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Posted: Wednesday, 29 October 2008 5:50AM
First @ WBEN: Stachowski Deploys Bill Clinton Phone Call
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What do former Buffalo Bills Quarterback Jim Kelly and now former US President Bill Clinton have in common?
In a sign of how big the stakes are in one local New York State senate race, Stachowski (D-Cheektowaga) has turned to former president Bill Clinton in an automated campaign call to local voters, the latest in high profile campaign help to come from the likes of celebrities like Kelly, featured recently in Stachowski ads .
The 30 second Clinton message was received by local voters this week, as Stachowski turns to the high profile ex-president to help battle against a high-profile former cop Dennis Delano, a Republican winning in the polls and riding a wave of popularity for his role in freeing innocent convicts Lynn DeJac and Anthony Capozzi.
While Delano has shunned public appearances and many campaign interviews, he has relied heavily on television ads in his campaign. Stachowski has countered with television ads that have recently featured former Buffalo Bills hall of fame quarterback Jim Kelly, a Republican urging voters to pick Stachowski
The Clinton message talks of Stachowski's role in fighting against state mandated closures and job cuts at St. Joseph's Hospital in Cheektowaga and says Stachowski " helped to bring over a thousand jobs to the Inner Harbor."
"Western New York needs strong Democrats like Bill Stachowski fighting for us and working to keep good jobs here," Clinton says in the automated robo-call.
Stachowski has been in the state legislature since 1981, and has rarely faced such a strong challenge in his career. Earlier this week, financial disclosure forms showed that Republicans donated $120,000 to the Delano campaign this month from the state Republican Committee after a Siena College poll found him leading Stachowski 13 percentage points. (49-36, with 15 percent undecided).
Stachowski's 58th Senate District covers the towns of Cheektowaga, West Seneca, Hamburg and Eden. It features approx. 64,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans.
The Stachowski- Delano race is not unique in attracting big name support , in a year when the Democrat-Republican balance could turn on Western New York.
Internally, Democrats say they're banking on squeaking out wins in three races to take the NY Senate majority while Republicans boldly predict they will add a seat. Both sides are girding for a potential tie.
If Democrats succeed, one party would control both the governor's office and the Legislature for the first time in 35 years, when Republican Nelson Rockefeller was governor. A Democratic Senate would put the party in a strong position to redraw all election district lines in 2010, which traditionally protect the party in power for the following decade.
As the Republican Party tries to maintain their one-vote majority, the Senate Republican Campaign Committee spent nearly $3.2 million, far outpacing the $1.3 million its Democratic counterpart spent over 21 days this month . Much of the focus has been on local races.
Republican Sen. Dale Volker, in the chamber since 1974, got a $180,000 infusion to try to stave off a challenge from Democrat Kathy Konst, an Erie County legislator.
In the fight for a longtime Republican seat held by Mary Lou Rath of Amherst, the GOP gave $338,690 this month to Michael Razenhofer in his campaign for the 61st district against Democrat Joseph "Baby Joe" Mesi, a popular local heavyweight boxer. The Democrats in turn sent $262,740 to Mesi's campaign. But with $328,942 left in his account on filing day, Razenhofer had an advantage of $100,000 going into the last week of the campaign in the district that includes parts of Erie and Genesee counties.
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