Bohen Shocks Burke in Special Election

In a choking feat of Hillary Clinton-like proportions, Erie County Legislator Pat Burke was defeated by Special Education teacher Erik Bohen in last week's Special Election for NY State Assembly. Despite having name recognition, broad union support and money, and a huge Democratic enrollment advantage in the district, the heavily favored Burke somehow managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I'm not saying some of his supporters were arrogant, but here's the first comment I got on Facebook when I wrote an article a few months ago describing Bohen's potential for an upset...

As anyone who received one of Burke's 80,000 direct mailings can attest, the State Teacher's Union broke the bank in an unsuccessful effort to elect their puppet. Rumor has it, the 500 votes Burke lost by were the 500 Erie County mailmen who had to carry his literature to people's mailboxes every 1-2 days for the month prior to the election. They must've spent a fortune! And in none of those countless mailings did Burke once say anything about the pay raises Andrew Cuomo is trying to bestow upon the current legislators in Albany. In this case, the more astute voters realized silence equals compliance. Burke wants nothing more than to be in Albany, cozying up to Cuomo and the Manhattan elite. Bohen did speak out against it and the people took notice. If Bohen continues to speak out publicly against these raises, I believe he would garner even more support from the voters.

Erie County Democratic Chairman Jeremy Zellner must be scratching his head over who to support this Fall (when the seat becomes open once again). Will he make the same mistake twice and pump thousands of dollars and resources into a candidate whose liberal beliefs are clearly out of  step with the views of the majority of people in the district? Here's Pat Burke praising Socialist Bernie Sanders in a 2016 photo...

Or will Zellner go to his bullpen and back Lackawanna Mayor Geoffrey Syzmanski, who is rumored to be salivating at the prospect of running for the seat? If not, I wonder if Syzmanski will challenge Burke anyway in September. Syzmanski should also know there are other South Buffalo Democrats willing to enter the primary, too. This could only help his chances of defeating Burke and getting his shot at Bohen.

Other notes about the election...

-The Editorial Board at The Buffalo News lived up to it's out of touch reputation with their endorsement of Burke. Here's an actual photo of Burke receiving the endorsement, otherwise known as the  Hoity Toity Kiss of Death...

Because South Buffalo residents really care about the opinion of the nameless, faceless suits from Williamsville and Clarence, who have no clue as to what's going on in our neighborhood. I have respect for a few of the reporters there, who do a good job. However, the Editorial Board does them a disservice by exposing how out of touch they are, every time there's an election.

-The Burke-Bohen race exposed a huge faction between South Buffalo voters and left a bad taste in the mouths of many. Nobody likes to see such divisiveness and animosity. Except me, of course... This split could really hurt Burke's reelection chances should another South Buffalo resident decide to run against him for his County seat. Given the fact that the district is 2/3 in Cheektowaga, this could open the door for a Polish Democrat to send Burke back to bar-tending school should he/she choose to run. A three person race would almost guarantee this result. 

-Bohen was able to pull out the victory despite receiving the endorsement of Mickey Kearns. Fortunately for Bohen, most voters are still being fooled by Tricky Mickey and aren't onto him just yet. Check your watch.

-City Comptroller Mark Schroeder stuck out his neck for Burke. This can not sit well with Bohen's South Buffalo base. Bohen just recently was one of Schroeder's key strategists in his unsuccessful mayoral bid. To be fair, Burke did support Schroader also and is a fellow Democrat. However, I have a feeling some Bohen supporters wish Schroeder would have stayed neutral like every other South Buffalo elected Democratic official. Personally, I give him credit for taking a side, albeit the wrong one. It just goes to show that things aren't always as they seem. As Tip O'Neill once said, "If you want a friend in politics, get a dog."

-Speaking of which, the Democratic Chairman as well as Burke's supporters cannot be happy with the lack of support he received from fellow Democrats Chris Scanlon and Tim Kennedy. Especially with the results being so close. Their silence was a tacit endorsement of Bohen.

-Stay tuned in the coming months. It's going to be a battle in September and/or November for this seat. Candidates, this post will reach thousands in the district.  I'm only one phone call/text/email away if you want to let me know why you should be the next State Assemblyman and what you plan on doing to lower taxes and help the working poor in the district. I know you'll see this message. If I don't hear from you, that's a clear indication to me that you aren't concerned with the needs of the non-union working class vote. *

-Go forth and sin no more!



*If you'd like to see this article reach thousands of like minded residents, please help me to make it a sponsored post on Facebook. I've been doing this with other articles and the number of people it reaches is impressive. However, because I'm part of the non-entitled working poor, it's difficult to spend money promoting my articles. I'm soliciting small donations to help pay for this to go into every home in the district. A PayPal donation below of $1, $2, or $5 will go a long way towards making sure it reaches the intended audience. Thank you.

Anyone over the age of 40 in WNY will remember the name of Judge John Curtin. Chances are, they or someone they know were adversely affected by his ridiculous pie in the sky views on desegregating the Buffalo Public Schools in the 70s and 80s. There are liberals and there are conservatives and then there are outright kooks. Ask anyone who was bused from their neighborhood school across the city to an unfamiliar environment against their will in the 1980s. They will tell you Judge Curtin fell into the latter category. 

Curtin's asinine busing decisions caused families to flee the city to the suburbs in droves from the late 70s on. The end result? Kindergartners forced to get up at 6AM to be shipped off to other parts of the city. Not to return home until after 4:30 or later. Their families were greatly inconvenienced and the whole idea of neighborhood schools was destroyed. And, oh by the way, the white flight to the suburbs caused the schools to be become even more segregated than ever before! Failed social experiment. Despite overwhelming evidence that busing schoolchildren half way across the city was ludicrous, Judge Curtin continued on with his Utopian pipe dream. Of course, he himself lived in the whitest/wealthiest part of the city the rest of his life. Apparently, integration was important to him as long as he didn't have to live in a diverse neighborhood.

Pretty much anyone in WNY with any common sense will remember Judge Curtin as the one man who single-handily destroyed public education in the city of Buffalo. Apparently, everyone except Assembly candidate Pat Burke. Here's how he remembered Curtin on his Facebook page last year after his death...

Seriously. Before you vote on April 24th, please remember that Patrick Burke is reading this article right now and has no idea that 90% of his potential constituency did not see Judge Curtin as  "a truly great man." Would Burke tell friends of mine who were randomly forced out of their neighborhood schools because of the color of their skin, how great Judge Curtin was? I think he'd be surprised by their responses.

Erik Bohen is campaigning against corporate welfare and government handouts. He is willing to stand up to governor Cuomo and has the common sense necessary to lead our area. He is a Democrat who has chosen to challenge Burke on the Republican line. Because it is a Special Election, there could be no Democratic Primary for Bohen to challenge Burke. Regardless of your party affiliation, I'd ask you to talk to anyone regarding Erik Bohen's community involvement as well as his leadership/organizational skills. If you lean to the extreme far Left and think Judge Curtin's busing experiment was awesome, Burke is your man. If you have common sense and view things with an open mind and consider yourself moderate or conservative (99% of you), Erik Bohen is the clear choice on April 24th. 

Bohen Gaining Momentum in Race for Assembly

If lawn signs are any indication, candidate Erik Bohen has gained great momentum in the race to succeed former Assemblyman Michael Kearns, whose tenure in Albany can only be described as underwhelming.

Despite the old adage that "signs don't vote", there is no doubt that the number of Bohen supporters in high voter areas is greater than expected. Bohen's support comes from his years of community involvement and his reputation as a hard worker and intelligent leader. I'm told his events have been packed with supporters from both political parties. With this type of bipartisan support, I believe he has a great chance in the April special election.

In a shameless attempt to grab headlines, his opponent, Pat Burke is pretending to take on the Erie County Water Authority. As is usually the case with politicians, it's not what it appears to be. The Water Authority is being run by criminals from both political parties. These lowlifes were all given their jobs with the blessings of their respective party chairmen. Many are big donors. Pat Burke is trying to portray himself as a champion for all taxpayers, yet he is only willing to go after the Republican crooks. He completely ignores the crooks from his own party. If Burke were sincere, he'd vote against the handpicked candidate of the Democratic Party Chairman and speak out publicly against the practice of party chairmen essentially appointing one of their friends to the position of Erie County Water Authority Executive Director. I  guarantee he will not vote against the political crony they hand pick, because that crony is from his party. A true reformer would not support this type of corruption and would be calling for hearings to change the selection process.

If you  have not met candidate Erik Bohen, I encourage you to look at his background and record of community service. He is a Democrat who was snubbed by the local Democrats in exchange for Burke, who County Executive Poloncarz and Democratic Chairman Jeremy Zellner know will do their bidding. Because there are no primaries in Special Elections, Bohen chose to accept the Republican and Conservative support. His family's deep history with Labor Unions give him instant support from both sides of the aisle. It is this community involvement and bipartisan support that has many people Goin' with Bohen.

*(Update: Career political donor Mark Carney was appointed as the new commissioner of the Erie County Water Authority. As I predicted in the article, Pat Burke voted to appoint Carney, despite his obvious political ties and lack of qualifications. The lone dissenting vote came from Amherst Democrat Thomas Loughran who called the proceedings a "joke." If you vote for Burke on April 24th, expect this same type of rubber stamping cowardice every time it supports Andrew Cuomo's agenda. He will undoubtedly act as a shill for Cuomo.)

http://buffalonews.com/2018/03/15/carney-appointed-to-water-authority-lone-dissenter-calls-vote-a-joke/


http://buffalonews.com/2018/03/14/water-authority-candidate-withdraws-citing-highly-political-setup/

Assembly Race turning into a Free-For-All?

The race to succeed Assemblyman Michael Kearns could be turning into a free for all. At least two candidates from South Buffalo have expressed interest with others considering jumping in.

There has been no formal announcement regarding a special election yet. However, the Democrats appear to be leaning towards Patrick Burke. Unfortunately for Burke, someone forgot to tell him his liberal political leanings are out of step with the majority of the constituents in the district.

Local Special Education teacher Erik Bohen has also announced plans to hold an election party, despite the fact that the election itself hasn't been announced. He's very popular with the South Buffalo clique, however his relationship with Carl Paladino (Bohen has managed his school board campaigns) won't win him any support from his fellow teachers or other unions for that matter.

Chris Scanlon's name has been mentioned as well, but I don't see him running as anything other than a Democrat, and that nod appears to be going to Burke.

I've also spoken to several people and am exploring the possibility of a run for this seat. I've run the youth soccer leagues for the past 28 years, become close to thousands of families, and have friends on every street in the district. Also, the idea of running as an Independent candidate intrigues me as I believe young people are fed up with the two existing parties and not afraid to look at a 3rd option. Also, a 3rd South Buffalo candidate might open the door for the Lackawanna Mayor or someone from West Seneca/Orchard Park to jump in. The more the merrier! South Buffalo's political leadership (including Patrick Burke) haven't been in my corner when I needed their help. This will be a great opportunity to let them know they need to respect the people in the district who actually get things done.

As soon as an election date is announced, I'll be reaching out to my friends to see who is with me. My enemies can go piss up a rope and support Burke or Bohen for all I care. Burke is a pawn for County Executive Mark Poloncarz and Democratic Party boss Jeremy Zellner. Bohen is the same for Carl Paladino and Republican Party boss Nick Langworthy.

Hopefully,  Lackawanna Mayor Syzmanski will avoid making any deals and jump right into the action. A free for all is just what this district needs. Why let the party bosses choose the next representative? We all know the direction they've led us down. I envision this election resembling something like the picture below. Let's get it on!