Collins gives GOP confidence it will win county exec's race
BRIAN ACKLEY Political Columnist
I've got Jan. 1 circled on the calendar as the date I tackle my next reclamation project. Now that all the pieces of the upcoming Erie County executive's race have pretty much fallen into place - although who earns the Conservative Party nod is still not an insignificant development - Chris Collins has said the right things and made the right moves, right down to picking blue and gold as his official campaign colors.

For the Republican-endorsed candidate, landing on the 26th floor of the Rath Building next year is far more than just a case of dream and believe.

More than just Collins' business acumen and outsider appeal is the recent political swirl of events, which have strengthened the GOP's chances of landing Erie County's top spot. Make no mistake, Democrats surely wanted Mark Polancarz to be their standard bearer. His short tenure as county comptroller has been marked by an openness and frankness, in dealing with both other county officials and the county control board itself, which would have played well this fall. By not running now, he has raised his future political hand from three of a kind to at least a full house.

And with Jim Keane, the now-official Democrat choice, we'll get a true test in five months of just how willing area voters are to either embrace the future or wallow in the past. The contrast between the two couldn't possibly be more striking.

Keane will hitch part of his star to the Gorski administration, which, while financially sound (in part because it took more revenue from county taxpayers than it should have, it's worth remembering), was hardly a spectacular eight-year tenure of economic growth and revitalization.

Remember the Horizon's Waterfront Commission? World University Games? Uh-huh. Pretty much sums up much of the administration's track record, which blithely bounced between lethargy, languor and listlessness. Upon closer inspection, Keane's role as deputy supervisor is a shooting star at best.

And while egos will be bruised and grudges will play out, the most damaging aspect of Keane's endorsement will be the million or so dollars Democrats will burn through two months before they ever get to the general election. Still, don't fret for Len Lenihan and his card-carrying operators. Rest assured they will find a way to keep their well-oiled money-printing press humming along nicely after the primary. Why do you think they're called political machines anyway?

Paul Clark and Bill O'Loughlin are interesting side shows, and Clark's especially deep pockets make him dangerous. But they are also like cold bread, hoping to be rescued out of the day-old bin but certainly not out of the political oven fresh. In addition, Clark's ties, personal and family, to incumbent Joel Giambra isn't just rat poison, it's potential cyanide.

Maybe it's a sign of the times that none of the four, in a recent scientific survey by WGRZ-TV, was a particularly recognized name in the executive's race.

Voters long ago seemingly stopped caring about such trivial matters as important political contests. That a full 33 percent of voters surveyed didn't even know the Keane name might be the political antique's most encouraging polling development.

Should Collins emerge the winner, he'll have to deal with a county legislature that is still mostly stuck in the Keane era. It would be a benefit if one-time candidate County Legislator Lynn Marinelli - not that there was ever any chance she could get elected to the post - indeed gets tucked safely away in a job with Gov. Eliot Spitzer, where she can privately play her political games without further damaging the county.

There have been recent election results that give reason for hope, from Amherst's Satish Mohan to legislators Cindy Locklear and Kathy Konst to Depew Mayor Barbara Alberti and others, that the regional train is still wanting to lurch forward, not to be encumbered with a politically overstuffed caboose. Chris Collins has his date book out. Residents of Erie County: we all await your decision.

(Brian Ackley is a columnist for the Weekly Independent Newspapers of Western New York. For more information on WIN, or to provide feedback on this column, visit our Web site at www.wnynewspapers.com. Opinions expressed here are those of the author.)