In Senate Run, Delano Sees Albany As Crime Scene Worth Investigating
Cold case detective challenging Stachowski in heavy Democratic district
Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:23:00
Dennis Delano, a now locally famous Buffalo cold case detective with a gravely voice and penchant for black leather trench coats, has been described as part Colombo, part Sipowicz.
Unlike Peter Falk or Dennis Franz, though, Delano is trying to trade in his badge for a desk in the State Senate.
In April, Delano was suspended from the police force for leaking forensic evidence to the press in an effort to jumpstart a lagging case. With the extra free time, he began thinking about dirty politics, which he blames for his suspension, and the debilitating economic conditions in Western New York.
He vowed to do something about both.
"I figured, well, it's time to get rid of some of these politicians then, if that's the way things are going," Delano said.
Soon after, Delano filed papers to run as a Republican against State Sen. William Stachowski (D-Buffalo), a 21-year veteran of the State Legislature. But his campaign is not about opposing Stachowski specifically, Delano said, but about the need for a change in Albany.
As for what that change may be, Delano admitted to being a little vague on specifics.
"I don't know what I can do about it, but I'm going to try to do something," he said. "You have to be different to get different results."
Delano is certainly different from other Senate candidates across the state. He is widely known throughout the Buffalo area for his efforts to exonerate two falsely imprisoned individuals, as well as for his public duel with District Attorney Frank Clark (D).
Delano said Clark was behind his suspension because of the negative light his cold case work cast on the district attorney's office.
The case and Delano were featured in June in an episode of Dateline NBC, further cementing his folk hero-celebrity status in Buffalo.
"He didn't give up. He kept fighting," said Erie County Republican Chairman James Domagalski, who is eagerly supporting Delano's candidacy. "He bucked the police hierarchy, he bucked the prosecutors, he bucked everybody."
But winning a Senate seat in Buffalo could prove to be more difficult than dusting for fingerprints. Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans in the district, 109,663 to 46,270, according to enrollment figures.
Stachowski has Delano beat in fundraising too. The senator's campaign reported having $47,277 on hand as of the July disclosure, while Delano reported having only $4,275, all but $75 of which coming from his own wallet.
Delano dismisses his opponent's fundraising advantage as more evidence of Albany's cash-flush, corrupt culture.
"I wasn't aware that I had to buy my way into office," he said.
Delano, who switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican close to a decade ago, said if elected he would begin by investigating where taxpayer money has been going. Buffalo's taxes are some of the highest in the state and there have been little noticeable returns on the investment, he said.
"People are leaving in droves," Delano said. "Our tax base is way down. Our neighborhoods are looking like the surface of the moon."
With regard to taxes, Stachowski has his own selling point for voters. If Democrats get the majority in the Senate after the November elections, Democratic Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) has said that he would make Stachowski chair of the powerful Finance Committee.
Stachowski said holding this post could not only help his district's interests, but has greater meaning to his constituents as well.
"I think it would mean a lot for all upstate to have an upstater in that honorable position," Stachowski said.
Stachowski highlighted three things he thought will assure his re-election: his record in Albany as a champion for upstate issues, the high level of constituent services offered by his district office, and his party's enrollment advantage in Buffalo.
As for Delano, Stachowski at first declined comment, saying he took all of his opponents seriously. But when pressed on the issue, the senator cited Delano's lack of experience as a serious shortcoming.
"I know he likes to brag about the fact that he has no government experience," Stachowski said. "It's an awful high level of government to start out on with no experience."
Stachowski added that Delano's popularity in Buffalo is more a product of the detective's cozy relationship with the media than anything else.
"I'm not mistaken, those cases were solved by teams of people," he added. "It wasn't just an individual doing all that work."
Still, Delano's celebrity will force Stachowski to campaign harder than he has in previous years for this traditionally safe district in a year when Democrats are waging intense fights for GOP seats across the state, said Kevin Hardwick, chair of the political science department at Canisius College in Buffalo.
"He's a rock star," Hardwick said of Delano. "But again, it's a very Democratic district."
Hardwick, who once worked for former Senate Majority Leader Warren Anderson (R-Binghamton), said Delano's biggest obstacle probably is not the Democratic enrollment advantage so much as the sheer glut of high-profile races going on in Western New York this year. In addition to the Stachowski-Delano showdown, there are very competitive races to succeed retiring Rep. Thomas Reynolds (R-Erie) and State Sen. Mary Lou Rath (R-Genesee/Erie).
"Normally, it would be the premier race in the area because again there's nothing going on," Hardwick said. "But there's so much else going on in this neck of the woods that it might get overshadowed, which might hurt Delano."
Stachowski, on the other hand, has not had a major challenger in 20 years, so his campaign apparatus may be rusty, Hardwick said.
The onus is still on Delano to prove he can appeal to both Republicans and Democrats.
"It was a safe Democratic seat and I suspect it will remain so," Hardwick said. "However, given that it is Dennis Delano and he does have that status that transcends partisanship, you've got to take him seriously."
Delano said he is looking forward to getting to Albany, where he believes he will have the opportunity to do what he has been missing these past few months: some real police work.
"They know I'm not gonna put up with no crap," Delano said of how the Republican leadership in the Senate might take to his less than political approach to things. "I don't want to offend anybody, but you have to do the right thing always."
Unlike Peter Falk or Dennis Franz, though, Delano is trying to trade in his badge for a desk in the State Senate.
In April, Delano was suspended from the police force for leaking forensic evidence to the press in an effort to jumpstart a lagging case. With the extra free time, he began thinking about dirty politics, which he blames for his suspension, and the debilitating economic conditions in Western New York.
He vowed to do something about both.
"I figured, well, it's time to get rid of some of these politicians then, if that's the way things are going," Delano said.
Soon after, Delano filed papers to run as a Republican against State Sen. William Stachowski (D-Buffalo), a 21-year veteran of the State Legislature. But his campaign is not about opposing Stachowski specifically, Delano said, but about the need for a change in Albany.
As for what that change may be, Delano admitted to being a little vague on specifics.
"I don't know what I can do about it, but I'm going to try to do something," he said. "You have to be different to get different results."
Delano is certainly different from other Senate candidates across the state. He is widely known throughout the Buffalo area for his efforts to exonerate two falsely imprisoned individuals, as well as for his public duel with District Attorney Frank Clark (D).
Delano said Clark was behind his suspension because of the negative light his cold case work cast on the district attorney's office.
The case and Delano were featured in June in an episode of Dateline NBC, further cementing his folk hero-celebrity status in Buffalo.
"He didn't give up. He kept fighting," said Erie County Republican Chairman James Domagalski, who is eagerly supporting Delano's candidacy. "He bucked the police hierarchy, he bucked the prosecutors, he bucked everybody."
But winning a Senate seat in Buffalo could prove to be more difficult than dusting for fingerprints. Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans in the district, 109,663 to 46,270, according to enrollment figures.
Stachowski has Delano beat in fundraising too. The senator's campaign reported having $47,277 on hand as of the July disclosure, while Delano reported having only $4,275, all but $75 of which coming from his own wallet.
Delano dismisses his opponent's fundraising advantage as more evidence of Albany's cash-flush, corrupt culture.
"I wasn't aware that I had to buy my way into office," he said.
Delano, who switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican close to a decade ago, said if elected he would begin by investigating where taxpayer money has been going. Buffalo's taxes are some of the highest in the state and there have been little noticeable returns on the investment, he said.
"People are leaving in droves," Delano said. "Our tax base is way down. Our neighborhoods are looking like the surface of the moon."
With regard to taxes, Stachowski has his own selling point for voters. If Democrats get the majority in the Senate after the November elections, Democratic Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) has said that he would make Stachowski chair of the powerful Finance Committee.
Stachowski said holding this post could not only help his district's interests, but has greater meaning to his constituents as well.
"I think it would mean a lot for all upstate to have an upstater in that honorable position," Stachowski said.
Stachowski highlighted three things he thought will assure his re-election: his record in Albany as a champion for upstate issues, the high level of constituent services offered by his district office, and his party's enrollment advantage in Buffalo.
As for Delano, Stachowski at first declined comment, saying he took all of his opponents seriously. But when pressed on the issue, the senator cited Delano's lack of experience as a serious shortcoming.
"I know he likes to brag about the fact that he has no government experience," Stachowski said. "It's an awful high level of government to start out on with no experience."
Stachowski added that Delano's popularity in Buffalo is more a product of the detective's cozy relationship with the media than anything else.
"I'm not mistaken, those cases were solved by teams of people," he added. "It wasn't just an individual doing all that work."
Still, Delano's celebrity will force Stachowski to campaign harder than he has in previous years for this traditionally safe district in a year when Democrats are waging intense fights for GOP seats across the state, said Kevin Hardwick, chair of the political science department at Canisius College in Buffalo.
"He's a rock star," Hardwick said of Delano. "But again, it's a very Democratic district."
Hardwick, who once worked for former Senate Majority Leader Warren Anderson (R-Binghamton), said Delano's biggest obstacle probably is not the Democratic enrollment advantage so much as the sheer glut of high-profile races going on in Western New York this year. In addition to the Stachowski-Delano showdown, there are very competitive races to succeed retiring Rep. Thomas Reynolds (R-Erie) and State Sen. Mary Lou Rath (R-Genesee/Erie).
"Normally, it would be the premier race in the area because again there's nothing going on," Hardwick said. "But there's so much else going on in this neck of the woods that it might get overshadowed, which might hurt Delano."
Stachowski, on the other hand, has not had a major challenger in 20 years, so his campaign apparatus may be rusty, Hardwick said.
The onus is still on Delano to prove he can appeal to both Republicans and Democrats.
"It was a safe Democratic seat and I suspect it will remain so," Hardwick said. "However, given that it is Dennis Delano and he does have that status that transcends partisanship, you've got to take him seriously."
Delano said he is looking forward to getting to Albany, where he believes he will have the opportunity to do what he has been missing these past few months: some real police work.
"They know I'm not gonna put up with no crap," Delano said of how the Republican leadership in the Senate might take to his less than political approach to things. "I don't want to offend anybody, but you have to do the right thing always."
