Published: October 30, 2009 02:19 am      

OUR VIEW: Incumbents worth supporting in county Legislature races

Kicking off the Union-Sun & Journal political endorsements for 2009 are the only two Legislature contests we have in eastern Niagara County. In the 7th District, incumbent Gerald Farnham is being challenged by Roger Chenez. In the 15th District incumbent Tony Nemi is being challenged by Scott R. Stopa.

Below you will find our opinion on each candidate and, in the summary, our choice on who we think will represent his constituents best.

7th Legislative District

Roger Chenez is making his second attempt in as many Legislative terms to unseat Gerald Farnham.

Chenez appeared to have his fight for pubic office misdirected. He made several claims of wrongdoing and things that need fixing at the state level. He’s running for the Niagara County Legislature.

He went so far as to mention Sen. George Maziarz several times. Again, if he wants to take on George Maziarz, run for state Senate, not the Legislature.

He’s apparently not clear on who he is running against.

Another complaint we have is he continues to associate himself with the question of Farnham’s residency. From everything that has come out, it’s obvious the claim from Chenez’s party is baseless. Like his opponent said, it’s a waste of taxpayer money to continue fighting a battle that has no merit.

If he’s willing to support spending taxpayer money in that fashion, we wonder what he would support having an actual seat on the Legislature.

In the end, when the interview was complete or nearly complete, he finally came up with an idea worth supporting — a park and ride transportation program set up in various locations around his district. It’s a great idea since it would mean less traffic, less emissions — you name it. Nice concept.

With Gerald Farnham, you know what you are getting. He’s not a flashy, stand up and make a long, drawn-out-speech-type of legislator. He works behind the scenes, serving on many committees getting his work done in a worker bee fashion.

What’s good is that like the other legislator we’ll endorse down below, you know what Farnham is fighting for. He’s fighting for his district first, but looking out for the best interests of the county.

He’s not out to fight state issues.

That being said, in our Legislature candidate endorsement interviews, we did hear complaints from the incumbents that the state mandates and costs handed down to the local leaders is way too much. So, while in one breath we’re saying the person running in this race needs to know what they are running for and who they are running against, we are also saying that the winner needs to pressure local state leaders when unacceptable mandates and bills start pouring in.

Bottom line: The winner’s job is to combat state mandates, but don’t run for the Legislature if you really should be running for a state seat.

Farnham also pitched the idea of central purchasing, which would cut wasteful spending and duplication. We’re all for that.

In the end, Farnham has done the work to keep him there. While some may say the whole Legislature is dysfunctional, we’re happy with what Farnham does for his district and the time he puts in ensuring his constituents are fairly represented.

Farnham gets our endorsement.

15th Legislative District

With Scott Stopa, a newcomer, you get a young, energetic individual who wants to stop the brain drain that is occurring with the youth of the area leaving for greener pastures. It’s something we’ve all heard, and many have also campaigned on. He couples that with a drive for more transparency as his reasons for running.

Two good causes, for sure.

But when questioned on how he plans to keep the youngsters here and how he would make the Legislature more transparent, he had very few tangible ideas. He was short on specifics.

Giving Stopa a scenario where his run for office was likened to a job interview, we asked him what homework he has done on the position, the budget he was about to take on and more.

Stopa was short on research. He said he keeps up with the Legislature through newspaper reports — which does win him some points. His work as a lawyer brings him to the courthouse to look up real estate transactions. His wife works in the city assessor’s office, so he’s got some idea of how assessments work. But if that’s the only homework he has done, he’s not ready.

He said he hasn’t gotten his hands on the county budget, but his opponent said it is readily available online.

Give him credit for voicing his frustration. If no one ever steps up and fights, how would we ever see change. Rarely do you see someone 30 years old running for office, so kudos for that.

He needs to get more involved by attending meetings, learning the ins and outs of the Legislature and what works and what doesn’t, be a productive thorn in their side for a while before running.

He used a line that many newcomers use: “I can’t really answer that until I get there and see how everything works.” That’s OK, to a point, but it’s not an umbrella statement. The so-called three minute crowd has a wealth of knowledge and evidence of what goes on within the Legislature and they aren’t elected officials. Like any good attorney, he needs to arm himself with the same evidence and expertise before applying for this job.

We didn’t know what to expect from Tony Nemi when we endorsed him two years ago, but he has shown, like Farnham, that the district comes first and the county as a whole, second.

Early in his tenure he relieved the City of Lockport of paying taxes to the county on a waterline that runs from here to North Tonawanda, with the money instead directed to an account that would in part help keep the infrastructure sound.

Since then he has kept the AnJo fields going strong with a local baseball tournament that saw 140 teams come through Lockport, spending tourism dollars at every turn.

He directed casino cash to the Historic Palace Theatre. Money that could have gone to other areas was kept here.

Unfortunately for all of us, Nemi reveals that he has to play the politics game to get votes for projects he has in Lockport. That means this Independence Party incumbent has to caucus with the majority, to make getting votes an easier task. From time to time he has to “dance with the devil” if he needs support for projects that will benefit Lockport, which again, is a sign of a broken political system, not a shot at Nemi’s allegiances.

It’s a game we wish didn’t exist, and can’t endorse, but while it’s around, we need a guy willing to do what he can for the votes that help our part of the map.

A sign that he may want to reconsider his “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” voting record is the non-support from his fellow legislators on moving county offices to the old Harrison Building on Walnut. He and fellow Lockportian W. Keith McNall stood alone on that one.

He, too, was open to transparency, and offered specifics on how to get to that end with longer speaking times. He added that the bread and butter of what’s being voted on happens in committee meetings. Those are open to the public, but happen before the cameras start rolling and everyone convenes in the Legislature chambers. Breaking those committee meetings out so that more can see the discussion would be an idea he’d pitch.

Nemi has done a good job so far, and we’re here to support him for another two years. Nemi gets our backing, but we’d love for Stopa to stay involved and bring some of his young, energetic friends with him.

Downsizing

Our Editorial Board is in complete support of downsizing the Legislature from 19 to 15, as posed on this year’s ballot. When some say residents will not get representation, we had Nemi verbalize what we were already thinking. He said he gets very few calls from constituents as it is, so representation of more because of fewer politicians shouldn’t be too difficult. Yes, the savings isn’t huge, but reducing the chaos of 19 opinions and personalities is worth its weight in gold.