Erie County

Privately, Mayor Byron Brown is seething over his removal as State Chairman of the Democratic Party. Operatives close to the newly triumphant Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins were angry with Brown’s refusal to fundraise for Democrat Carima El-Behairy and Joan

State Senator Christopher Jacobs has been desperate to vacate his State Senate since the days following his reelection in November.  Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins plans to target the 60th and 61st districts next year with millions of dollars in campaign

Erie County Legislator Kevin Hardwick — who represents Grand Island, the City of Tonawanda, and much of the Town of Tonawanda — announced this morning that he is leaving the Republican caucus to join the Democrats on the Legislature, led by

Patrick Burke was elected to the State Assembly last month, vacating his seat on the County Legislature representing District 7, which encompasses South Buffalo and most of Cheektowaga.  While the district enjoys a substantial enrollment advantage for Democrats, many Republicans

Thurman Thomas — one of the Buffalo Bills’ most legendary players and a key to the team’s four-year Superbowl streak in the 1990s — appeared before the Erie County Legislature’s Public Safety Committee on Thursday to call for bail bond reform. Thomas argued

The main branch of the Buffalo & Erie County Central Libary is a cavernous building of some 400,000 square feet spread over six levels, but the vast majority of the structure is not open to the public.  In recent years,

Erie County Democratic Party Chairman Jeremy Zellner is taking heat for several failed races this election cycle.  Many activists are calling the young chairman ‘ineffective’ and insisting that he step aside, for the good of the party. Zellner was first

It is no secret among local political operatives that Erie County Republican Party Chairman Nick Langworthy has been accepting ‘outside income’ that his critics say “profoundly corrupts the Republican nominating process, seemingly constituting honest services fraud.”  The activists want Langworthy’s

Erie County Republican Party Chairman Nick Langworthy has long aspired to succeed Ed Cox as the Chairman of the state organization.  But some local Republicans scoff at the idea, following the embarrassing loss of Erin Baker, Langworthy’s longtime girlfriend and

It hasn’t been a good year for Erie County Democratic Party Chairman Jeremy Zellner, who has lost the confidence of dozens of the party’s most loyal officials in a succession of political missteps that have called into question his judgement

The First and Second Districts of the Erie County Legislature — comprising a vast swath of the City of Buffalo — are shaping up to be highly contested campaigns with strong, well-known competitors emerging from across the city.  Those races are likely

County Legislator Betty Jean Grant has sponsored a resolution compelling the appearance of Erie County Sheriff Timothy Howard, following his appearance at what many activists called a “Klan-style” rally where prominent White supremacists were in attendance for the purpose of

BY AUSTIN HARIG Erie County Sheriff Tim Howard has been the subject of controversy for many years. His administration of the Erie County Holding Center has come under scrutiny following a slew of highly suspect inmate deaths.  The prison has a suicide

Erie County Sheriff Tim Howard attended what is being widely described as a “Klan-style rally” in Niagara Square yesterday, and it’s raising the concerns of African American elected officials and Black Lives Matter activists. The presence of three oversized Confederate Flags is drawing

A slew of Republicans in the Town of Amherst are registering as members of the Conservative Party. Town Supervisor Barry Weinstein and Town Clerk Marjory Jaeger are reportedly among the new registrants, sparking a flurry of political speculation that the

THE EDITORIAL BOARD County Executive Mark Poloncarz has proposed moving the Social Services Department’s Child Protective Services Unit, with its 420 employees, to the pricey Fountain Plaza property owned by the politically connected Ciminelli family. Carl Paladino, who owns the

BY TONY FARINA Acting District Attorney Michael Flaherty may have lost the Democratic primary last month to Tonawanda Town Attorney John Flynn, but he’s still carrying out his duties as the county’s top prosecutor with no letup in the hectic

Erie County Clerk Chris Jacobs issued a press release this week announcing he saved county taxpayers $45,000 in pens. He reports that after becoming County Clerk in 2013, he learned the office bought $15,000 worth of pens per year, which