Democrats
— especially in this town — have a reputation for fighting one another, and
last weekend’s countywide convention was no exception.
The
convention’s purpose was to designate candidates for several key races.
Councilmember Wade Norwood won the mayoral designation convincingly, but
retired Police Chief Bob Duffy and Councilmember Tim Mains will challenge
Norwood in a September primary. And nobody believes that the party’s official
nod means an easy victory.
Then
there’s the perennial division between the faction within the party supposedly
controlled by Assemblymember David Gantt and the rest of the party. Norwood
clearly has Gantt’s support, but also, in a bit of surprise, Assemblymember Joe
Morelle’s.
Morelle
says he’s known Norwood for 15 years and believes “he’s the guy” to unite
Rochester and the Democrats. He downplayed past disputes with Gantt, saying,
“David and I agree on a lot more than we disagree on.”
Cynics
suspect political horse-trading is at work instead. One theory is that Morelle,
an Irondequoit resident, needs Gantt’s support in the urban neighborhoods of
Rochester and Buffalo to succeed Louise Slaughter whenever she retires.
“The
biggest issue at this point is political power,” says one party insider.
Political
power may explain
why delegates snubbed School Board President Darryl Porter, designating three
newcomers instead. Some Dems considered that punishment from Gantt because
Porter is supporting Duffy.
The
party’s designations for the three School Board seats went to Cynthia Elliott
(who got the designation last year but lost a primary to Domingo Garcia),
Penfield High School teacher Jeff Henley, and party activist Tom Brennan.
For
City Council, the convention designated City Clerk Carolee Conklin, 19th Ward
Community Association President Dana Miller, incumbents Gladys Santiago and
Bill Pritchard, and Lovely Warren, an attorney for Gantt in his role as
Assembly transportation committee chair. Warren’s selection was preceded by an
hour-long, heated dispute over whether ballots had been handed out improperly.
Another
surprise was Paychex Chair Tom Golisano showing up to support Independence Party County
Legislature candidate David Stockmeister, who was seeking the Dems’
cross-endorsement. (Stockmeister got that endorsement.)
One
speculation on Golisano’s appearance: that it was designed to steal media
attention away from Norwood’s victory. A Democratic insider says Golisano’s
Independence Party is expected to endorse Duffy later this month.
“We’ve
been told it’s a done deal,” that person says. (Independence Party Chair Rafael
Colon says endorsement interviews are taking place but he has no idea who his
nominating committee will back.)
As if all that
intra-party intrigue wasn’t enough, three days after the convention, Party Chair
Rick Dollinger stepped down to run for Brighton Town Justice.
Asked
whether he thinks leaving after only a few months as chair weakens the party,
his response was simple: “I don’t.”
“My
ambition for the last four years has been to be a judge,” he said. Dollinger
previously ran unsuccessfully for Monroe County Court and Surrogate Court
judgeships.
This article appears in May 18-24, 2005.
