Published: March 26, 2008 09:09 pm            

POLITICS: Davis declares candidacy for House seat

Akron-based businessman to make another bid for congressional seat

Jack Davis declared himself a candidate for U.S. House of Representatives and Kathy Hochul got an interview with the Niagara County Democratic Committee for the same on Wednesday.

Davis confirmed in a personal phone call to reporters Wednesday he will bid for the party line in the federal 26th District race.

His campaign will be launched April 15 at I Squared R Element, the Akron-based manufacturing company that he’s owned and operated for 43 years.

Results of voter polling across party lines last week in the district showed Davis that their issues and his issues are the same, Davis said.

“The analysis isn’t complete yet but I’m seeing what I thought I would see. People are very much concerned about jobs and the economy; they’re concerned about illegal aliens and they’re concerned about the war in Iraq. These are the issues I wanted to run on,” he said.

With the announcement, Davis is signaling his intent to force a Democratic primary in what’s shaping up to be one of the most-watched House races in the country.

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds, R-Clarence, last week announced he’s not running for re-election and set off a scramble among Republicans to locate someone else as formidable to take his place on the ballot.

Now there’s in-fighting among Democrats over who’ll stand for them.

Davis, who ran against Reynolds twice, is entering an increasingly crowded field of 2008 Democratic prospects. Jonathan Powers of Clarence, an Iraq War veteran and substitute teacher, and Alice Kryzan of Amherst, an environmental law attorney, are already declared candidates.

Powers has obtained the endorsement of five of seven county Democratic committees in the district, including the Niagara County committee, and appears likely to win the Monroe County Democrats’ endorsement after all three are interviewed today.

Enter Hochul, the Erie County Clerk whose name emerged quickly as a contender after Reynolds dropped out. She’s an apparently popular and influential Democrat elected county clerk last year after publicly hammering away at former Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s proposal to grant driver’s licenses to illegal aliens. Spitzer had appointed her.

Hochul requested and was granted time to talk with Niagara County Democratic Committee executive members Wednesday night, Chairman Dan Rivera said.

The committee happened to be meeting to hash over Democratic prospects in the 62nd district state Senate race and, despite the fact they’ve already endorsed Powers for the House run, Rivera said he didn’t see the harm in letting Hochul approach. It probably doesn’t mean anything, he suggested.

“There’s no reason why we should shun anybody and not listen to what they have to say,” Rivera said. “I’ve learned never to say never, but I doubt things will change. ... I think the die is cast” in favor of Powers.



Tucker nixes Assembly run; Elma super challenging Cole

Amid daily new developments in the 26th district U.S. House race, Republican players in the 142nd district state Assembly race got a buzz going about themselves Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Lockport Mayor Michael Tucker announced he’s asked that his name be stricken from the party’s short list of potential GOP standard bearers in the coming race.

Hours later, Mike Nolan, the supervisor of Elma, called a news conference for this morning at which time he’ll announce he’s a Republican candidate for the office.

Cole, the scandal-tinged incumbent, says that’s fine and he’ll catch up with Nolan in the primary.

“I was a better candidate in 2006 and my opinion remains so in 2008,” Cole said.

        

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