Week in Review
Judge Not, David Manz, Lest Ye Be Unjudged
by Geoff Kelly
Apart from the nail-biter in Lackawanna, Tuesday’s primaries yielded but one surprise: An incumbent city court judge, David Manz, lost his bids for the Democratic and Working Families Party lines in November’s general election.
This in a city where incumbency offers better job security than any union contract ever envisioned.
Four incumbent judges seek to retain their seats this year, against three challengers. Manz finished behind Judge Robert Russell, Judge Susan Eagan, attorney Diane Wray, and Judge Joseph Fiorella in the Democratic primary. In the Working Families Party primary, Manz finished behind attorney Gillian Brown, Russell, Eagan, and Fiorella.
Manz will be on the ballot in November as a Republican and a Conservative, but the odds of his retaining a seat are greatly diminished, especially given Wray’s strong performance in the Democratic primary. Wray finished third with 17 percent of the vote, compared to Manz’s 14 percent, which landed him in fifth place in the six-way race. Eagan and Russell both did very well on Tuesday and seem like locks in November.
Brown sought the Democratic nomination, too, but was ousted from the Democratic primary after a successful challenge to the validity of his nominating petition. That challenge was engineered by Manz, who apparently recognized the threat presented by Brown and Wray, and overreacted accordingly: For example, at a South Buffalo Democratic function a couple weeks ago, Manz eschewed the usual campaign trail gladhanding, opting instead to chew out those present who’d signed Brown’s nominating petition—and he did this after Brown had been tossed from the Democratic primary. Manz is unpopular among Buffalo cops, too, which probably didn’t help him on Tuesday.
The Working Families line is a tough place from which to win a general election, even a six-way race in which the top four win. Still, Brown must be experiencing dual satisfaction that he remains on the ballot and that Manz’s prospects may be worse than his. And both Manz and Fiorella, who managed just one percentage point better than Manz on Tuesday, must be wondering how many voters will choose Brown and Wray in November, when their choices aren’t restricted by party affiliation.
Reader Comments (posting new comments is closed!)
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Peter A Reese 15 Sep 2011, 16:30
Diane Wray ran a flawless campaign as an independent Democrat without a party endorsement or any machine support. Her TV and mailings were excellent and she worked very hard, as did her friends and allies. Diane spent every penny as if it were her own and it essentially was; she had no big money support. Nice job!
Erika Talvitie 15 Sep 2011, 20:56
In a race that should be about what's best for Buffalo, I find the actions of Manz and his ilk to be particularly disheartening. That Brown's petition signatures were challenged and so many excluded is only slightly apologized for by Manz's loss at the polls. Many people share my frustrations with the political machine of Democratic party politics in this city. Some people obviously spoke with their ballot, and thankfully Gillian Brown has the Working Families Party nomination as a result. Brown would be the best thing for Buffalo City Court since Judge Hank Nowak, and whatever other three individuals you vote for in November, Brown should definitely be among the four judges elected. His effectiveness in the courtroom will be underscored by his dedication to this city, to its future (OUR future), and to the pursuit of justice. Others up for (re)election have demonstrated their willingness to be used as tools of the political machine, rather than challenge an opponent on their opponent's merits and qualifications for the job. Do not be fooled, Buffalo. You can make a difference by voting for Gillian Brown, and send a message to the powers that be that their insidious political maneuvering is not appreciated, nor will it be tolerated.
RaChaCha 16 Sep 2011, 10:21
Erika, interesting comment. Given the results Tuesday it's hard to disagree with what you say about Manz -- given the traditional re-election rates for incumbents as Geoff states, clearly votes were unhappy about something. Given that those turning out for this low-turnout primary were voters most likely to be plugged into news about the pre-primary machinations, it's reasonable to suppose that those concerns may have influenced the results more than they would in other elections with a higher percentage of less-informed voters. Yet when you say, "Others up for (re)election have demonstrated their willingness to be used as tools of the political machine" you lose me. I'm honestly unaware of what any of the other incumbent judicial candidates -- like Wray, Fiorella, Eagan -- have done to be political tools. I don't think it's fair to paint them with the same brush without being more specific. Yes, they're involved in their parties, and they have sought and received party endorsements, but that and that alone doesn't do it for me without hearing more.
Peter A Reese 16 Sep 2011, 10:55
RaChaCha: No way Wray was an incumbent. Erika was referring to Russell, Manz, Fiorella and Eagan, all of whom benefitted from the Democratic Party "deal".
RaChaCha 16 Sep 2011, 11:18
Peter thanks for the response. I thought I understood that Wray either was or had been a judge, but I'll say your knowledge trumps mine. This still leaves my question on the table for the others you list. We know something about Manz' pre-primary effort vs. Gillian Brown because it was covered by Artvoice. But what about the others -- other than benefiting from the "peace deal" which my admittedly sketchy knowledge suggests they had little if anything to do with negotiating--? Yes, some (like Eagan) received endorsement by Grassroots, which I assumed was in some way related to Grassroots' desire to be seen as playing ball this year, but I don't know that any "machinations" were required for her to get the endorsement. Something I know of the Grassroots endorsements this year comes from David Rivera, who attended their candidates meetings -- along with many others -- not really ever expecting to get their endorsement as he makes no bones about not being a rubber stamp for the Mayor. He did get one of their second-round endorsements, along with Eagan, Poloncarz, and several others, but apparently was never directly informed of it -- when I told him I had seen it in the Challenger he seemed genuinely surprised. BTW, other than being published in the Challenger, I never saw those second-round Grassroots endorsements publicized anywhere else. Given all this, just the fact that a candidate like Eagan received one of Grassroots' second-round endorsements doesn't bring me even close to agreeing with Erika's characterization of being "a tool of the political machine" (with the associated negative connotations) -- any more than I would give the same appellation to Poloncarz, who also received one of those endorsements. In other words, I'd still welcome the kind of specifics Artvoice wrote about for Manz, for any of the other judicial candidates. In the absence of which I must discount Erika's characterization and what it connotes.
All Eyes On Us 16 Sep 2011, 13:28
If I am not mistaken, Grassroots endorsed Eagan, Manz and Russell but only put Russell and Eagan on their campaign literature.So somebody got shafted. Also, Eagan was their primary candidate for getting elected as it was Byron Brown,s appointee and Grassroots was not going to let the mayor down.Eagan was carried to all events in the African American community by Maurice Garner and the mayoral appointee, Oswaldo Mestre, Director of Citizen Services was escorting her to every inner city church.One thing I know is that Maurice Garner does not do anything for free.
People for Truth 16 Sep 2011, 14:49
Wray doesn't have any machine support?!? Wasn't Dennis Ward her character witness in her appeal of the below ratings?!? I would say that is huge political machine support... The data speaks for itself: Bar Association Issues Ratings for Judicial Candidates Buffalo City Court: Gillian Brown - Qualified Hon. Susan M. Eagan - Well Qualified Hon. Joseph A. Fiorella - Well Qualified Hon. David Manz - Well Qualified Anthony L. Pendergrass - Not Recommended Hon. Robert T. Russell, Jr. - Outstanding Diane Y. Wray - Not Recommended Wray - Not Recommended but she made it on the ballot?!? When did we voters start electing incompetent people to such important positions?!?
All Eyes On Us 16 Sep 2011, 15:43
Diane Wray never had a chance to be rated fairly because she was not an incumbent. She was a threat because she had such huge, overall support in the city. This was evident even before the ratings. What Bar Association, whose members are aspiring to be judges, would have given her a fair rating? Don't forget the demand on Lenihan to endorse all incumbent came from Gov. Andrew Cuomo, no less. Diane Wray could have been 'Perry Mason' and she would have been not endorsed by the Democratic Party and certainly was not going to be rated 'qualified', as Wray and Pendergrass have huge support in the Inner City! Check the voting pattern when they become available. Gillian Brown was not the threat that the Establishment enjoyed from Wray and Pendergrass.
Note Bene 16 Sep 2011, 18:33
How much do candidates get billed by the Democratic and Republican parties once they are endorsed? I understand it is quite a hefty sum.
Oh Really 16 Sep 2011, 19:39
Being an incumbent has NOTHING to do with being rated. The Bar Association rates everyone who is running, unless they ask not to be rated. The State Independent Rating Commission rates everyone who's runninng. Wray was rated "not recommended" by the Bar and "unqualified" by the Independent Commission. Pendergrass asked not to be rated. Brown was rated qualified by both. Its public; look it up. Wray is a woman who refused to even let the Woemn's Bar rate her. Look it up. Brown is no outsider, and neither is Wray, but everyone should wonder why Wray is trying so-o-o-o hard to be considered an outsider, when everyone knows the Hoyt people helped her and she is as inside as they get.
chester 16 Sep 2011, 21:39
It's pointless to suggest that someone who is an "outsider" could every be elected to anything in Buffalo (or probably anywhere for that matter). You have to have some help from someone in the know just to figure out how to get on the ballot, let alone mount an effective campaign. I think the point of the Wray victory is that she was clearly aligned with the non-Byron Brown wing of the party, and she won because of that. If you're really on the inside of the Party you might have known about Manz lambasting people for signing other people's petitions (and people wonder why I refuse to sign petitions anymore), but if you were just a typically well informed citizen (meaning you read the News and Artvoice, basically) then you see Manz (and the others) as status quo (how could an incumbent not be?) and Wray and G. Brown as not. That's all it takes frankly. And as to whether she's "Qualified," I'm pretty sure there's quite a bit that's not objective to those ratings, as several here have suggested. If the same people vote in the general as voted in the primary I wouldn't be at all surprised if both G. Brown and Wray are elected. Not being aligned with B. Brown is a huge plus these days.
Oh Really 16 Sep 2011, 22:24
I think I agree with you about 90% Chester. Good comment. Thanks.
Peter A Reese 18 Sep 2011, 14:10
To be "Qualified" to be a judge in New York, your need to be a practicing attorney for five years. All candidates were "Qualified" as a matter of law. As a practicing attorney, I have no use for any of the self proclaimed rating entities. If you check, incumbents are almost always rated "Well Qualified". In fact, there have been attorneys who had essentially administrative jobs all their lives and were later appointed to the bench where they performed with distinction. Anyone who thinks judicial selection and rating is not political is being naive. As Abe Lincoln told us “never forget that a judge is just a lawyer who knew a governor.”
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