TOP 10: Big Republican turnout in Niagara County elections (No. 5)

Dec. 27—A big night for Niagara County Republicans was made a little bigger this past week with the court ruling sending Niagara Falls City Councilman Chris Voccio to the Sixth District seat of the Niagara County Legislature.

Of the 15 legislative districts in Niagara County, 12 were won by Republicans, 3 by Democrats.

While Republicans continue to maintain a supermajority in the county body, the story is not just how GOP candidates fared in winning races. The comparative turnout in Republican districts, as opposed to those won by Democrats, tells the story of voter intensity countywide. Turnout was much higher in districts where GOP candidates were elected to seats in the county Legislature.

The trend continued in county municipal races as well.

In the City of Lockport, Republicans won four of five races — Gina N. Pasceri, alderman at large; incumbent Luke D. Kantor, 2nd Ward alderman; Kathryn Fogle, 4th Ward alderman; and Kristin L. Barnard, 5th Ward alderman. Incumbent 3rd Ward alderman Mark Devine stood for re-election without an opponent, and with the Democratic and Republican ballot lines.

In the Falls, Republican candidates David Zajac and Traci Bax emerged as the top two vote-getters in a six-way race that also feature three endorsed Democrats and an independent.

Another result of the heavy balloting in Republican-won areas was the margin of victory for County Court Judge-Elect John J. Ottaviano, Jr.

Ottaviano bested Michael E. Benedict by an 18-point margin in a race that many local observers thought would be closer.

Niagara County Democratic Party Chairman Chris Borgatti pointed to the judicial race as an indicator of the success of the Republicans in turning out voters in November.

"Benedict almost swept the primaries," said Borgatti, "he was narrowly defeated for the Republican nomination, but was defeated by a wide margin on Election Day."

What accounted for the higher number of ballots cast in the races where the GOP won legislative seats?

The leaders of both the Democratic and Republican Committees in Niagara County agreed that national trends and Republican efforts in the mailboxes played a role in determining the local elections.

Evidence of the contrasting efforts waged by the parties include Republican campaigns making significant use of political mailers, often with the support of the County and State Republican committees. Democrats, while making some mail efforts, appeared to rely more on name recognition-based campaigns with approaches such as yard signs and door-to-door distribution of palm cards and materials.

New York State Republican Committee participation in local elections, in Niagara Falls and across Niagara County, indicates the party believes it can make inroads here, even though Democrats still outnumber Republicans in voter registration.

It also indicates GOP leaders in Albany place a priority on Niagara County.

In part, Niagara County GOP Chairman Rich Andres credited his party's ability to "put more mail in voter's mailboxes this year," to an improved relationship with the state committee, headed by Western New Yorker, Nick Langworthy.

Outgoing Niagara County Legislature Minority Leader Dennis Virtuoso said the GOP's effort to centrally organize and fund campaigns helps retain party discipline in the Republican legislative caucus.

"Because the Republican Party pays for their mailings, they don't have to have fundraisers," said Virtuoso about GOP legislative candidates. "That's a lot of what gives the party control. When you depend on the party to do everything, if you don't listen to what they tell you, then you get primaried."

Nearly a dozen mailers sent to one address in Niagara County carry the disclaimer that they were paid for either by the county or state GOP.

Neither the local Democratic County Committee nor the state Democrats seem to have taken similar approaches in local campaigns in the county.

While Borgatti said that his party would be doing a lot of reassessment, there is a bright spot for Democrats in the county, Tylec's victory in the North Tonawanda mayoral race puts registered Democrats at the head of the executive branch in all three cities in Niagara County.