No shortage of characters among local political scene
DAN MEYER Political Columnist
It's time to make something perfectly clear: there is definitely a difference between having character and being a character.

And when it comes to the political scene in Western New York, it seems these days that there are more and more characters holding public office who possess little character when it comes to traits such as honesty, integrity and dependability.

Yes indeed, it takes all sorts of people to make up the cast of characters that are featured in the scenic little snow globe that is the political landscape of Western New York.

While we can't do a true character analysis of all of our elected officials, there are a handful who have made headlines in recent weeks who appropriately deserve some constructive criticism when it comes to their current status and some insight into what lies ahead politically for each individual.

Let's start off with George "Butch" Holt, a true character who, a couple of years ago, rightly became the poster child for all that was wrong with the Erie County Legislature during the infamous county fiscal crisis of 2005.

Holt, who served as the Legislature's majority leader during a time period when the county deficit grew at an alarmingly large rate and was among the legislators who believed the actual process of crafting the county budget was simply too complicated for taxpayers to comprehend, is reportedly considering making a run for his old legislative seat, despite the fact that he was publicly embarrassed for business sales tax fraud.

Not only was Holt spared jail time for underreporting sales tax collections from the eatery that he and his wife own on Fillmore Avenue in Buffalo, but also apparently his sentence - a light slap on the wrist involving a fine and community service - has him thinking a run in November for his old seat is possible because he feels he could win.

Can Holt win? Believe it or not, there's no doubt he can. Simply based on the notion that those who write the biggest checks and can offer the most votes will ultimately receive the backing of the party bosses, Holt may actually be a virtual lock to regain the seat he held from 1994 until this past January.

But it's the arrogance that Holt and his attorney displayed during his sentencing earlier this month that showed a lack of character from a true political character who thinks saying "oops" and "I'm sorry" and "It was simply an oversight" passes for honesty, integrity and dependability.

Next on the illustrious list of characters is Joel Giambra. Our county executive is not one to turn away from a microphone or television camera, and this past weekend he decided to share his personal opinions on this year's race for the county's top elected position, an election in which he, thankfully, will not be a candidate.

King Joel spouted off in a radio interview his favorite buzz words and catchy phrases as he "challenged" Jim Keane, Paul Clark and Chris Collins to be visionaries and true leaders.

This coming from a man who drove us to the brink of bankruptcy by blaming increasing Medicaid and pension costs and attempted to find new revenue sources by presenting the public with his disastrous red budget/green budget proposal as a way to solve the county's fiscal woes.

Character? Giambra's got that down pat, so much so that it wouldn't be surprising to see him grab a cameo role in the eventual big screen money grab everyone in Hollywood is expecting to see from the makers of "The Sopranos."

Joel could fit in just fine in the movie's opening scene as a waiter asking Tony Soprano if he wants some ketchup for his onion rings.

The final character for today is a man who needs no introduction. Jimmy Griffin is still as feisty and controversial as ever, and the former Buffalo mayor has political insiders chatting over cracked open cans of Genny freshly plucked from six-packs following the revelation that he wants to run for county executive.

He wants to run, he doesn't want to run, now he wants to run again.

A character? No doubt. A politician? Absolutely.

(Daniel Meyer is a columnist for the Weekly Independent Newspapers of Western New York. Opinions expressed here are those of the author.)