Well, well—people and politics. If it weren’t for the Sabres, what else would there be to talk about? There is hardly a politician in Western New York who did not receive at least one vote for Best Politician, which proves that every public servant has a mother collecting press clips somewhere. On the other hand—or maybe this is the same hand—there is hardly a politician in Western New York who did not receive a vote for Worst Politician, which proves that after every election there is a sore loser. The city’s new mayor, after just 100 days in office as of the closing of the Artvoice polls, had managed to land on both lists—which proves that everyone is watching Byron Brown closely. It’s worth noting that, excepting perennial finalist Sam Hoyt, the finalists for Best Politician are all new to their offices. Optimism?

Kevin Gaughan lived up to both his reputations—good citizen and gadfly—by finishing as a finalist on three lists: Best Community Activist, Best Unelected Public Servant and Most Eccentric Citizen. If only he’d placed in Best Buffalo Sabre and Best College Sports Team, Gaughan would the Mark Spitz of the People & Politics category.

Best Buffalo Sabre, of course, is a work in progress—the post-season continues and there is plenty of opportunity for new heroes to emerge. But we think our finalists, all except Martin Biron who did not play, had a good series against Philadelphia, and the winner…well, let’s just say he made Artvoice’s national team.

It’s a little early in the spring to ask our readers to name a Best Buffalo Bison, it’s true, but the Artvoice staff was chagrined that Buster—valuable as he is—was a finalist in this category. We suspect it means that too few people take advantage of the cheap seats at Dunn Tire Park. Really, Buffalo—take an afternoon off this summer, buy a bleacher seat, a hot dog and a beer and get to know your hometown team.

Finally, our Drag Queens—a furious contest this year, so close and rife with ties that we list the top eight finishers instead of the top five. This race is far too close to call. Who will emerge victorious: Vanity Vogue? Vicky Vogue? The indefatigable Chevon Davis? V? You’ll have to attend the Artvoice Best of Buffalo Party on Monday, May 8 to find out.

Best Buffalo Bill

Willis McGahee

Takeo Spikes

Marv Levy

JP Losman

Brian Moorman

Ryan Garko

Best Buffalo Bison

Torey LoVullo

Tim Laker

Ryan Garko

Coco Crisp

Buster the Bison

Best Buffalo Sabre

Ryan Miller

Maxim Afinogenov

Martin Biron

Daniel Briere

Chris Drury

Best College Sports Team

University at Buffalo men’s basketball

Niagara University men’s basketball

Medaille College women’s basketball

Canisius College women’s basketball

Canisius College men’s basketball

Best Community Activist

Tim Tielman

Robert Kresse

Michele Johnson

Kevin Gaughan

Harvey Garrett

Eugene Abrahamson

Camille Hopkins

Ani DiFranco

Malibu

Best Drag Queen

Vicky Vogue

Vanity Vogue

Malibu

Jayme Coxx

fanta-see island

Chevon davis

Armani

V

Best Entertainer

Tom Stahl

The Stripteasers

Terry Buchwald

Malibu

Lance Diamond

Most Eccentric Citizen

The lady wrapped in white who walks Elmwood

The deer lady

Kevin Gaughan

Jimmy Griffin

Eric Starchild

Best Patron of the Arts

The Knox family

M&T Bank

Charles Penney

Cecile and Stephen Biltekoff

Ani DiFranco

Best Politician

Satish Mohan

Sam Hoyt

Mark Poloncarz

Byron Brown

Brian Higgins

Worst Politician

Tony Masiello

Tom Reynolds

Joel Giambra

George W. Bush

Byron Brown

Biggest Waste of Taxpayer Dollars

Joel Giambra

Every other overpaid politician

Endless feasibility studies for Peace Bridge, traffic on Main Street, waterfont development, etc.

Bass Pro

Any money spent on a casino in Buffalo

Best Unelected Public Servant

Michele Johnson

Kevin Gaughan

Judy Einach

James Williams

B. Thomas Golisano

Best Use of Taxpayer Dollars

Waterfront development and greenway

Streets maintenance and repair

Police and fire departments

Buffalo school reconstruction

Arts funding