Local Independence Party set for WAR!!!

Wednesday evening Tony Orsini held his bi-annual “Friends of Orsini” fundraiser at Ronanello’s on South Park Ave in Hamburg. Several of his opponents had pledged to picket the front of the building and I was told that they would have 30-50 people with signs and chanting the obvious slogans to stop people from attending. What really happened was far less dramatic.

Organized by Mary Rose Gaughan and Dennis Koziol only 4 -5 people stood outside the front doors of Romanello’s, pleading and begging the Orsini’s patrons to turn around and not go in. They were also asked to write any checks out to the Erie County Independence Party and not Orsini himself if they did attend. Standing outside were obviously Gaughan and Koziol but Sandy Guiess Rosenswie and Ricky Donovan were their as well. I stopped and had a lengthy conversation before I decided the best place for me to be was inside making friends, not outside making enemies.

I have to admit I was a bit disappointed, I was hoping for a full blown out confrontation between the two factions. Anthony Orsini has been calling me for my support the last few weeks and we will be sitting down to try and bury the hatchet. I’m not sure just how successful that will be, but I am always open to talk about peace and cooperation. Orsini has offered to immediately appoint me Chairman of the Hamburg Town IP Committee if we do bury that very sharp hatchet.

I’m not interested in anything other than good government and full participation by those elected to the County Committee. So if we do go forward it will only be with that condition attached. Even with Tony offering this olive branch, I had another offered by Gaughan and Koziol. Only theirs was ridiculous.

Mary Rose Gaughan and Dennis Koziol have been reaching out for several months in hopes of repairing our differences as well. The problem is they basically want me to lay down and let them manipulate the IP to their advantage. Our biggest disagreement is about Hamburg and what they want to happen here.

Mary and Dennis have made it very, very clear that they want the Democrats to regain power and they want me to step aside and allow that to happen. They offered me a seat on the County IP Executive Board and an Officers position on the Town IP Executive Board, if I turn on my friends Steven Walters, Tom Best and Kevin Smardz! LOL!! Like I would ever do that!

Lady’s and Gent’s, if I haven’t made myself clear in the past then let me make it clear now! I’m a loyal member of the Independence Party. I believe that it’s in the best interest of our party to find avenues to run our own candidates successfully and in the end have a FISCALLY CONSERATIVE agenda in the town and the county!

Their is no way the current Democratic party has any interest in Fiscal Conservatism. They have always been about bigger more expensive government. I believe government is way to big, way to expensive and way to inefficient! Until the Democratic party incorporates consolidation and lowering taxes, then I have nothing to discuss with them.

I do believe that Orsini has done some very awful things to this party. I also believe that I’m the only person who would actually run this party properly as County Chairman. That being said, this may come to a point that I have to pick between Orsini or the coalition of Gaughan and Koziol. If that happens then Hamburg is best served by Orsini. That’s unfortunate but true.

Mary Gaughan and Dennis Koziol are cut from the same cloth as Orsini and they want this party for themselves to rape and pillage. The difference is that Orsini will leave Hamburg to those of us who want the current trend of lowering taxes and consolidation of departments to continue. That means he will help us keep Steven Walters, Tom Best and Kevin Smardz in office while getting us cross endorsements for a seat on the Town Council for an IP member in next years Town Council race. Mary Gaughan scoffed at that idea when I asked for her support in obtaining the cross endorsements.  

I want everyone to know just who is who and what is what at this point. We all know who Orsini is and I have preached about what he has done to this party for 4 years now. But I don’t think that any of you know that Gaughan and Koziol are the true reason Orsini had been able to do what he did. Mary Gaughan and Dennis Koziol are just as guilty as Orsini.

They both have committed countless offenses against our party the least of which was the illegal claim that this party was constituted 2 years ago. They both sat on the fake County Executive Board allowing Orsini to pull his antics as long as he would sign endorsements to the Democrats they wanted. They both helped funnel thousands of dollars into Orsini’s pockets as our party continued to be front page poster images for corruption. Mary was also the person out collecting checks for those endorsements and Koziol was garnering jobs for his family members.

Meanwhile Dennis Koziol has run for office listing his girlfriend’s residence as his address 2 years ago to be elected to the IP State Committee for the 145th Assembly District. Now that he is fighting Orsini for the IP State Committee seat in the 146th Assemblt District, word is he is going to list his real address on the other side of Lackawanna do so. I tried to get the Erie County Board of Elections to investigate that corrupt practice of his 3 years ago, only to be stone walled and ignored by both BOE Commissioners.

Mary’s Husband was also the Hamburg Republican Party Town Chairman at one point and he abandoned that party when he was given the Assistant Town Prosecutors job by Sorrentino, the Democratic Town Chairman. Mary then tried to take over the Hamburg Conservative Party Town Chairmanship and when that failed she changed over to the IP and is now trying her coup-de-grass here.

It seems that I am the only person who has been true to his word and has stood by the same principles I claim year in and year out. Even prominent Democrats I know have told me privately that they feel helpless with the current IP leadership and have expressed their wishes for me to step forward because I can be trusted. 

Well we will see what happens with Orsini this week and maybe the Hamburg IP will get some relief sooner than later. Regardless, prepare for a political war in the local Independence Party!