Albany

BY TONY FARINA Erie County Clerk Chris Jacobs, a Republican and a member of the prominent Jacobs family which owns the Delaware North companies, has told political leaders he is going to run for the 60th District State Senate seat

BY M.J. RICCHIAZZI The widely respected elder statesman of local politics, State Senator Al Coppola, intends to circulate an Opportunity to Ballot petition so that his name may be written in on the Republican primary ballot — in addition to appearing

BY C.B. MILLER Freshman State Senator Rob Ortt’s support of a proposed Pendleton natural gas refinery is throwing the 62nd State Senate seat into a scramble. Concerned residents have been organizing aggressively to stop the project, but their pleas for help from the

Grand Island teacher and school board member Richard D’Augustino, a strong supporter of working families and organized labor, is being urged to challenge the embattled incumbent Senator Marc Panepinto in this year’s Democratic Party primary, says a local Democrat. D’Augustino is widely seen

The embattled freshman state senator Marc Panepinto held a press conference yesterday where he made the claim that he is responsible for the chamber’s repeal of the Gap Elimination Adjustment, a fiscal gimmick that was first enacted in the 2010-11

As we look forward to 2016, the election calendar dictates that it will be a big year in politics — especially for Western New York. The Presidency It’s a presidential election year, so expect turnout to be high in the general election for

Mike Deely is the regional director of New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), the political arm of the state’s public teachers’ unions. He is tasked with spending million of dollars — from the paychecks of hardworking teachers in the classroom —

Former Senator Alfred T. Coppola is a widely respected elder statesman of local politics, and is leading freshman Senator Marc Panepinto in Democratic Party primary polling that puts him ahead by a 2-to-1 margin. Influential figures in the Democratic Party want Coppola

The New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), a statewide union group, and Niagara County Democrats are hoping to empower the liberal wing of the Democratic Party in the state senate this year by targeting contestable Republican districts with strong pro-teacher candidates. The

Freshman State Senator Marc Panepinto has been called the weakest incumbent in the chamber, having won his district with just over 31% of the vote with current polling putting the incumbent at only 34% in a hypothetical Republican matchup. Despite

The newly elected Cheektowaga town supervisor Diane Benczkowski — considered a rising star in local politics — is thinking about dabbling in state senate politics this year, a source familiar with her thinking tells The Chronicle. A Benczkowski run for State Senate

By Tony Farina, The Niagara Falls Reporter Assemblyman John Ceretto (D – Lewiston) says the conviction of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on federal corruption should be a call to arms to state lawmakers to abandon the political culture of Albany

Yesterday, Donald Trump’s son-in-law began promoting the rather remote prospect of Carl Paladino as a 2018 gubernatorial candidate in a publication that he owns and manages. Jared Kushner is the son of a wealthy New Jersey real estate developer. At age 25

County Clerk Chris Jacobs has conflicting positions on the county’s prohibition of alcoholic beverage sales that are so conflicting that they require a sincere explanation. Jacobs’ has stirred much controversy since seeing a poll three months ago that suggested that

Carl Paladino and Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long may ask United States Attorney Preet Bharara to run for Governor in 2018 on the Conservative Party’s ‘row C,’ speculates a source familar with both men’s fondness for the federal prosecutor. Such a

Gherardo Guarducci and Dimitri Pauli are the proprietors of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s regular hang out, Casa Lever, located at 540 Park Avenue on the Upper Eastside. The Northern Italian fare is served in a crowded 162 seat venue, where Cuomo

United States Attorney Preet Bharara is expected to indict Governor Andrew Cuomo on Saturday, January 2nd of next year. Sources familiar with the US Attorney say that he is waiting until after the holidays to make the indictment, “to encourage the idea of bringing back civility

Following the stunning defeat of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver — who now faces up to 120 years in prison — Buffalo area conservatives are rallying around Carl Paladino, the former Republican nominee for Governor and longtime civic leader. He