Published: June 15, 2008 12:17 am      

POLITICAL NOTEBOOK: Ah, campaign season — a time for ... nose-pulling?

The story about the now infamous nose-pulling incident between Niagara County Democratic Party Chairman Dan Rivera and Lewiston Democratic Chairperson Diane Roberts continued to play itself out this week as — of all people — local Republicans came to Roberts’ aid.

Republican candidate Paula Banks-Dahlke demanded that her Democratic opponent, incumbent 138th District Assembly representative Francine DelMonte stand up and support Roberts in light of the incident. In a press release this week, she encouraged DelMonte to tell Rivera to tender his resignation.

Roberts herself said once again this week that she’s not interested in discussing the matter and would appreciate it if everyone would just let it go.

I couldn’t help but wonder where the issue ranked in terms of importance to the average voter, considering the state of the local economy, the recent hike in cigarette taxes, the price of gasoline and so on.

So, I’ll put it to the readers — do you care about the hijinks of the parties and the people who run them? Would you rather they focus on what they plan to do in the coming years if elected or re-elected?

Shoot me an e-mail. Call me on the phone. Send me a letter.

Regular people are preferred. My years on the job have helped me get pretty good at spotting “anonymous” political operatives.

For the record, both Banks-Dahlke and DelMonte said they intend to focus on constituent concerns as their campaigns move forward.

With all of the issues facing Niagara County, they should have plenty to talk about.

The dance of the tractors

What do you get when set a few John Deere vehicles to music?

Tractor square-dancing, of course. In discussing the difficulty organizers of the county’s bicentennial celebration are having in raising funds for various events, lawmakers got into a conversation this week about what happens when large pieces of farm equipment Do Sa Do.

“What is with these square-dancing tractors?” said a perplexed Renae Kimble, who confessed to having never heard of such a thing.

Legislature Chairman Bill Ross, a member of the organizing committee, said it is just like it sounds — a bunch of tractors “dancing” in a big field.

“Instead of you and I square dancing, it’s the tractors that line up,” he explained.

There are actually several examples of the dance of the machines posted on YouTube.

Seeing the event live in Niagara County will require $3,500 from the cash-strapped Bicentennial committee.

“Well, we’ve seen an elephant fly in Dumbo, maybe we’ll see a tractor promenade,” joked Legislator Dan Sklarski, D-Town of Niagara.

LaFalce sighting

Former U.S. Rep. John LaFalce got a new gig this week.

The man who represented Niagara County in Congress for 28 years before retiring in 2002 will now serve as a member of the state’s banking board. In his new position, he will be involved in oversight of state financial institutions.