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It’s time to continue the conversation and the change that you started.

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For the better part of two years, I have watched and witnessed the current council as it sits now. I have seen certain members try to push public agendas that would help the greater good and benefit the city as a whole. I’ve also unfortunately, witnessed those pushing private agendas without any care of how detrimental the collateral damage could be. Here’s the truth as I see it.

My wife and I as we were making our departure from Europe decided to return to Batavia. We believe to this day that it is an amazing place to raise our family! We also have an amazing sense of community pride, which is just one of the reasons that I have been involved in many different organizations here. I have not done this for any kind of personal gain, except for the satisfaction that I could make a difference. You see, I was raised by the mantra: “Do something or Shut up” from two very stern parents; one Italian, one Irish. They believed, as I do now, that the only way you’re going to make it in this world, is by putting your hands to the plow and working to get it done. Well that’s why I’m running for office; plain and simple. I don’t like the way things work now. It makes no sense how we prioritize our finances and how afraid we are to change it.



Unfortunately it took a horrific budget gap for us to be willing to consider that change was needed. The council took action behind the leadership of a man, who many have called a radical, Charlie Mallow. Love him or hate him, he did the one thing that so many former and currently sitting members never did; he started the conversation.  He accepted the fact that people would hate him for saying what he felt and that some of his ideas would be smashed to the ground. Yet he said it and did as much as he could in during his time on Council. Now, this isn’t some ringing love note for Mr. Mallow, but a reality check of the past two years. Hard choices were made to right the ship, but now it’s time to fix the hull once and for all. We have to continue the conversation by continuing to move on and act on tough decisions.  

We also have to include you in on the process! That’s right, it’s time to stop just having talks in private rooms behind closed door, but to put them out to the open floor and let government work for the people of Batavia. Charlie Mallow asked me to run and take his place because; he believed I was strong enough to continue this conversation. Now it’s our turn.

You want to create jobs in Batavia? Then you have to cut the waste out off our city budget so that you can lower the cost to actually run a business in our city.  You want to improve neighborhoods? Than we have to sharpen our focus on holding these absentee “business” owners to their commitments while still protecting the personal liberties and freedoms of our citizens. You want a more open government? Then we have to get council over itself and publically print every council agenda before each meeting for every citizen that wants it! We have to put tough decisions to special votes and let us all collectively decide our fate! Most importantly, you have to vote! Speak with that voice as loud as you can.

Lastly, do you want to cut taxes? Then understand that we have to right size our service levels to do that. Notice I didn’t say eliminate! I’m not one of these extremist that buys into the “ALL OR NOTHING!” way of governing. There are practical and pragmatic ways to achieve a balance! I’m not going to sit here and promise you that I can bring about a zero tax rate in Batavia, but we should be able to roll the recent increases back. Give back the money that was ripped from our pockets just to play catch up! Achieving that though is going to take some tough decisions.

Over the next few weeks I will put out a plan to each of these points. They will be collective ideas from me and also those who I have been asking for advice and guidance along the way. You may like some, hate others. That's great! Let the conversation continue! WE CAN DO THIS! I know we can. If I didn’t believe it with my whole heart, I wouldn’t say it.  We can make Batavia better. No, even more, we can make Batavia the kind of place that every city in New York State dreams of becoming.

Why not? We can do it!

Respectfully,

Phil Ricci
Candidate, Councilman-at-Large

It’s time to continue the conversation and the change that you started

By

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My wife and I as we were making our departure from Europe decided to return to Batavia. We believe to this day that it is an amazing place to raise our family! We also have an amazing sense of community pride, which is just one of the reasons that I have been involved in many different organizations here. I have not done this for any kind of personal gain, except for the satisfaction that I could make a difference. You see, I was raised by the mantra: “Do something or Shut up” from two very stern parents; one Italian, one Irish. They believed, as I do now, that the only way you’re going to make it in this world, is by putting your hands to the plow and working to get it done. Well that’s why I’m running for office; plain and simple. I don’t like the way things work now. It makes no sense how we prioritize our finances and how afraid we are to change it.

 

Unfortunately it took a horrific budget gap for us to be willing to consider that change was needed. The council took action behind the leadership of a man, who many have called a radical, Charlie Mallow. Love him or hate him, he did the one thing that so many former and currently sitting members never did; he started the conversation.  He accepted the fact that people would hate him for saying what he felt and that some of his ideas would be smashed to the ground. Yet he said it and did as much as he could in during his time on Council. Now, this isn’t some ringing love note for Mr. Mallow, but a reality check of the past two years. Hard choices were made to right the ship, but now it’s time to fix the hull once and for all. We have to continue the conversation by continuing to move on and act on tough decisions.  

 

We also have to include you in on the process! That’s right, it’s time to stop just having talks in private rooms behind closed door, but to put them out to the open floor and let government work for the people of Batavia. Charlie Mallow asked me to run and take his place because; he believed I was strong enough to continue this conversation. Now it’s our turn.

You want to create jobs in Batavia? Then you have to cut the waste out off our city budget so that you can lower the cost to actually run a business in our city.  You want to improve neighborhoods? Than we have to sharpen our focus on holding these absentee “business” owners to their commitments while still protecting the personal liberties and freedoms of our citizens. You want a more open government? Then we have to get council over itself and publically print every council agenda before each meeting for every citizen that wants it! We have to put tough decisions to special votes and let us all collectively decide our fate! Most importantly, you have to vote! Speak with that voice as loud as you can.

 

Lastly, do you want to cut taxes? Then understand that we have to right size our service levels to do that. Notice I didn’t say eliminate! I’m not one of these extremist that buys into the “ALL OR NOTHING!” way of governing. There are practical and pragmatic ways to achieve a balance! I’m not going to sit here and promise you that I can bring about a zero tax rate in Batavia, but we should be able to roll the recent increases back. Give back the money that was ripped from our pockets just to play catch up! Achieving that though is going to take some tough decisions.

Over the next few weeks I will put out a plan to each of these points. They will be collective ideas from me and also those who I have been asking for advice and guidance along the way. You may like some, hate others. That's great! Let the conversation continue! WE CAN DO THIS! I know we can. If I didn’t believe it with my whole heart, I wouldn’t say it.  We can make Batavia better. No, even more, we can make Batavia the kind of place that every city in New York State
dreams of becoming.

 

Why not? We can do it!


Respectfully,
Phil Ricci
Candidate, Councilman-at-Large

 

Former school board member Radley gets GOP nod for District 7

By Howard B. Owens

Robert Radley, an engineer who previously served on the Batavia School Board, will be the GOP candidate for District 6 7 of the County Legislature, according to WBTA.

The county Republicans have yet to select a candidate for District 7, Radley will be a candidate for the seat now held by John Hodgins, who is retiring at the end of his current term.

Also getting GOP backing are incumbents Don Read for County Clerk and Lawrence Friedman for District Attorney.

Of 105 Genesee County GOP committee members, 78 attended the endorsement meeting last night.
 

Christopher Charvella says he's running for 8th district of County Legislature

By Howard B. Owens

We just received this as a press release:

Dear Neighbor;

My name is Christopher Charvella and I would like to take this  opportunity to announce my candidacy for Genesee County Legislature in the  8th District. I grew up in Genesee County and after serving our country for  six years in the United States Air Force I decided to bring my wife back to  Batavia so we could begin our life together in the place I love so much. We  recently had our first child, a girl, and it is my goal to make Genesee 
County a place where she can grow and flourish.

Sadly, our area is in decline. We are facing a multitude of problems: empty  storefronts on Main Street, an unemployment rate at nearly 9% and climbing,  and a local government that seems incapable of coming up with real solutions.  We have watched businesses close their doors or leave town. We have seen  County bids and purchases go to companies that aren’t even based in New  York State and our stagnant Legislature has been a part of the problem  instead of being a part of the solution. It is time for us to change the way  we do business at a local level.

I pledge to bring balance, oversight and transparency to our local  government. When elected I will immediately offer legislation that will open  the County bid process to all qualified local contractors and distributors,  set up a County website that tracks exactly where your tax dollars go and  make County Legislature and Committee meetings accessible to working people.  Together we can bring an end to the ‘rubber stamp’ legislative  environment that has plagued us for so long.

I’m looking forward to meeting you in person as I walk the District over  the next few months. Feel free to stop me on the street and let me know how I  can make Genesee County a better place for you and your family. I am  committed to working hard for the 8th District and all of Genesee County and  I am looking forward to earning your vote and working for you over the next  two years.

Sincerely,

Christopher M. Charvella

Wednesday's election matches up murder suspect against incumbent

By Brian Hillabush

When Scott Doll was arrested for the alleged murder of 66-year old Joseph Benaquist in Pembroke a few weeks back, it was at a time while he was preparing to run for mayor of Corfu.

Doll, who entered a not guilty plea on Tuesday, remains on the ballot because it was too late for the Republican party to take him of the ticket. Doll's family owned a supermarket in the village for years and he had only recently moved back to Corfu. He has no prior experience in government.

The only Genesee County village to hold an election on Wednesday is Corfu, so Doll is in jail and will make news for two reasons on that day. He is scheduled for a bail hearing, but will also be a choice for voters as he will be facing incumbent Todd Skeet in the election.

The Buffalo News today previews the Corfu elections, while also noting that Bergen, Elba, Le Roy and Oakfield do not hold elections this year while Alexander will be holding a meeting-type election in April.

A Closer Look at the Numbers: Genesee County Election Totals — Specifics

By Philip Anselmo

For those of you who want the numbers for all the races across the county, in all the municipalities, you can download the complete report here. For those of you looking for the specific breakdown in the vote for president in the city of Batavia, we've extracted those numbers for you. Adding up the totals for every municipality is much more of a tedious and consuming task than we had at first assumed, so we've scrapped the original plan of detailing all the race counts. Further, for the city, I've only tallied the counts for the Democrats and Republicans, since the others were negligible. Nader/Gonzalez drew the most of any of the other tickets, and they only pulled 16 at most per ward.

City of Batavia election results totals (by Ward):

Ward 1:

  • Obama/Biden = 535 votes
  • McCain/Palin = 704 votes

Ward 2:

  • Obama/Biden = 501 votes
  • McCain/Palin = 521 votes

Ward 3:

  • Obama/Biden = 431 votes
  • McCain/Palin = 421 votes

Ward 4:

  • Obama/Biden = 568 votes
  • McCain/Palin = 585 votes

Ward 5:

  • Obama/Biden = 384 votes
  • McCain/Palin = 345 votes

Ward 6:

  • Obama/Biden = 404 votes
  • McCain/Palin = 379 votes

In total, Obama/Biden pulled 2,823 votes in the city. McCain/Palin drew 2,955. (Please forgive me if I made any calculation errors, though I think everything should be correct.)

News roundup: High voter turnout

By Philip Anselmo

Despite high voter turnout for the elections Tuesday, Genesee County did not break its record of 74 percent from four years ago, according to WBTA's Dan Fischer. Seventy-one percent of registered voters made it out to the polls in this county.

Newly-elected state Sen. Mike Ranzenhofer told Fischer that the voters of Genesee County gave him the edge to beat Democrat Joe Mesi and take over the seat in the 61st District that will be vacated when Sen. Mary Lou Rath retires at the end of her term.

Democrats take control in Albany

By Philip Anselmo

Voters in Genesee County may have proved last night that this is still GOP country. Republicans won the day pretty much across the board here. Nevertheless, Democrats made the greater strides across the state—and across the nation—and are poised to seize all of the reins in Albany for the first time in nearly a century.

From the Democrat & Chronicle this morning:

Democrats captured control of the state Senate on Tuesday for the first time in more than 40 years, knocking off at least two Republican incumbent senators.

A third Republican incumbent was locked in a tight race at press time.

If the results hold up, the Senate next year will have 32 Democrats and 30 Republicans. That will give Democrats control of every statewide office and both houses of the Legislature for the first time since the Great Depression.

Republican leaders blamed their loss on the Barack Obama landslide.

Whatever the "Republican leaders" point to as the reason for their loss, that finger ought eventually to come back around at themselves, for they surely had a hand in their own defeat. I'm still amazed that Chris Lee beat out Democrat Alice Kryzan in the 26th Congressional District, even though Lee shunned all press appearances and seemed to make no real visible effort to get out the vote, relying instead on attack ads to win him the spot.

Where do you think the blame lies, if anywhere? Do you think the state will benefit or be hurt by the new majority control in Albany?

Quick Look: How Genesee County Voted

By Philip Anselmo

On a cursory glance over the election result totals for Genesee County released earlier this morning, it looks as if county residents followed pretty closely along the major voting lines sketched out last night. In other words, the county, as did its greater districts, remained for the most part Republican. As Legislator Jay Grasso predicted yesterday afternoon, Genesee County remained a "red county"—even in its support of the McCain/Palin ticket.

Sen. John McCain was the clear favorite in this county, pulling in 14,573 votes, compared with the 10,029 levers pulled for President Elect Barack Obama. Most of the McCain supporters came from the towns and villages, but he did pick up a majority in the city of Batavia, as well (2,955 to Obama's 2,823).

We've got the complete numbers for how each municipality voted in the county. We can get into more detail later today, if folks are interested.

Ranzenhofer will represent the 61st

By Philip Anselmo

We're still waiting on the final numbers in the race for the 61st State Senate District. With 85 percent of the districts reporting in Erie County, however, Republican Mike Ranzenhofer looks set to claim victory in his contest with Democrat Joe Mesi. Ranzenhofer pulled 49,870 votes in that county. Mesi received 44,183 votes.

We got Ranzenhofer on the phone a few minutes ago to get his thoughts on the victory.

"It feels great. I'm very exicted about having the opportunity to represent the people of Genesee and Erie counties and go to Albany and solve some of these very severe problems, these financial problems. I'm looking forward to getting to work and rolling up my sleeves and getting started.

"In my speech tonight, I congratulated Joe on a well-run, hard-fought, close race. Joe was a gentleman."

What is the first item on your agenda upon arriving in Albany?

"I have no first agenda item. I have a couple of items of dealing with the lack of economic opportunities and jobs in this area. My first order of business is to propose legilslation to cut taxes across the board. I will try to relieve some of the burdens and regulations placed on small businesses."

For more about Ranzenhofer's thoughts on dealing with the state's financial woes, please check out our video interview with Ranzenhofer that was posted last week.

Election Results: Genesee County

By Philip Anselmo

Genesee County saw a couple of very tight races tonight.

Republican Michael Davis beat out Democrat Lawrence Stabell for the open seat on the Darien Town Board by a margin of 68 votes (677 to 609)—a third candidate, Conservative Richard Wurl, picked up 43 votes.

The race was even closer in Le Roy, but Democrat Thomas Stella held onto his seat on the Town Board. He beat out Republican Robert Taylor Jr. by a margin of 62 votes (1,468 to 1,406).

Republicans Donald Coleman and Robert Youngfleisch retained their positions as Genesee County coroners, beating out newcomer Nicole Brady, who ran on the Conservative line. Coleman and Youngfleisch pulled 11,016 and 12,014 votes, respectively. Brady received 4,389 votes.

Kryzan concedes 26th to Lee (Updated)

By Philip Anselmo

It looks like Republican Chris Lee will win the day in the 26th Congressional District. With 498 of 631 districts reporting, Lee has pulled 106,168. Kryzan landed 77,900. CNN reports that Genesee County voters followed pretty cleanly along those lines: 6,718 of county residents pulled the lever for Lee; 3,603 for Kryzan. (Those seem to be the only numbers yet available for Genesee County. We expect a fax from the county Board of Elections within the hour.)

We're waiting on word from the Lee camp. We'll be sure to pass along a statement from that campaign when we get it.

(Update - 11:36pm): We've received a statement from Lee on his victory.

"Tonight we are one step closer to getting Western New York and our country back on track.

"We are now going to take to Washington our agenda of job creation, lowering taxes and making government more accountable.

"What has brought me here tonight has truly been a team effort – I owe a debt of gratitude to the dedicated group who helped run this campaign, to the incredible number of volunteers and the more than 1,300 supporters who invested their resources into our message. I am grateful to my family for their love and support. They have been incredible.

"My career has been solely in private sector these past 20 years. I will bring a much needed voice to Washington as someone who knows how difficult it is to earn a dollar and will therefore be a much better steward of your hard-earned tax dollars.

"This is a victory worth celebrating – but we certainly have our work cut out for us, and I will need your help and support in the months ahead."

Election Results: Updated (All Counties)

By Philip Anselmo

We've still got plenty of precincts that have yet to report, but in many races, we're past the half way point and we're looking at growing leads for Republicans Mike Ranzenhofer and Chris Lee. Ranzenhofer leads Democrat Joe Mesi 29,049 to 27,483 in Erie County. Lee leads Kryzan 78,301 to 57,615 throughout the district, according to the Democrat & Chronicle.

Election Results: Initial numbers (Erie)

By Philip Anselmo

Election results are startin to come in from Erie County—we will likely have to wait until after 10 o'clock to hear about the results out of Genesee County.

In Erie, Republican Mike Ranzenhofer leads Democrat Joe Mesi in the 61st State Senate District by a very slim margin of 107 votes and two percentage points. Republican Chris Lee leads Democrat Alice Kryzan in the 26th Congressional District by a margin of 135 votes. That's especially unfortunate for Kryzan as Jon Powers pulled exactly that many votes on the Working Families line, though Powers stands no chance to win the race, having lost the Democratic nod to Kryzan in the primary.

Totals in the race for the 61st are from about 10 percent of the districts reporting. Those for the 26th are from about 6 percent.

We will post more results as they come in. In addition to Genesee County, we're also waiting on results for Wyoming, Monroe and Livingston counties.

(Update - 9:47pm): Rochester's Democrat & Chronicle has some more comprehensive numbers up. Nothing from Monroe or Genesee. Yet, they show Lee with a more significant lead over Kryzan right now, 19,490 and 13,992 respectively. The gap in Erie County also seems to be growing.With 24 percent of the precincts reporting there, Kryzan has a total of 8,832 to Lee's 9,377.

Video: Voting for the first time

By Philip Anselmo

We tried to catch some first-time voters as they came out of the polls today in Batavia. Unfortunately, we only ran into a handful of them, and only three were willing to chat with us on camera. All three of them were girls, and all three voted Democrat, at least in the presidential election. Here's what they had to say:

Video: Alice Kryzan

By Philip Anselmo

While we were down at the Democratic headquarters this afternoon, 26th Congressional Candidate Alice Kryzan, who was stopping by on her tour across the district throughout the day. We asked Kryzan how the day had gone and what she saw on the campaign trail.

Video: Republicans vs. Democrats

By Philip Anselmo

Earlier today, we stopped by the Genesee County Democratic and Republican headquarters in Batavia to see how the campaigns were doing as we come down the stretch. It couldn't have worked out better, as we ran into everybody's favorite Democrat Dan Jones and everybody's favorite Republican Jay Grasso.

Here's what they had to say about how hard they're working and why their side will win tonight. Who sounds more convincing?

Batavia voters out in force

By Brian Hillabush

While these elections haven't really captured my attention, I always like to know what is going on around town. I went out to visit a few polling stations in the city (Holland Land Office, Robert Morris, YMCA) and for an early afternoon while most people are still at work, there was a decent turnout.

I talked with a lot of people about the importance of doing their duty as Americans and making that vote. Many of the people were very passionate about that.

Some of the volunteers I spoke with said that the early morning saw a ton of Batavians out voting and they expect it to be swamped after people get out of work.

Anonymous anti-Kryzan flier arrives on doorsteps in the 26th this morning

By Philip Anselmo

The battle between Democrat Alice Kryzan and Republican Chris Lee for the 26th Congressional District is entering the ninth inning, and the someone from the GOP opposition has called in a pinch hitter. There's only one problem, the slugger won't tell us his name.

The Kryzan campaign is alleging that an anti-Kryzan flier that has been arriving on doorsteps in Amherst this morning is illegal. In fact, campaign spokesperson Anne Wadsworth told us that the campaign crew that arrived at the volunteer center in Amherst at 5:30 this morning found a flier waiting for them. They have not yet gathered how many have gone out, nor how widely distributed they are, but we should find out more as the day goes on.

"Telling lies about Alice's record is nothing new for Chris Lee and his supporters," said Wadsworth. "But to put this out on election day is a continuation of the smear campaign they've been running. We know that Chris Lee has problems with ethics, but this effort by his supporters to mislead voters today—of all days—shows blatant disregard for the election laws and the truth."

A representative of the campaign for Chris Lee told us that they were not aware of any such fliers being distributed. We're waiting on an official statement from them that should come later this morning.

Genesee County Democratic Elections Commissioner Dawn Cassidy told us that if the flier were placed in a mailbox, the activity would certainly be illegal. Also, if it's a paid advertisement—negative or not—whoever paid for it has to say so on the flier.

However, says Cassidy, "if someone's running off Xerox copies from home, I don't know how we can track it down. ... If they put it in a mailbox and there's no postage, that's a problem. But still, I don't know how we can stop that."

Have you heard of any last ditch attempts to sway the vote that don't seem so kosher? Send us your reports of any potential problem you encounter at the polls, at home or at work today. We'll be sure to get them right up on our site.

Final voter registration numbers released

By Howard B. Owens

The NY Department of Elections has release final voter registration totals for 2008 (PDF).

In Genesee County

Republican 15,816 Democrat 9,443 Independent 1,419 Conservative 775 Working Families 149 Green 72 Libertarian 11 Blank 7,164

In the 26th Congressional District:

Republican 166,048 Democrat 134,148 Independent 16,499 Conservative 8,761 Working Families 1,512 Green 967 Libertarian 93 Blank 86,128

 

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