Election fever. Catch it!
There’s an old quip that goes something like this: “Presidential ambition is a disease which can only be cured by embalming fluid.”
But even local politics are enough to make candidates ill.
That’s the message, anyway, from a recent ad mailed out by the campaign of Erie County Clerk Mickey Kearns.
Kearns, a registered Democrat endorsed by Republicans, is running in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for county clerk. His opponent is Eden Supervisor Melissa Hartman, the endorsed Democrat who recently switched her affiliation from Republican.
Or, as the Kearns mailer put it, “recently changed party affliction a few months ago to Democrat.”
The typo – or was it a Freudian slip? – caught the eye of several Twitter users.
“Apparently Kearns for Clerk is too lazy to proofread their ads, ‘party affliction’ has me rolling,” wrote one.
People are also reading…
“Let’s be honest, we are all afflicted by our party designation,” wrote another.
One commenter hoped the wording was intentional. The Kearns campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
Maybe they’re feeling sick about it.
David Chiazza may be able to star in the next Progressive insurance commercial involving Dr. Rick and new homeowners becoming their parents.
Chiazza, the executive vice president of Iskalo Development Corp., was participating in a developer panel discussion a week ago for the Western New York State Commercial Association of Realtors. He was originally supposed to be the moderator, but had to substitute as a panelist for Robert Savarino at the last minute after the death of Carol Savarino.
That put him in the position of answering the very questions he had written and intended to ask – including one about rising interest rates that reflected his 40 years in the real estate business.
“This might out your age a little bit,” joked Carolyn Casilio Vinci, the trade group’s president, who filled in as moderator. “This is going to put you in with Larry Brassel and Steve Hunt,” referring to veteran – VERY veteran – commercial real estate brokers.
The sellout crowd erupted with a mix of laughter and “oohs.”
Vinci added, “I made sure Steve Hunt was coming last night.”
“Thanks for the invitation,” Hunt responded.
“Dave’s been in the business for 40 years. That’s why I had him at the veteran level,” Vinci added.
To which Chiazza remarked, “I’m a Progressive commercial now: I’ve become my father.”
At the same program, developer Bill Paladino demonstrated some apparent skills he may have learned from his father, Carl – who is once again running for political office.
Vinci, the trade group’s president, asked the panelists what they thought of Douglas Jemal’s increasing investment in Buffalo.
“He’s tackled some huge projects currently,” said Paladino, CEO of Ellicott Development Co. “I don’t know how he’s doing it. He’s got a billion dollars under construction, which is incredible. He puts some thought into his projects.”
He added, “It’s a lot at once, and we wonder how he’s doing it, but he’s doing it, and I’m happy he’s here, and I wish him the best of success. It’s only going to make our city better. He’s creating opportunities for business, and I appreciate that.”
“You sound like you’re the son of a politician,” Vinci said with a smile. “That was a very good answer.”
