'Gimme Jimmy'... a phrase still uttered politically
DAN MEYER Political Columnist
There may be nothing more entertaining in the world of Western New York politics this summer than Jimmy Griffin's campaign for Erie County executive.

Griffin, who occupied the mayor's office in Buffalo City Hall longer than any other man in the city's history, is hoping to capitalize on his name recognition in his latest effort to return to public life as an elected official.

It's been an interesting year so far, in that Griffin already flip-flopped on whether he even wanted to run for office. Following up on rumors that began circulating in late 2006, he first announced his intentions during a radio interview in January that he was planning to run for county executive. Then, less than three months later, he revealed that he no longer was interested in jumping back into the political fray.

Soon after, Griffin announced that he had changed his mind again and was very intrigued about the possibility of sitting in the big, comfy chair up on the 16th floor of the Rath Building. In recent weeks, the feisty and outspoken Democrat has been seen collecting signatures for his petition in bingo halls, senior citizen centers, all over his familiar stomping grounds in South Buffalo and even at a recent Thursday at the Square concert.

Some political pundits believe Griffin is simply looking to throw a wrench into fellow South Buffalo boy Jim Keane's quest to be elected Erie County's head honcho. By entering the Democratic primary in September, Griffin believes he will have an impact on the final vote count as Keane and Paul Clark face off to see who will oppose Republican Chris Collins in the general election in November.

Does Griffin have a chance to win the primary? It's tough to say at this point, but you've got to mark him down as the underdog. Keane and Clark obviously have recognized that Griffin will have some sort of influence on the race, since it's been whispered throughout Democratic circles from Blasdell to Brant that both men tried to sit down with Griffin's key campaign folks to try and talk "Six-Pack Jimmy" out of running.

This much can be said about Griffin: he never ceases to amaze and has shown in the past he can pull off an upset. Don't forget that when Griffin was first elected mayor in 1977, he actually lost the primary to then-Deputy State Assembly Speaker Arthur Eve. Despite the setback, Griffin won the general election, running on the Conservative and Right-to-Life parties and then held off all challengers when he was re-elected in 1981, 1985 and 1989.

Then there was Griffin's return to city politics in 2003 when he won a seat on the Common Council. His resignation from that position in early 2005 had many political insiders thinking the one-time presidential candidate (he was soundly trounced in 1996 by Bill Clinton in the New Hampshire Democratic primary) was officially done with all things political.

But here we sit, less than two months until the county executive primary, and Griffin is again making headlines, touting last week during a television interview that he has approximately 4,600 needed for him to be placed on the ballot in September.

Sure, we can't forget about his first unsuccessful campaign for county executive against Dennis Gorski in 1991 and his failed attempts to become a state assemblyman and a county legislator - but you can't deny the fact that he is a player once again.

Known for being outspoken, brash and never afraid to make what can be best defined as blunt and brutally honest observations, the 78-year-old Griffin spoke to this columnist earlier this week, delivering a couple of classic lines that can easily be added to the list of his most memorable utterings.

"I don't go in a battle to lose; that's not my style," Griffin said via telephone from his home in South Buffalo. "We don't have the money the other candidates have, and I don't intend to have that type of money. Actually, I don't even have a cent raised yet."

Griffin said filling his coffers with cash isn't needed because "shoe leather doesn't cost much money," and his pounding of the pavement will continue right up until the big vote. Does Griffin think he's qualified for the job? "You can't debate what I did for the City of Buffalo. I get results. People know that and won't forget that."

(Opinions are those of the author.)