Pity poor Sergio Rodriguez, Republican candidate for mayor of Buffalo. The Erie County Republican Committee won’t back him, and the impotent city committee was slow to endorse him. He’s even supposedly getting a challenge for the Republican nod from perennial candidate Matthew Ricchiazzi.

Because of electoral fusion, Rodriguez has the option to run on a minor party line. The established minor parties have, naturally, endorsed the incumbent. They scratch each other’s backs. So, Rodriguez has to mount a write-in campaign for the Conservative line, and may opt to pursue an independent nominating petition, which enables Rodriguez to create a one-off party line. (Think Jack Davis’s “Save Jobs Party” and Chris Collins’ “Taxpayers First Party.”)

The independent party line is to be called the “Progressive Party,” according to this blog post in the Buffalo News, and would enable Rodriguez to reach out to Democrats (who outnumber Republicans seven to one in Buffalo) without requiring them to fill in a GOP box on their ballot.

But notice this passage from the post:

None of this, however, is sitting well with Erie County Conservative Chairman Ralph C. Lorigo, a strong Brown backer. The chairman said he likes Rodriguez, but the effort will not help his relationship with the often influential minor party.

“That could potentially destroy a relationship that can be built in the future,” he said. “It would be difficult to fight, but we would.

Nothing like a minor party boss trying to intimidate and bully a hard-working, young Republican candidate for mayor of Buffalo. That people like Ralph Lorigo have any political power whatsoever is the root of corruption and dysfunction in New York State’s political system. Ask yourself why the so-called “Conservative Party” might be backing the Democratic mayor instead of a Republican challenger. Ask yourself whether that’s based on principle or something completely not principled at all.