Tag: Politics

Nov 20

2025

Niagara Falls mayor admits ‘ignoring’ media requests for info

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Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino. In his latest update from inside Niagara Falls City Hall, Mayor Robert Restaino once again donned his newspaper publisher’s cap to tell the Niagara Gazette what stories it should be printing and to tell residents his administration is not refusing the local news outlet’s requests for public information but is rather just ignoring them. Restaino, a former city court judge removed from the bench for misconduct, justified this flouting of state Freedom of Information law by citing his frustration with the newspaper’s choice of stories. In a message published on his office’s YouTube channel, Restaino accused[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Nov 5

2025

Ryan wins, Democrats sweep Cheektowaga

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Erie County Democrats had plenty to celebrate Tuesday night. It was no surprise that the party’s nominee for Buffalo mayor, Sean Ryan prevailed, beating two opponents with more than 70 percent of the vote. Nor was it a surprise that incumbent Erie County Comptroller Kevin Hardwick won reelection, beating Republican and Conservative nominee Christine Czarnik by nearly 18 percentage points. The real wins for Democrats were outside the city. Tonight: Our event on ICE and immigration in WNY In Cheektowaga, the party’s candidates swept every race, winning back the majority on the town council by unseating two Republican and Conservative[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Oct 29

2025

Voters have limited choices in next week’s elections

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There are 150 elected offices on the ballot in Erie County next week. Fewer than half of those races are contested. Little wonder voter engagement is so low. In countywide elections, there are 21 jobs up for grabs: all 11 seats on the legislature, eight judgeships, the office of comptroller and sheriff. (Two of those judgeships are on the state Supreme Court, Eighth Judicial District, which includes eight counties, including Erie.)  Voters have a choice between candidates in only six races — for comptroller and five legislative seats. The candidates for judge are all cross-endorsed by multiple parties, and there[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Oct 28

2025

Gardner spends big on mayor’s race

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James Gardner, the Republican candidate for Buffalo mayor, has spent close to $400,000 of his own money on his campaign in the past three months. That puts the former prosecutor and judicial clerk on pace to spend at least $500,000 out of pocket before next Tuesday’s election — about the same amount he spent last year in his unsuccessful bid for Erie County District Attorney. Meanwhile, State Sen. Sean Ryan continues to coast toward election day, having spent big to win June’s Democratic primary, and independent candidate Michael Gainer is running a shoe-leather campaign with little money but lots of[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Oct 23

2025

From conservative to kinda crazy

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Back in the day, Republican leaders in Western New York were conservatives. Congressmen like Jack Kemp and Jack Quinn. Erie County Executive Ed Rutkowski. State Senator George Maziarz. Party chairmen like Bob Davis and Jim Domagalski. Party leadership started down a slippery slope a couple of decades ago. Carl Paladino switched party affiliation from Democrat to Republican in 2005 after his friend Tony Masiello, a Democrat, retired from public office. Mike Caputo, an operative who learned at the feet of Roger Stone, became a player locally when he ran Paladino’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign and his influence grew from there. Nick[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Oct 20

2025

The Niagara County angle to national scandal

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You may have read about the private chats among Young Republican operatives in four states, including New York, that went public via a report by Politico, which summarized the content as follows: They referred to Black people as monkeys and “the watermelon people” and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies and driving them to suicide and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery. Then there was the quote “I love Hitler.” The response from MAGA types varied. The New York Republican Party disbanded the state chapter of the Young Republicans. Vice[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Oct 15

2025

James Gardner: A political profile

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James Gardner, the Republican and Conservative party candidate for Buffalo mayor, knows he’s fighting an uphill battle. Nearly two-thirds of the city’s registered voters are Democrats. They outnumber Republicans and Conservatives by a 6-to-1 margin. Voters haven’t installed a Republican in the mayor’s office in over 60 years. Still, Gardner believes the city’s many woes — dire finances, crumbling infrastructure, diminished services — present an opportunity for change. “My message is a simple one,” Gardner told Investigative Post in an interview last month. “This is what 60 years of one-party rule will get you. You have to change the way[...]

Posted 4 months ago

Oct 14

2025

Michael Gainer: A political profile

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Michael Gainer moved to Buffalo 20 years ago, just as Byron Brown was campaigning for his first term as mayor — the office Gainer is seeking as an independent candidate in next month’s election.  An educator with construction experience, Gainer had picked up a job doing renovations on a house on Chapin Parkway. One day as he was working, listening to public radio, he heard Brown describe his plan to demolish 10,000 derelict houses over the next decade.  Gainer quickly did some math on a napkin. “It was like half a billion dollars,” he said. “We were going to spend[...]

Posted 4 months ago
Investigative Post