Democratic Party Chairman G. Steven Pigeon withdrew his nomination for a seat as commissioner with the Erie County Water Authority on June 5. An inter-party schism among Democrats in the legislature prevented Pigeon from securing the necessary votes needed for confirmation.
Although ten Democrats sit on the seventeen-member board, three of them, including Lynne Marinelli of Tonawanda, refused to support their party boss's nomination.
Marinelli: Patronage Peeve or H2O Purist?
Marinelli's break from party unity has been linked to a dispute with Legislature Chairman Charles Swanick (D-Kenmore) over her proposal to use about half of her approximately $100,000 annual member item money, normally used for community-based services, to hire her former campaign manager, David Pfaff, of Tonawanda, as an aide in her office.
Swanick quashed her plan, saying that member item money should go to programs that aid the community. Marinelli contended that Pfaff's skills would be an invaluable resource to her Tonawanda district.
Marinelli's split with the Democrats on an issue as important as control of the highly politicized water authority is consequential, however. Marinelli may be the pivotal vote in a County Legislature teetering on the brink of turning control over to the Republican minority.
Marinelli, however, denied that there is any schism between her and the Democratic majority. "We just don't agree on the water authority issue," said Marinelli,
whose Tonawanda district, ironically, does not have a single constituent who buys water from the authority.
"It is like a marriage." she said. "You don't always agree with your spouse. I have to do what I think is best. I support Steve Pigeon for party chairman, but I pledged my support to George Hasiotis (for commissioner) since last December. I think he has done a wonderful job at the authority."
"Blood is Thicker than Water"
As Pigeon bowed out, however, politics, and not credentials, seemed to dominate much of the posturing over who would be the next commissioner. As it stands now, Erie County Executive Joel Giambra seems to have some influence on the family incomes of two of the three water authority commissioners. Commissioner Robert J. Lichtenthal is employed full time in the administration, and, in his current position, serves exclusively at the will of Giambra.
Hasiotis' wife, Georgette, is an assistant county attorney, who also serves at the pleasure of the county executive. Mrs. Hasiotis was hired under former County Executive Dennis T. Gorski, but she remains in her job today as a county holdover in a $60,000 plus position.
Hasiotis, who is well known among local politicos for his formidable fund-raising talents, seeks a second term as commissioner, and, although he had support of the Gorski Democrats who appointed him when Gorski was in power, he now has the support of the Giambra Republicans, who seek to keep him in the powerful and patronage wielding part-time position, which pays $22,500, plus a car.
Calabrese: Control Concerns are Remote
Deputy County Executive and former Town of Tonawanda Supervisor Carl Calabrese denied that the Giambra administration is seeking to seize control of the authority.
"We opposed G. Steven Pigeon only because a party boss should not be commissioner. It's about reducing patronage and waste, and for the benefit of the 500,000 customers who buy water from the authority. Frankly, people have spoken everywhere and told us we are right, he said.
Calabrese added that the county executive's interest in seeing Mr. Hasiotis's continue to serve is based solely on the fact that he has been effective.
"When people do a great job, you reward them by keeping them on," said Calabrese, who said that authority commissioners have often served multiple terms.
Pigeon aborted his attempt to become commissioner after he came under fire repeatedly from The Buffalo News' editorial board, which suggested that he would bring too much political influence to the authority if he were an official member of its governing body.
Mosey-Pawlowski: More Family Affairs
Enter Acea M. Mosey-Pawlowski. Mosey-Pawlowski, like all of the current commissioners, has political ties. In her case, members of her family were allied to the former Gorski administration, and they reportedly rented property to the county's Social Services Department.
Of course, the one question that looms is: can she be appointed? Currently, Swanick appears to have seven Democrats and one Republican, Bill Pauly, of Amherst, committed to him. Three Democrats, Al DeBenedetti (D-Buffalo), Marinelli, and Gregory B. Olma (D-Buffalo) are backing Hasiotis.
In addition, five of the remaining six Republicans are seen as committed to Hasiotis.
If no one shifts allegiance, the vote would be eight for Hasiotis and eight for Mosey-Pawlowski. Nine votes are needed, however. Every vote is accounted for, except Republican Minority Leader Frederick J. Marshall, making him the pivotal man, and perhaps the legislator destined to make the decision.
During Pigeon's candidacy, which was also deadlocked, Marshall was pivotal also. When he announced that he would abstain from voting because he said that he planned to run for a judicial post in the fall, Pigeon's quest effectively ended.
It had been widely speculated at that time that Marshal was hoping to secure a "cross endorsement," meaning that both the Republicans and the Democrats would endorse him, for his hoped-for judicial candidacy, thus guaranteeing his election. Marshall appears to be likely to support Mosey-Pawlowski, lavishing praise on the 33-year-old attorney and touting her qualifications.
Olma (D-Buffalo), who is feuding with Pigeon and Swanick, stands as probably the most vocal of Mosey-Pawlowski's opponents.
Potential conflicts of interest abound in this debate, and Olma is no exception to that rule. He, too, has family income that may be directly related to the next commissioner. Olma's wife recently secured a relatively high-paying position at the water authority, and, according to sources, heads a department of only one, herself.
A Peaceful Resolution or Patronage War Cease-fire?
Meanwhile, neither The Buffalo News nor County Executive Giambra appear be mustering the same spirited opposition to Mosey-Pawlowski that they evinced in opposing Pigeon.
Giambra is on record saying the appointment of Mosey-Pawlowski is "entirely up to the Legislature." And Calabrese said that he heard "nothing but good things about her."
His opponents rebutted, however, that the Giambra administration is posturing, and, that, behind the scenes, is still working to take control of the authority, and will succeed, they say, if Hasiotis is reappointed.
Sources also claimed that there have been overtures made to win one of the Swanick Democrats, George Holt Jr. (D-Buffalo), replete with promises of patronage, if the coup is successful, and the Republicans seize control of the authority. Holt was unavailable for comment.
Swanick may have provided a feasible compromise choice for commissioner. The Giambra camp have already declared victory over Pigeon's retreat and can maintain a public "hands off" posture on the question of who the next commissioner will be.
Swanick is optimistic. "If Pawlowski is appointed," he said, "it will be the first time a woman ever sat as commissioner on the water authority. She is well qualified as an attorney and as a business woman. She'll make a great commissioner."
Swanick mentioned that Mosey-Pawlowski's husband, Alan, works for a national company that sells plastic equipment that can be used with water lines and piping, but that the firm has never done any business with the Erie County Water Authority. Swanick added that, if Mosey-Pawlowski serves as commissioner and if her husband's firm wants to do any work for the water authority, the firm would have to come in as low bidder in any competitive bidding on the work.
This issue of competitive bidding had been raised about two weeks earlier, when news broke locally that the Republican party Vice Chairman Ralph J. Vanner secured a one million dollar per year insurance contract with the water authority for his insurance company, without competitive bidding.
Finally, DeBenedetti is chairman of the Legislature's Energy and Environment Committee, and he supports Hasiotis. He said that he will see if the committee needs to begin the interview process all over again now that Mosey-Pawlowski is replacing Pigeon.
A delay of the process might help Hasiotis, since the legislature will begin summer recess in mid-July, and if the vote is postponed until the legislature resumes, it will be well into the political season before anything is decided.
In politics, anything can happen in the interim.
