BS Summary: This article contains 19 faulty reasoning types, including Begging the Question, Indoctrination, and Hindsight Bias, with Confirmation Bias as the most egregious example at 8% saturation with 63 hits. Analysis detected 552 faulty-reasoning hits from 791 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 26.2% and a BS Rank of 15% (21,659 of 25,221 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 85.90% of the article peer group.
Jeremy Zellner has a challenger for chair of the Erie County Democratic Committee.
John Davis, an engineer who last fall became the first African American elected to the Amherst Town Council, told Investigative Post yesterday he’s running to replace Zellner.
Zellner, meanwhile, has said he plans to seek an eighth two-year term as county chair at the party’s biennial reorganization meeting in September.
Davis said he’s been polling party committee members in Amherst — considered a bastion of support for Zellner — and has received “overwhelming” support for his candidacy.
He said he soon will begin reaching out to party leaders in other parts of the county.
“I think the voters sent a message,” Davis said, referring to the June primary for the 61st District State Senate seat, in which he said Democrats “resoundingly rejected” Zellner in favor of Assembly Member Jonathan Rivera.
Rivera beat Zellner by nearly 10 percentage points .
The race divided a county party already at odds over a number of issues, including who Democrats should endorse to succeed Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, who will not seek reelection next year.
Zellner raised and spent more than $1.5 million in pursuit of the Senate seat — first to win a special election in February to fill the seat vacated by Sean Ryan when he became Buffalo mayor, then in his effort to fend off Rivera’s challenge.
Rivera spent just shy of $650,000.
Davis donated $250 to Rivera in March
Included in Zellner’s war chest was $236,000 he transferred from his party chair campaign account — a pool of money he used in the past to help fund town and village party committees and support the party’s endorsed candidates for office.
There has been much grumbling among party leaders and elected officials about the cost of Zellner’s ambition, but Davis is the first to step out publicly in opposition.
“It’s time for a new chapter,” Davis told me.
“The voters have made it plain and clear what they want to see, and our leadership needs to listen.”
Amherst Town Council Member John Davis.
Photo: John Davis for Amherst.
Davis is a project manager specializing in the energy sector for the Wendel Companies, an engineering firm that contracts with numerous municipalities throughout Western New York.
He became involved in politics about five years ago, first working on the campaign of Amherst Town Supervisor Brian Kulpa and later on the campaign of Amherst Town Council Member Michael Szukala.
He finished first among four candidates seeking two seats on the Amherst Town Council last November.
People who have worked with him in town politics and government tell me he’s smart, hard-working and ambitious.
He’s also relatively new to local politics, and most of his politicking has been limited to Amherst.
He said he has allies throughout the county, however, including “some very influential Democrats” and elected officials who he believes will support him.
State Senator Jeremy Zellner.
Photo: WKBW 7 News.
Zellner, in a text message, noted that the county party “played a critically important role in electing John to the Amherst town board last year, so he knows full well the importance of strong party leadership.”
“As always, this is an open process, and I look forward to a spirited debate,” Zellner wrote.
The incumbent has a significant advantage in the event of a floor vote at September’s meeting.
The county party’s town and village committee members have elected Zellner chair seven times, and in many cases their loyalty has been rewarded with public sector jobs.
He has the support of Poloncarz and Gov.
Kathy Hochul, who can’t be happy with the prospect of a party squabble in the midst of her reelection campaign.
Rivera, who faces no Republican opposition for the Senate seat in November, agreed with Davis’s assessment of the message sent by his win over Zellner.
“I think it’s a rarity for voting Democrats to express how they really feel about their party leadership,” he said.
“And we are never going to go far as a party if we don’t listen to voters.”
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A handful of other names have been floated as potential challengers to Zellner for chair.
One is Cheektowaga Town Supervisor Brian Nowak, who told Investigative Post he believes the party needs to change, “regardless of the outcome of this reorganization.”
“My vote is up for grabs and I will work with anyone to improve financial oversight and bylaw adherence,” he wrote in a text message.
Another name in the mix is attorney Sean Cooney, a longtime Democratic Party insider who co-chaired Ryan’s run for mayor last year.
Cooney did not respond to a request for comment.
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