POLITICS: Odd campaign flyer causes stir

Local News

November 3, 2009

By Mark Scheer<br><a href="mailto:mark.scheer@lockportjournal.com">E-mail Mark</a> The Lockport Union-Sun %26 Journal Tue Nov 03, 2009, 12:15 AM EST

WHEATFIELD — Town Attorney Robert O’Toole on Monday encouraged voters to ignore a questionable piece of campaign literature that was delivered to several homes on the eve of Election Day.

O’Toole said the document in question, which suggested some town officials want to turn the former Summit Mall into a home for sex offenders, has “absolutely not one word of truth” in it.

“As a town government, we really want people to know that there’s no truth to what’s being said in that flyer,” O’Toole said.

The piece of literature was attached to several mail and newspaper boxes in the town on Monday. It suggested the plan for housing sex offenders was being endorsed by a current candidate in the race for town supervisor and several town councilmen.

It encouraged “neighbors to unite to stop sexual predators from living in our backyards” and suggests it was written by a mother of two who is “angry” and “worried” for all of the town’s children. It also encourages residents to contact the town councilmen and the supervisor candidate.

“They say it will be secure, however, we do not this type of housing in our town,” reads the notice.

O’Toole characterized the delivery of the material as a political dirty trick, saying town officials have never discussed such a plan. He added that it would be “virtually impossible” for the mall building to be converted into living quarters under town code.

“It’s nonsense,” O’Toole said. “The town has not considered any proposal to use the Summit Mall to house sex offenders of any kind. The town wants people to know that there’s no truth to it.”

Jim Anthony, whose company, Oberlin Plaza One, owned the site for many years, also said the flyer has no basis in truth and characterized it as unethical and “tragic” election season behavior.

“Nobody has ever, ever, in the history of our ownership of the property talked to us about anything remotely like a home for sexual predators,” Anthony said. “It’s obviously a political maneuver.”

Contact reporter Mark Scheer at 282-2311, ext. 2250.

Text Only

Local News

Reform agenda touted
Empire State Development Corporation executive Sam Hoyt visited Lockport on Wednesday to tout Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s state budget and government reform plans.
Changing the way the state does business will bring fiscal relief to counties, cities and towns, eventually, Hoyt suggested.
It’s too bad the reforms won’t kick in before municipalities like the City of Lockport begin confronting fiscal crises, Mayor Michael Tucker said in response.

February 9, 2012 2 Photos
Tucker: 'Best days lie ahead'
The City of Lockport government is smaller than it was 18 months ago but is in a stronger financial place, Mayor Michael W. Tucker said in his annual State of the City address.

February 8, 2012 1 Photo
Trio of new classes proposed for Newfane
Newfane High School could have three new business courses in the fall, one of which would center on video game design.

February 8, 2012
Municipalities take wait-and-see approach on SPCA funding
The City and Town of Lockport are each withholding payments to the Niagara SPCA, while other Eastern Niagara County towns are taking a wait-and-see approach.

February 7, 2012 1 Photo 2 Stories
Rocky II
Friends of Deputy Craig Beiter of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Department plan a benefit on Feb. 26 to raise money to buy and train a new dog for the K-9 Unit.
Beiter’s German shepherd, Deputy Rocky, was killed while on duty in December, and the sheriff’s department is close to getting a replacement.

February 6, 2012 1 Photo 2 Stories
Basket Factory closes
The Basket Factory has gone out of business.
The owners, Julie Thompson Riegle and Dawn Thompson, made the difficult decision last Monday and put the sign on the door Tuesday.

February 6, 2012
No snow is no problem
Unseasonably warm weather didn’t keep Roy-Hart Winterfest from being a fun day for the families who came out to Roy-Hart Elementary School on Saturday.
More than 500 people attended the third annual festivities, which Gasport Lions Club officials said was a big increase from last year. The halls of Roy-Hart Elementary were filled with vendors, programs and movement as excited children rushed from one activity to another.

February 6, 2012
Shovel-ready park has perks
At first glance, the big, orange road sign announcing vacant property on Lockport Road as a “shovel ready certified” building site seems a bit gratuitous.
To companies looking for new places to launch a business, it’s not. The sign in their eyes is a welcome mat, for in three words a community pronounced itself ready, willing and able to make a deal quickly.

February 3, 2012 1 Photo
Roy-Hart to play the big stage
A group of local students will be performing this month at Kleinhans Music Hall just before a BPO concert.
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra will welcome the Royalton-Hartland High School Mixed Chorus as part of the BPO’s Community Spotlight program on Feb. 19 at Kleinhans in Buffalo. The chorus will perform under the direction of Carolyn Unitas Roos and accompanied by Janice McKinney.

February 3, 2012
Former NFTA cop sentenced
A former Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority police officer will spend six years on probation for sending a sexually explicit photo to a teenage girl, a girl he later had a sexual encounter with.
In addition, John W. Ingham will spend 25 weekends in the service of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office Work Program. Ingham was sentenced Thursday by State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch, Sr. Ingham will also register as a sex offender.

February 3, 2012
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

POLITICS: Odd campaign flyer causes stir

Site Map

Contact Us