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Greg Edwards
Edwards: I’ll Run With Paladino
Sep 22nd - 8:46 am
Chautauqua County Executive Greg Edwards has decided to remain on the GOP line with the gubernatorial nominee, Carl Paladino, after defeating the Buffalo businessman’s preferred No. 2 – former NYC Council Minority Leader Tom Ognibene – in last week’s primary.
Edwards, like much of the rest of the state, is now awaiting word from his original running mate, Rick Lazio, as to whether he’ll stay in the general election on the Conservative Party line.
“I’m going to run with Carl on the Republican line,” Edwards told The Buffalo News. “The rest will be cleared up when Rick makes up his mind.”
Lazio is expected to attend an Associated Press conference outside Albany this morning and will no doubt be hounded by reporters asking whether he has made a decision about his future.
In the meantime, Ognibene remains on the independent Taxpayers Party line that Paladino created through a petition drive.
The Paladino campaign has been mulling whether to ditch both Ognibene and Edwards in favor of running a woman or a minority LG to highlight the lack of diversity on the statewide Democratic ticket, which right now includes just one woman – Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand – and no candidates of color.
The only way to get a candidate off the ballot at this point is for that person to die, move out of state or be nominated for a state Supreme Court judgeship. The last day for judicial nominating conventions to tap someone for the bench is Sept. 27.
Edwards’ Choice
Sep 16th - 9:12 am
Here’s a rather bemused Chautauqua County Executive Greg Edwards yesterday discussing the fact that he’s now the running mate of BOTH Carl Paladino (on the GOP line) and Rick Lazio (on the Conservative line) – an only-in-New York sort of conundrum from which he hasn’t yet decided how best to extricate himself.
It’s also worth noting that Paladino’s preferred LG running mate, former NYC Council Minority Leader Tom Ognibene, is still on the ballot, too. He petitioned his way onto the independent Taxpayers Party line along with Paladino.
I don’t believe it’s possible to combine the votes you receive on multiple lines unless you’re running with the same person. (Election law experts, weigh in, please).
“Right now there’s so much, I’ll call it, dust in the air. So many issues,” Edwards told reporters.
“Only New York State could have this convoluted an election system that we could find ourselves here in this time and place having to make some difficult decisions about what to do next….It was a bittersweet evening, because my choice was to run with Rick Lazio, and I’m continuing to sift through the details now, following last night’s vote.”
Edwards said the campaigns need to make decisions “collectively,” and he’s interested in doing whatever is best for all New Yorkers.
Lazio Congratulates Paladino…And Edwards
Sep 15th - 12:57 am
Rick Lazio thanked his supporters and campaign staff late Tuesday after learning that Buffalo businessman Carl Paladino defeated him in the GOP primary. Lazio had a lot of praise for his hand-picked running mate, Chautauqua County Executive Greg Edward, who was leading Paladino’s running mate, former NYC Councilman Tom Ognibene, around midnight.
Here are Lazio’s remarks at his concession speech in Manhattan:
Greg Edwards, Tea Partier?
Sep 14th - 3:24 pm
The YNN crew caught up with Chautauqua County Executive Greg Edwards earlier today after he voted (presumably for himself and his running mate, gubernatorial hopeful Rick Lazio), and, as usual, he generally did a good job of sticking to his talking points.
One thing Edwards said stuck out for us, however. He made a clear pitch for Tea Party voters – the sort of people who are supposedly the base of support for Lazio’s primary opponent, Carl Paladino.
“I think the folks I’ve talked to from across the state…They want people from outside of Albany with a proven history of delivering for the taxpayers, reducing government, reducing taxes and the most important piece, creating an enviromnent for more jobs for the people of New York,” Edwards said.
“That’s who people all across New York State want… and that’s Republicans and Conservatives and Independents and Democrats and unaffilated people… and Tea Party people especially.”
Lazio Hits Duffy (Updated)
Jun 8th - 11:27 am
GOP gubernatorial designee Rick Lazio issued a statement this morning slamming the running mate of his Democratic opponent, LG contender Bob Duffy, calling him a “a politician’s politician” who is a perfect fit for AG Andrew Cuomo because he “says one thing and does another.”
Lazio referenced today’s WSJ report by Jacobs Gershman on how Duffy is a so-called “double-dipper,” receiving both his $127,694-a-year mayoral salary and his $114,295 police pension.
Gershman notes that Duffy’s pension is “perfectly legal,” but also suggests it doesn’t quite fit with Cuomo’s message of fiscal conservatism, particularly when the AG has highlighted less above-board double-dipping pension practices.
Lazio called it the “height of hypocrisy” for Cuomo to “brag” about cracking down on double-dipping when his running mate is a “walking, talking, example of abuse.”
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