House Speaker John A. Boehner will headline a major fundraising event for Republican congressional candidate Chris Collins on Oct. 6 at Samuel's Grande Manor in Clarence.
According to invitations hitting mail boxes on Wednesday, state GOP Chairman Edward F. Cox will also appear at the breakfast event co-hosted by some of Western New York's top Republican money men -- Kent Frey, Paul Harder, Antaony Gioia and Mark Hamister. Gioia and Hamister are fresh from their effort for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in Buffalo in June that netted at least $1.25 million.
Tickets for the affair range from $125 to $2,500 for photo opportunities with the speaker.
Boehner is no stranger to the Western New York political scene, stumping here on several occasions for local House candidates. He last appeared here in May 2011 for Republican Jane L. Corwin. She lost later that month in a special election to Democrat Kathleen C. Hochul, who now faces Collins in November.
Last month at the Republican National Convention, Boehner identified the Collins-Hochul race as one drawing special GOP interest when he addressed the New York delegation in Clearwater Beach, Fla.
--Robert J. McCarthy
