Politics Now

Raymond W. Walter's election to the state Assembly has left an open seat in the Erie County Legislature.(Derek Gee/ Buffalo News File Photo)

There's a short-term gig available in the Erie County Legislature.

Raymond W. Walter, an Amherst Republican, formally resigned his 4th District Legislature seat last week to head to Albany to represent the 148th Assembly District. Walter won the unexpired term of former Assemblyman James P.  Hayes, who resigned in September to take a private-sector job.

That leaves a vacancy in the 15-member county Legislature until the end of the year.

County Legislature Majority Leader John J. Mills said last week that Republicans are considering appointing someone to fill the seat -- which represents Clarence, Newstead, Akron and parts of Amherst and Cheektowaga -- for the remaining weeks in December.

Filling the job for only a few weeks, however, may be difficult.

The Legislature is scheduled to meet at least three more times before the end of the year, and could hold additional meetings if it needs to take up potential budget vetoes from County Executive Chris Collins.

Will Walter's absence change the voting power of GOP members of the Legislature as they take up Collins' 2012  budget proposal? Not likely.

Votes are still based on a 15-member Legislature, which means it will still take eight votes to make a budget change and 10 votes to override a veto. So the Dems, if they stick together, will have enough votes to make changes to the budget, but will still need to convince at least one of their Republican-caucusing colleagues to join them to override a veto.

By January, none of that will matter. The Legislature will downsize to 11 members, and Legislator Edward A. Rath  III will take over a newly formed district representing Clarence, Newstead and northeastern sections of Amherst.

--Denise Jewell Gee

Republican Christopher L. Jacobs will be a few weeks ahead of other newly elected office holders when he officially assumes the title of Erie County clerk some time next week.

Jacobs, who defeated Democrat Maria R. Whyte on Election Day, now fills a clerk vacancy created by the May resignation of Kathleen C. Hochul, who won a special congressional election. And because the election fills a vacancy, election law allows him to assume the office once the Nov. 8 vote is officially certified, according to Democratic Elections Commissioner Dennis E. Ward.

"I'm planning to take the office when the vote is certified," Jacobs said, "considering how long the office has been vacant."

Ward said he expects the certification process to be completed some time next week. And as soon as Jacobs signs an "oath card" promising to uphold the Constitution, Ward said Jacobs is authorized to take over the office, begin his duties and draw a paycheck.

--Robert J. McCarthy

Erie County Executive Chris Collins won't be in office in January, but the Legislature still set aside 45 minutes for his office to talk about the 2012 budget for the county executive's administrative staff this morning.

Nobody showed up, and Chairwoman Barbara Miller-Williams said she received no word from his staff that they weren't coming.

"We're disappointed of course," Miller-Williams said. "We're here ready to take care of the people's business. I think it's disrespectful, and I feel that we're all still in office until the end of they year. It's our responsibility to review the budget."

Miller-Williams, who also lost a re-election bid for her seat last week, placed a call to the main line of the county executive's suite when it became apparent no one was coming. She got voice mail.

Grant Loomis, a spokesman for Collins, said it is the budget department that has handled the presentation for the county executive in the past. Budget Director Gregory Gach met with legislators on Monday and has had staff present for many of the presentations this week.

"The budget department has historically handled this presentation, which is simply related to personnel lines in the county executive's office," Loomis said of the 45-minute time slot scheduled this morning. "All discussion of the county executive's office budget is moot given last week's election."

The Legislature's Finance, Management and Budget Committee has meetings scheduled throughout the week to meet with department heads to review Collins' proposal for 2012. The Legislature will hold a public hearing on the budget at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22, in Old County Hall. 

The slot reserved for the county executive's office was the first no-show of the week.

County Comptroller Mark C. Poloncarz, who will replace Collins as county executive in January after winning the election last week, is scheduled to appear before the Legislature on Friday to talk about his views on the budget.

--Denise Jewell Gee