Entries Tagged 'Voting' ↓

Today I had one of them 24-7 “news” stations on and they played Obama’s speech in Oregon.

Obama dissed Bush as a President, and all I could yell out to the TV (knowing the fool can’t hear me) “You’re the law making body of this government!”

I find it rather ironic that any Senator can call the President of the United States out as bad, while they are elected as our law makers….. they have the power to write NEW laws of which the President can vote for or against. At no point whatsoever did the senator say that he wrote laws of which the President marked as veto.

The topic was on cost of living….. and Senator Obama could only find the words to shame President Bush while he’s holding a Senate seat.

Kettle… this is black, Black…. this is kettle.

I’m going to give a great quote from a great song (by Joe Diffie) “we bitch about a dollar, when there are those without a dime”.

The economy? not a factor.
The war? not a factor.
The poor? not a factor.
Crime rate in America? not a factor
Homeless vets? not a factor

When selecting the next candidate for whatever office, have we nothing left but to reduce our questions to the status of their Sexual Orientation first?

Gov. Paterson
Gov. Spitzer
Gov. McGreevey

I got this in an email today:

There was a lot of talk last week about John McCain’s blatant hypocrisy on ethics and integrity in Washington.

Here we go again.

McCain is now breaking the law by ignoring the campaign spending restrictions for the Republican primary that came when he asked for federal matching funds — funds he used as collateral on a loan that helped keep his campaign going.

But now that the lobbyist and special interest money has started pouring into his campaign, he’s trying to back out of the promise he made just a few months ago. They’re feeding so much cash into his bank account, this “reformer” wants nothing to do with federal campaign finance laws anymore.

That’s why today, we’re filing a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission demanding that John McCain be held to the campaign finance laws. Trying to back out shows a total lack of integrity and honesty — he made a deal with the American people to to abide by the law, and in return, he was guaranteed taxpayer money that he used to back a loan.

I’d like you to add your name in support of our complaint, and ask as many people as you can to sign on. American taxpayers made a deal with John McCain — now that he’s flush with lobbyist cash, he wants to pretend that it never happened.

Sign on right now:

democrats.org/McCainBusted

Here’s the background on the situation.

A few months ago, John McCain applied for and was approved to receive federal matching funds. Because he couldn’t find enough people to fund his campaign, he was also forced to apply for a $4 million line of credit, which he secured by using the federal matching funds as collateral.

By taking the federal funding, he agreed to spend no more than $57 million until the Republican convention. But so far, his campaign has spent at least $49 million — leaving him with less than $10 million to campaign with through September.

Now that he’s won the nomination and has the support of the Republican lobbyist and special interest machine, he’s trying to ignore that the whole thing ever happened. He recently wrote a letter to the FEC telling them that he was backing out, even though the FEC is very clear that any request to withdraw from the agreement must be approved; you can’t just change your mind and take it back — legally, you have to be given permission.

McCain isn’t asking because he knows he’ll never be granted permission, and he doesn’t want to have to accept the funding restrictions he agreed to when he used the money as collateral for a loan. He’s ripping a page right from George Bush’s playbook: ignoring the laws when they aren’t convenient and hoping no one will notice.

Stand up and show him that hundreds of thousands of people have noticed — he can’t change the rules in the middle of the game because he doesn’t like how things are going for him:

democrats.org/McCainBusted

Using government programs when it’s politically convenient and breaking the rules when it’s not … remind you of anyone?

Just like George Bush, John McCain thinks he’s above the law. McCain poses as a reformer, but seems to think reforms apply to everyone but him.

Time to send him a message.

Two races for Erie County Legislature fall short of a big victory, but they have every reason to walk with their heads up high today.

Alan (Buffalo Pundit) wrote:

Well, I lost. Matter of fact, I got creamed.

It’s not fun working that hard - and having others work that hard for you - and losing, but that’s what happens.

We awaken this morning with a new County Executive and a re-shaped legislature.

I awaken this morning very tired, disappointed, but looking forward to a new day. Everyone’s been very supportive and it’s been gratifying to have many, many people come up to me and thank me for running, and congratulate me on a good effort in a very uphill race. It’s quite an experience, the whole thing.

Having gained 4,522 votes over a long time incumbent is something to be proud of.

Rus Thompson wrote:

Question is now after 12 years of fighting the status quo do I still have any energy or desire to continue on? My business has suffered greatly and yet I have stayed on course going after political corruption, government waste, patronage, tolls and on and on….. Seems like the people like things exactly the way they are and I guess at this point if they’re happy with it all then so be it.

I am taking a break as I contemplate what I am gonna do next.

Rus’ stand on the issues like tolls & what’s up on Grand Island, 4,746 votes is enough to prove a point that people are “fedup” ( ) with the status quo. Whatever he’s going to do next, I hope Rus stays on as one of the best who exposes “Albanity’s Insanity”!

Unfortunately their votes were not enough, but two of the many great bloggers on WNYmedia.net took a stand by putting their names on a ballot and pounded the pavement seeking a change. It’s more than what most complainers wouldn’t step up in doing.

Here’s to both candidates who gave it a good fight. Least the incumbents know they have opposition as they retain their legislative seats. And to my mind, that stands for a lot.

Congrats guys!

Looking at the statistics of last night’s election from the BOE, here are the percentages of voter turn out per district in the City of Buffalo:

*DELAWARE COUNCIL MEMBER - 29%
ELLICOTT COUNCIL MEMBER - 20%
*FILLMORE COUNCIL MEMBER - 18%
*LOVEJOY COUNCIL MEMBER - 18%
*MASTEN COUNCIL MEMBER - 19%
NIAGARA COUNCIL MEMBER - 24%
*NORTH COUNCIL MEMBER - 19%
*SOUTH COUNCIL MEMBER - 31%
*UNIVERSITY COUNCIL MEMBER - 22%

*denotes unopposed elections

In other races throughout the County

COUNTY EXECUTIVE - 36%
COUNTY CLERK-VACANCY - 33%

1ST LEGISLATIVE DIST - 29%
*2ND LEGISLATIVE DIST - 26%
*3RD LEGISLATIVE DIST - 17%
4TH LEGISLATIVE DIST - 35%
5TH LEGISLATIVE DIST - 39%
*6TH LEGISLATIVE DIST - 16%
*7TH LEGISLATIVE DIST - 20%
8TH LEGISLATIVE DIST - 31%
9TH LEGISLATIVE DIST - 29%
10TH LEGISLATIVE DIST - 29%
11TH LEGISLATIVE DIST - 31%
12TH LEGISLATIVE DIST - 34%
13TH LEGISLATIVE DIST - 35%
14TH LEGISLATIVE DIST - 34%
15TH LEGISLATIVE DIST - 37%

*denotes unopposed elections

Comparing a few suburban elections: (West Seneca)

WEST SENECA SUPERVISOR - 40%
WEST SENECA COUNCILMAN - 38%

Cheektowaga:

*CHEEKTOWAGA SUPERVISOR - 24%
CHEEKTOWAGA COUNCILMAN - 29%
*denotes unopposed elections

Hamburg:

HAMBURG COUNCILMAN - 36%

Lancaster:

LANCASTER SUPERVISOR - 33%
LANCASTER COUNCILMAN - 22%

City of Tonawanda:

TONAWANDA PRESIDENT - 26%
CTON. COUNCIL 1 WARD - 39%
CTON. COUNCIL 2 WARD - 19%
CTON. COUNCIL 3 WARD - 15%
CTON. COUNCIL 4 WARD - 34%

More percentages of town, villages & cities can be found here.

Office BUFFALO CITY COURT JUDGE
PARTY 323 Districts out of 325 Reporting (99)% Votes Percent
0% of Absentee Ballots Counted
D CALVO-TORRES, BETTY 23,043 83%
I CALVO-TORRES, BETTY 1,652 6%
C CALVO-TORRES, BETTY 1,479 5%
W CALVO-TORRES, BETTY 1,711 6%
CALVO-TORRES, BETTY Totals 27,885 100%
Office Totals 27,885 100%
TURN-OUT 18%

Office BUFFALO COMPTROLLER
PARTY 323 Districts out of 325 Reporting (99)% Votes Percent
0% of Absentee Ballots Counted
D SANFILIPPO, ANDREW A 23,406 82%
I SANFILIPPO, ANDREW A 1,708 6%
C SANFILIPPO, ANDREW A 1,554 5%
W SANFILIPPO, ANDREW A 1,777 6%
SANFILIPPO, ANDREW A Totals 28,445 100%
Office Totals 28,445 100%
TURN-OUT 18%

Office DELAWARE COUNCIL MEMBER
PARTY 38 Districts out of 39 Reporting (97)% Votes Percent
0% of Absentee Ballots Counted
D LOCURTO, MICHAEL J 4,525 80%
I LOCURTO, MICHAEL J 611 11%
W LOCURTO, MICHAEL J 550 10%
LOCURTO, MICHAEL J Totals 5,686 100%
Office Totals 5,686 100%
TURN-OUT 29%

Office ELLICOTT COUNCIL MEMBER
PARTY 41 Districts out of 41 Reporting (100)% Votes Percent
0% of Absentee Ballots Counted
D DAVIS, BRIAN C 2,710 84%
I DAVIS, BRIAN C 147 5%
DAVIS, BRIAN C Totals 2,857 89%
C MCINTYRE, BRYON J 368 11%
Office Totals 3,225 100%
TURN-OUT 20%

Office FILLMORE COUNCIL MEMBER
PARTY 45 Districts out of 46 Reporting (97)% Votes Percent
0% of Absentee Ballots Counted
D FRANCZYK, DAVID A 2,072 82%
R FRANCZYK, DAVID A 276 11%
I FRANCZYK, DAVID A 80 3%
C FRANCZYK, DAVID A 94 4%
FRANCZYK, DAVID A Totals 2,522 100%
Office Totals 2,522 100%
TURN-OUT 18%

Office LOVEJOY COUNCIL MEMBER
PARTY 31 Districts out of 31 Reporting (100)% Votes Percent
0% of Absentee Ballots Counted
D FONTANA, RICHARD A 2,460 83%
I FONTANA, RICHARD A 239 8%
C FONTANA, RICHARD A 256 9%
FONTANA, RICHARD A Totals 2,955 100%
Office Totals 2,955 100%
TURN-OUT 18%

Office MASTEN COUNCIL MEMBER
PARTY 41 Districts out of 41 Reporting (100)% Votes Percent
0% of Absentee Ballots Counted
D SMITH, DEMONE A 3,325 96%
I SMITH, DEMONE A 93 3%
C SMITH, DEMONE A 62 2%
SMITH, DEMONE A Totals 3,480 100%
Office Totals 3,480 100%
TURN-OUT 19%

Office NIAGARA COUNCIL MEMBER
PARTY 32 Districts out of 32 Reporting (100)% Votes Percent
0% of Absentee Ballots Counted
D RIVERA, DAVID A 2,002 52%
I RIVERA, DAVID A 130 3%
W RIVERA, DAVID A 195 5%
RIVERA, DAVID A Totals 2,327 61%
R RODRIGUEZ, SERGIO R 440 11%
TF RODRIGUEZ, SERGIO R 61 2%
RODRIGUEZ, SERGIO R Totals 501 13%
C SAVAGE, PETER J III 707 18%
GR JONES, ERIC M 308 8%
Office Totals 3,843 100%
TURN-OUT 24%

Office NORTH COUNCIL MEMBER
PARTY 31 Districts out of 31 Reporting (100)% Votes Percent
0% of Absentee Ballots Counted
D GOLOMBEK, JOSEPH JR 2,681 81%
I GOLOMBEK, JOSEPH JR 355 11%
C GOLOMBEK, JOSEPH JR 268 8%
GOLOMBEK, JOSEPH JR Totals 3,304 100%
Office Totals 3,304 100%
TURN-OUT 19%

Office SOUTH COUNCIL MEMBER
PARTY 33 Districts out of 33 Reporting (100)% Votes Percent
0% of Absentee Ballots Counted
D KEARNS, MICHAEL P 4,730 84%
I KEARNS, MICHAEL P 402 7%
C KEARNS, MICHAEL P 479 9%
KEARNS, MICHAEL P Totals 5,611 100%
Office Totals 5,611 100%
TURN-OUT 31%

Office UNIVERSITY COUNCIL MEMBER
PARTY 31 Districts out of 31 Reporting (100)% Votes Percent
0% of Absentee Ballots Counted
D RUSSELL, BONNIE E 3,003 77%
R RUSSELL, BONNIE E 560 14%
I RUSSELL, BONNIE E 172 4%
C RUSSELL, BONNIE E 152 4%
RUSSELL, BONNIE E Totals 3,887 100%
Office Totals 3,887 100%
TURN-OUT 22%

based on the BOE as of 1:13 am 11/07/07

I walked 5 blocks to my polling place in the rain, wind & hail. It was about noon and I was number 46, which is a pretty good turn out (at that particular polling place in South Buffalo) so early in the day.

I made my votes. I won’t say for whom… but I voted.

Without knowing much about this state proposal, I voted “NO”. Its wording was unclear to the intentions of making such an Amendment.

In other points of interest on this Election Day, there was an awesome comment left on Buffalo Pundit’s blog. In reply to BP saying:

If you don’t vote, don’t bother complaining about taxes, politicians, spending, control boards, or just about anything we discuss on a pretty much daily basis on sites like this. If you don’t vote, you’re neither part of the solution, nor part of the problem. You have effectively disenfranchised yourself, in which case you might as well move to - I don’t know, Burma?

“Russell” wrote: The right to participate, or not participate, in the day-to-day affairs of the public realm is a better indicator of democracy. It does not begin or end on election day. What you do about your government and community tomorrow is just as important as what you do today.

It couldn’t have been said any better. The individual voter has their individual choices to make, and if that means no one at all, they still showed up at their polling place & pull the lever in other races. Someone actually tried bullying me into voting for one candidate, while another someone encouraged (strongly) to vote in the other direction then. I didn’t take a side…. instead I took a stand! By not voting for either, I made sure my vote was my choice.

Moving on it this round up…

Tonight, WNYMedia.net is going to be providing in-depth coverage along with streaming multimedia from downtown Buffalo.

Click HERE to follow along.

Last but not least, to Rus and Alan…. one last chance to wish you luck guys.

Click HERE & Join WNYmedia.net on Election night!

WNYmedia.net will providing in-depth coverage along with streaming multimedia from downtown Buffalo. Glenn Gramigna of New WNY Politics will join Chris Smith, Jim Ostrowski, Chris Byrd, Marc Odien, and Alan Bedenko at Democratic and Republican Headquarters.

It’s a tough choice for voters out there in Erie County. We have 2 candidates who show their good sides:

————–

And then we have their bad sides to consider:

————–

When you take all of this footage and ball it into one, it doesn’t leave much room for voters to decide. They have but 3 options: one) vote who they think is the best, two) choose the lesser of the two evils, or three) don’t vote at all.

I swiped this image off Chris Byrd’s blog so click here to give him props. This is what the election has turned into instead of the needs of the people in Erie County.

Anyways, those are just my thoughts for the day. Happy Halloween!

Now that it’s getting down to the wire, for some I can say best of luck to them.

Alan Bedenko & Rus Thompson, both long time bloggers, both very enchanting guys to know… and well-educated as well, both vying for Legislature seats in different districts, both with different ideas, yet both with the same focus of making Erie County a better place.

So on Election Day, if they are in your district, consider whichever for your new Erie County Legislator.