STATE ASSEMBLY

130th Assembly District

Joe Errigo, Republican, Conservative

Joe Errigo has served in the State Assembly since 2000. He is running unopposed for another two-year term.

Errigo's district, the 130th, spreads across parts of Livingston and Ontario Counties, and includes the towns of Mendon, Pittsford, and Henrietta. He is ranking minority member on the Assembly's Children and Families Committee and serves on a number of task forces.

Errigo has voted against bills that would impose new restrictions on guns and has been given consistently high rankings by the NRA. Over the years, his score on environmental issues, compiled by Environmental Advocates of New York, has improved. He voted against an expanded bottle bill, however, which is a priority among environmentalists.

He also voted against a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage.

131st Assembly

Susan John, Democratic, Working Families

Susan John owes me for a lot of late nights. John represents the 131st District in the State Assembly - that comes with a two-year term. The district covers Rush, Riga, Chili, Wheatland, Churchville, Scottsville and Mumford, but John's real base of support is in the city. So every two years, on election night, I'd watch the returns come in - the city districts report last - and John would trail in the early hours and then start gaining when those city districts began trickling in. In the time it takes to hit "refresh" on the keyboard, John would be 100, no 50, no 20, no 5 votes behind and wait! John wins!

I was always the last to leave.

John has been in the Assembly since 1991. She chairs the Labor Committee and serves on the Judiciary, Education, Energy, and Libraries and Education Technology Committees.

John authored the Empire State Wage Act of 2004, which raised the state's minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.15 an hour. She also authored the state's Anti-Stalking Law and the Clinic Access/Anti-Stalking Law.

John is pro-choice and voted to allow same-sex marriage in New York State. She supports an expanded bottle bill and a middle-class "circuit breaker" - which ties property taxes to income. John is opposed to the death penalty.

Jeffery Morrow, Republican

Morrow has been an active member of the Eastside Republican Committee for the past two years and has served as the committee chairman for the last year. He is an attorney in the Monroe County Public Defender's Office.

Morrow says that he doesn't support the death penalty "the way it is practiced." The numerous appeals that follow conviction take the deterrent factor out of capital punishment, he says.

It's important to find middle ground on abortion, Morrow says. He says he supports a woman's right to control her own body, but abortion shouldn't be considered lightly or used as a form of birth control.

Morrow seems to be looking for something less than same-sex marriage but more than civil unions. Same-sex couples should have the right to adopt, for example, and to file joint tax returns, he says. But he would not use the word "marriage" to define their union.

New York's been a leader in green energy, Morrow says, and he supports the implementation of alternative forms of energy as soon as possible. He also supports building new nuclear power plants in New York State.

Rafael Colon, Independence

Not much to report here. Colon resigned as chair of the Monroe County Independence Party after it was reported that his wife accepted $5,000 for "campaign consulting" from former Congressional candidate Jack Davis.

Colon's name is still on the ballot, but he no longer has the support of the County Independence Party. In fact, a representative there denied even having contact information for Colon.

132nd Assembly District

Joe Morelle, Democratic, Independence

The head of the Monroe County Democratic Party has no challenger in his re-election bid this year.

Local Democrats chose to take on some pretty ambitious races this year and as their leader, Morelle's most certainly had his hands full. Not having to face an opponent himself is probably a relief.

Morelle has served in the Assembly since 1990 and is chair of the Insurance Committee. He's pro-choice and voted for an Assembly bill that would make same-sex marriage legal. He's received high marks from the state AFL-CIO and Environmental Advocates of New York.

His district represents Irondequoit, Brighton, and parts of Rochester.

133rd Assembly District

David Gantt, Democratic

Nobody riles up politicians and editorial boards like State Assembly member David Gantt.

This year alone, he took a very public role in a scandal over the appointment of a new county public defender. He was blasted by the New York Times for holding up a bill that would let New York City install traffic cameras. Then, when he did relent on the cameras, he was criticized by papers across the state for submitting a bill that appeared to benefit an associate and lobbyist.

But he's popular in his district, respected by many local leaders, and he gets results. Case in point: he was instrumental in getting $325 million for renovations at 13 city schools.

Gantt's got a strong environmental record, though during the last session he voted against an expanded bottle bill. He's pro-choice. In the past, he's scored well on issues important to the LGBT community, though in 2007 he voted against a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage.

Gantt is chair of the Assembly's Transportation Committee. He's running uncontested this year.

134th Assembly

David Garretson, Democratic, Working Families

A small business owner, Garretson pledges to put people before profits and politics.

This is Garretson's first run for public office. He faces Republican incumbent Bill Reilich.

Garretson's business, Dave Garretson Company, sells home furnishings to furniture stores in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. He previously ran his own marketing and advertising company and had an early sojourn into retail through ownership of Shelter Goods, Funny Farm, and Futons & More. The first two eventually closed and Garretson sold the third.

Garretson has been active in many city committees and neighborhood associations. He is a current member of the Greece Democratic Committee. He has also worked as a teacher and journalist.

Garretson says that he wants higher ethical standards for government leaders in Albany and elsewhere. He says that there should be reforms of COMIDA and Empire Zones so that if promised jobs aren't created, taxpayers get their money back. He supports exploring alternative energy sources and reducing the paperwork and tax burden on small businesses. He supporters a "circuit breaker," which would cap a homeowner's property taxes based on household income. He also backs a temporary income surcharge on New York's wealthiest residents - those with million-dollar incomes, making nearly $20,000 a week or more.

 Garretson says that Medicare and Medicaid should be fully funded at the state level.

Bill Reilich, Republican, Independence, Conservative

Bill Reilich's profile got a big bump this year when Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks named him to replace Steve Minarik as head of the county GOP. Brooks said Reilich would bring a more collaborative leadership style. So far, Reilich seems to be keeping a low profile.

Reilich is the ranking Republican on the Assembly Small Business Committee and is also on the Aging, Education, Transportation and Banks Committees.

Reilich joined the Assembly in 2003. Prior to his election, he was a Monroe County legislator representing the 19th District.

He was the founder and owner of the Reilich Corporation, an alarm systems company, which he started at the age of 18 as Upstate Alarm. The company was sold before his first Assembly bid. He now owns Rochester Auto Design.

In 2007, Assembly member Reilich voted against a bill to allow same-sex marriage in New York State. He also voted against a bill to prohibit the sale, delivery, or transfer of firearms without childproofing features incorporated into the design.

Reilich was found to support the positions of the Conservative Party of New York State 88 percent of the time in 2007. In 2006, Reilich received a grade of A from the National Rifle Association.

135th Assembly

David Koon, Democratic, Working Families

Well now, this is an interesting little race. You've got Koon, a Democratic Assembly member, being challenged by David Bonacchi, former mayor of East Rochester. Bonacchi was unseated by Koon's son, Jason Koon. Think there's a little bad blood flowing here?

David Koon was elected in 1996. He is a member of the Alcoholism and Drug Abuse; Economic Development, Job Creation, Commerce and Industry; Local Governments; Small Business; and Library and Education Technology Committees. He is also vice chair of the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources and vice chair of the Legislative Commission on Toxic Substances and Hazardous Waste.

Koon voted in favor of allowing same-sex marriage in New York State; voted to pass a bill that prohibits the sale, delivery, or transfer of firearms without safety or childproof mechanisms incorporated into the design; and voted to implement a one-year moratorium on foreclosures that are being heard in court.

In 2004, NARAL Pro-Choice New York said it considered Koon to be pro-choice. Koon supported the interests of the Empire State Pride Agenda 100 percent in 2000. Koon was found to support the positions of EPL-Environmental Advocates 96 percent of the time in 2007.

David Bonacchi, Republican, Independence, Conservative

Bonacchi served as an East Rochester police officer for 20 years. He became mayor of the village in 2000 until losing to Jason Koon in 2007.

Bonacchi is a former safety-security manager for the Regional Transit Service. In 2006, he became the area manager for Rural Metro Medical Services, responsible for the operation and management of 259 emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and staff throughout Greater Rochester.

Bonacchi is pro-choice and supports the death penalty for cop-killers. He is against same-sex marriage and supports a property tax cap.During Bonacchi's time as East Rochester mayor, he completed a $2 million sidewalk program, and made almost $500,000 in improvements to the village's parks. He paved all the roadways in the village and bought new streetlights, sidewalks, crosswalks, and signs to downtown. He downsized the public works departments and eliminated the recreation program, turning some services over to the schools. The last village-owned parcel was sold to a developer last year. The developer will build a mix of single-family and townhouses on the Fairport Road site, Bonacchi says.

Bonacchi says that he was persuaded to run by former county GOP leader Steve Minarik and that his bid is not about seeking revenge on the Koon family.

"There's no vendetta," Bonacchi says. "Jason Koon has done nothing to me. People voted me out; that was it."

139th Assembly

Stephen Hawley, Republican, Independence, Conservative

Hawley has spent 36 years in the private sector, holding positions in farming, real estate, and insurance. He was owner and operator of Hawley Farms, a family agribusiness in Batavia, from 1972 through 1979. In 1979, he became an agent at Hawley & Associates, selling life, property, and casualty insurance. In 1991, he started Stephen M. Hawley & Assoc., at The Insurance Center.

Hawley was elected to the Genesee County Legislature in 1984 and served through 1991. He was elected to the State Assembly in 2006 to fill the unexpired term of Assembly member Charles Nesbitt.  He was re-elected to a full two-year term later that same year.

Hawley is a member of the Assembly's committees on Agriculture; Corporations, Authorities and Commissions; Health; Racing and Wagering, Rules, Veteran's Affairs, and the Subcommittee on Women Veterans.
Hawley's voting record coincided with positions supported by EPL/Environmental Advocates, an environmental lobbying group, 70 percent of the time, and the New York State Right to Life Committee's positions 67 percent of the time.

Hawley is running uncontested this year.

STATE SENATE

54th State Senate

Mike Nozzolio, Republican, Independence, Conservative, Taxpayers First

Mike Nozzolio has represented a good chunk of the area east of Rochester in the State Legislature since 1982.

That was the year that he was elected to the State Assembly, where he served for 10 years before winning a seat in the Senate. He's chair of the Senate's Crime Victims, Crime, and Corrections Committee.

The only Monroe County town he represents is Webster, with the rest of his district in Cayuga, Seneca, Ontario, and Wayne Counties.

As a senator, Nozzolio's directed a lot of funding to agricultural programs and research, particularly grape-growing. He also worked with Assembly member David Gantt to help secure state funding for Paetec Park.

He sponsored legislation to take the state canal system, including the Erie Canal, out of the State Thruway Authority's purview. The Canal Corporation, he said at the time, should become part of the state parks department. He made the move after the authority announced plans to increase Thruway tolls on the Thruway. The bill remains in committee.

In the last Senate session, Nozzolio voted for a bill that would establish a state spending cap, as well as a bill that would cap school property taxes. He also voted for a bill that would re-establish the death penalty.

He's been ranked as anti-abortion by NARAL Pro-Choice NY. He's received consistent high marks from the state AFL-CIO, and is endorsed by a handful of state and local unions.

Paloma Capanna, Democratic, Working Families Party

A family law attorney from Webster, Capanna may be familiar from her 2006 primary bid against Congressional candidate Dan Maffei in 2006 - she eventually withdrew and let Maffei have the Democratic line.

Capanna has an ambitious agenda that includes universal health care for New York. The state would administer the plan and premiums would be based on income. Like many of her Democratic colleagues, she wants to promote investment in renewable energy technologies by coordinating research and investment in the zone between Syracuse, Rochester, and Ithaca - she calls it America's Center for Energy.

Capanna says that she would look at root causes of poverty and how to address them - specifically making sure children get proper food, housing, and medical care.

She's received the support of a handful of unions. Her opponent, incumbent Republican Senator Mike Nozzolio, has about the same number of labor endorsements.

Capanna's pro-choice, supports same-sex marriage, and opposes the death penalty.

62nd State Senate

George Maziarz, Republican, Independence, Conservative, Working Families

When Representative Tom Reynolds announced that he wouldn't seek re-election this year, Maziarz was seen as his heir-apparent; the Republican endorsement was his for the taking. But he decided not to run.

Though he has his critics, Maziarz enjoys a lot of support in the 62nd State Senate District, which sprawls through Niagara and Orleans Counties and the western extremes of Monroe County. He's popular among the district's voters, the majority of whom are Republicans, and he has clout among his fellow senators. In the Senate, Maziarz serves as chair of the Energy and Telecommunications Committee. In the past, he's chaired the aging, tourism, and labor committees.

He's sponsored an IDA-reform bill that's been backed by critics of the current system and by state legislators. The bill has been stuck in the Senate, however, since 2006.

The state AFL-CIO has consistently given Maziarz high marks for his votes on labor issues and it has endorsed him this year. The NRA, too, has given him high marks for his votes on gun issues. He gets low marks from abortion-rights groups and high marks from anti-abortion groups

During the past Senate session, he co-sponsored a bill that would reinstate the death penalty. He also voted for a bill that would establish a state spending cap and another bill that would cap school property tax increases. In 2004, he supported a bill that would restrict legal marriage to heterosexual couples.

Maziarz was elected to his Senate seat in 1995. He started working in government in 1977 as North Tonawanda's deputy city clerk, and was named its city clerk the next year. In 1989, he was elected Niagara County clerk. Maziarz also carries the endorsement of the Conservative, Independence, and Working Families Parties.

Brian Grear, Democratic

Brian Grear has a beef with the Niagara County Republican machine, so he's trying to throw a wrench in it.

Grear is challenging Republican incumbent George Maziarz on the Democratic line, even though he's registered as a Republican. He sought the GOP line in a primary contest, but was trounced by Maziarz - earning only 19 percent of the vote.  The challenge made headlines because at least one GOP town leader in the district - which centers around Niagara and Orleans Counties but includes some western towns in Monroe County - backed him.

To understand how Grear, a Niagara County sheriff's deputy for 21 years, got involved in the race in the first place requires a little history lesson. In 2005, he ran for Niagara County sheriff on the Republican line, but his party offered him no support, says a Buffalo News story printed last month. He lost the race.

This year, the Niagara County sheriff was appointed to a state job, and Grear wanted to run for the seat. But Republican leaders passed him over and endorsed someone else, says the News.

Grear is running as an outsider - that he's not a part of the local Republican machine. Other than that, his website contains few details about his platform - there's no contact information on it, for example - and it's been dormant since the primary. The little it does say is that the state needs to address taxes, "bloated state budgets," mandates, job losses, population loss, and environmental issues.

CONGRESS

28th Congressional District

Louise Slaughter, Democratic, Independence, Working Families

Louise Slaughter has got to be the envy of politicians everywhere: a skilled and tough-as-titanium lawmaker - Daniel Boone's a relative - with a hearty scoop of down-home charm. You can disagree with her, but dang it's hard not to like this lady.

Slaughter's been in Congress since 1987. She is a member of the House Democratic Leadership and is chair of the powerful Rules Committee.Slaughter co-authored the Violence Against Women Act in 1994 and wrote legislation to make permanent the Department of Justice's Violence Against Women Office. More recently, Slaughter voted against the resolution authorizing the Iraq war, voted in favor of the so-called "bailout bill," and sponsored the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act, which makes it illegal for health insurers to deny coverage or charge higher rates or premiums to people with a potential genetic condition or genetic predisposition toward a disease or disorder. GINA also makes it illegal for employers to use an employee's genetic information when making hiring, firing, placement, or promotion decisions. In 2007, NARAL Pro-Choice America gave Slaughter a grade of 100.

Slaughter has not faced a serious challenge in many years. Barring extraordinary circumstances, expect the Slaughter juggernaut to continue.

David Crimmen, Republican, Conservative

An accountant, Crimmen says he decided to run for elected office "due to the current Congress' complete lack of management and financial skill." The pro-deregulation Reagan quote on his website is probably poorly-timed, however, given the financial circumstances of the country.

Other tidbits from the Crimmen website: he believes in an individual's right to own a gun, but also supports background checks and mandatory firearm training. And weapons "like fully automatic rifles shouldn't ever be allowed on the street."

Crimmen supports vouchers and says he wants to remove all caps on college loans. Any undergrad who completes 200 hours of community service per year for 15 years after graduation should receive full federal loan forgiveness.

Crimmen also supports a negative income tax - where income subsidies are given directly to people or families who are below the poverty line, thereby eliminating the costly bureaucracy needed to support the administration of social service programs.