Cuomo).
The interview will air in full tonight at 8 p.m. and again at 11:30 p.m.
Collins For Paladino
Jul 22nd - 1:46 pm
Erie County Executive Chris Collins is poised to publicly support his fellow Buffalonian, Carl Paladino, for the governor’s office he had once hoped to seek this fall himself.
Paladino’s campaign manager Michael Caputo confirmed to YNN Buffalo that the get-together at 2 p.m. this afternoon between the two Republicans is indeed an endorsement announcement. (what else would it have been, really?)
This doesn’t come as any big surprise. Collins was at one point locked in a pre-primary battle with the GOP/Conservative gubernatorial designee Rick Lazio, and there’s no love lost between the outspoken county executive and the former congressman.
Also, there’s the whole hometown advantage thing. Paladino, a real estate developer, has sunk a lot into Buffalo, and the local GOP leaders are largely supportive of him. (Erie County Republican Chairman Nick Langworthy is the lone member of the party establishment who has formally endorsed Paladino for governor).
It’s very tempting to make a side remark about the parallels that could be drawn between Collins’ trouble with making off-color comments – a habit that forced him to forgo his bid for governor – and Paladino’s e-mail scandal…
But I think I’ll just raise the issue and leave the snideness for you readers, if you’re so inclined.
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