For the first time I am going to side with Marinelli and I will defend her. Yes this is a first for me as I labeled her as the queen of spin in the past couple of years. This beating up on her by her own Democrat colleagues and Lenihan is unwarranted, unacceptable and now shows the clear line the majority Democrats have drawn in the sand. A line that will no doubt get worse and be challenged over the next year.

Democrats say Marinelli’s support began to “break down” about six months after she took over as chairwoman in January, 2006, and that legislators have wanted to replace her for more than a year.

Why? Why would they want to throw her overboard so soon? Was it because she was starting to take her job seriously as the chairman and represent all of them including the minority? No, because that didn’t happen. The struggle for power between the different factions of the Democrats ie: Hoyt, Lenihan, Whyte etal.

The final straw came when Democratic Chairman Leonard R. Lenihan broke away from his fellow Tonawandan. Lenihan, a longtime Marinelli mentor, characterized her last week as a good person, but not a great leader.

He also took a shot at the “bipartisan spin” put on Marinelli’s new alliance with Collins and the Republicans. He noted that two previous chairmen — Charles M. Swanick and Albert DeBenedetti — tried something similar but lasted only a short time.

A great leader? When was the last time we had a great leader in Erie County politics? What we usually have is a partisan hack that will work for the Party over public policy and the greater good of the people. I know Chuck and Al pretty well, I have had my disagreements with both of them but one thing I can say is that both of them worked for the overall good for the people and not just the Party, in most cases anyway. They both had their Party allegiances and agenda, but all in all we had a good working relationship.

Swanick and DeBenedetti saw the direction the Democrat Party agenda was going to take them and felt in their Heart that it was wrong. If that is why he feels they were defeated it shows us just how sad he thinks and how sad things are here.

“To me, it’s the same old, same old,” said Lenihan, who suggested Marinelli’s alliance with Collins is akin to “crossing a picket line.”

This is where Lenihan just does not get it. His Party politics is the same old, same old. And the reference to crossing the picket line is perfect as he is the biggest union hack there is out there, he gets his Party money from all of them. He could care less what is good for the overall health of the economic outlook for us. Lenihan cares about Lenihan, his control and Sam Hoyts loyalty.

Legislators say the gripes against Marinelli range from poor communication to her lack of support for a truly independent Legislature.
“People want more oversight,” said Legislator Robert Reynolds, the Hamburg Democrat who challenged Marinelli last week. “You can’t rubber stamp everything the county executive does.”

Truly independent Legislature? No he wants a truly partisan legislature, one that will throw up roadblocks to what ever Collins wants to do. A truly independent legislature would be all of them working together to get this government under control, working together with yes, the Republicans, to figure out the best way to streamline, restructure and reform county government for the betterment of all of us residents, not just the unions that fill their campaign war chests and perks.

A self serving attitude has helped destroy us economically, a self serving attitude is throwing away any and all proposals that come from the other side of the aisle as what has been done over the past few years. A self serving attitude is blaming someone else for your inability to shake off the influences of the unions and the Party chairman and carrying their torch while pointing fingers at anyone but the person in the mirror.

Marinelli’s foes stop short of publicly suggesting Marinelli and Collins cut a deal but, privately, more than a few are asking the question.

I think was Marinelli sees is the writing on the wall. The new County Executive Chris Collins won in a landslide election. As I see it the people wanted to give the current class of legislators the opportunity to do what they have been preaching, reforming and changing the way county government operates and by electing Chris Collins they would be able to do just that. If they don’t there will be a shakeup in the next election.

Was there a deal? I doubt it was with Collins anyway. I see it as Marinelli reaching out to the three Republicans and the Democrats to move this government out of the past and into the future. Apparently the Democrat majority disagree with her.

“Everyone is holding their breath,” said one Democrat with close ties to the Legislature. “No one knows what we lost.”

Hopefully you have lost the voting block to stop everything Collins wants to do. This is not giving a blanket endorsement of everything Collins wants to do, it can’t be but we have to see what he wants to do with the mandate he got in this last election. The last thing we need is the veto proof majority stopping everything dead in it’s tracks like they have with any and all the Republicans have proposed over the last few years.

A truly independent Legislature will look at everything do do what is right for the people of this county, not just what their huge contributors demand and expect in return as payback.

“ It’s never been easy. It’s always been a struggle.” — Lynn Marinelli on her life in politics
Survivor Marinelli overcomes latest in a series of struggles
Legislature chairwoman retains post despite 7 Democrats’ opposition

Cynthia Locklear likes to compare heading the Erie County Legislature, one of the region’s most fractious and diverse bodies, to herding black cats at midnight.

Well, the cats got loose last week, and their shepherd, Chairwoman Lynn M. Marinelli, suddenly finds herself scurrying to retain power.

For anyone else, it might mark a new low, but for Marinelli, a survivor whose youthful looks belie her 20 years in politics, it’s simply the latest in a series of struggles.

Obstacles, it turns out, are a common subplot in the tale of the struggling single mom from the Town of Tonawanda, the twenty-something neophyte who rises through the ranks to make history — first woman elected to head the County Legislature.

“I ended up having the deepest respect for her,” said Locklear, a former county legislator who often locked horns with Marinelli. “She has the ability to cooperate with the other side, and I think that’s a tremendous asset.”

Seven of the Legislature’s 12 Democrats — the core of Marinelli’s support — sent a far different message last week. They revolted, opposing her re-election as chairwoman and openly challenging her leadership record.

Publicly, lawmakers say it’s time for one of the Legislature’s newer Democrats — most were elected after the budget crisis two years ago — to lead the body.

Privately, they complain about Marinelli’s “cozy” relationship with Erie County’s control board and former County Executive Joel A. Giambra, a Republican.

“It became clear she wasn’t cut out for this,” said a Democrat close to the seven dissident lawmakers.

With her support eroding, Marinelli turned to the Legislature’s three Republicans, a dangerous proposition in the eyes of many, to maintain a one-vote majority.

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