Candidate for County Legislature Says It Is Time for Change

Michael NeMoyer

North Tonawanda resident Michael NeMoyer wants to change the way the Niagara County Legislature operates. He’s a Democrat running in the7th District, which includes portions of the City of North Tonawanda and the Town of Wheatfield.

That seat is currently held by Wheatfield Republican Kathryn Lance.

“The people need better representation that focuses on job creation and retention and economic development,” NeMoyer said. “From what I’ve seen, the one-party rule in the legislature has left a spiral of economic decline, continued high taxes and an exodus of young people from Niagara County. The time to change that direction is now.”

NeMoyer wants an overhaul of the County Industrial Development Agency to better enhance job creation instead of simply reducing much needed revenue for local governments and school districts for projects that offer little economic bounce and long-term growth.

The candidate works for Pendum LLC as a field technician servicing banking machines. It is a highly specialized field, demanding great competence and integrity. “My work requires a lot of trust and I’m proud to have earned that in my career,” NeMoyer notes. “I want to give the people in the 7th District representation that they can trust."

NeMoyer’s work has enabled him to travel around the country. “When I see thriving communities elsewhere, without the resources and assets we have in Niagara County, it makes me wonder why we can’t do better here and why the county government is content with the status quo.”

Niagara County Democratic Chairman, Nick Forster calls NeMoyer’s candidacy refreshing. “Mike’s is the kind of voice we need in the legislature,” Forster says. “He’s young, bright and innovative. We need more people in county government that embrace change and are not willing to accept the guaranteed mediocrity we have now.”

NeMoyer is a graduate of Bishop Timon High School. He is an avid camper and sailor. He and his wife Amylynn are expecting their first child in August. “I see public service as a way to make life better for our children," NeMoyer says. “Working families across Niagara County are not getting a fair deal from county government and I want to be part of changing that.”

Democrat NeMoyer faces long odds  against Republican Lance.  The freshman lawmaker holds a distinct geographic advantage: while NeMoyer hails from North Tonawanda, roughly four-fifths of the 7thDistrict sits in the town of Wheatfield, which has long been dominated by the Republican Party. Lance, who resides in the southern portion of the fast-growing town, has deep family ties to the Wheatfield GOP.

The photogenic Lance has had a fairly meteoric rise in the County Legislature’s majority caucus, surging from freshman backbencher to committee chair in just one year.  Lance, who was tapped to succeed Majority Leader Rick Updegrove as chairman of the powerful Economic Development Committee, wasted no time forging ties to the local business community.

She has made aggressive efforts on behalf of the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, as well as forcing through a legislative resolution turning over the county’s remaining Seneca casino funds to the Niagara USA Chamber of Commerce, which is using the funds to develop a promotion effort for local retailers dubbed “Shop Niagara.”

Democratic critics say she is merely a pawn in the Republican machine of State Sen. George Maziarz and point to the fact that her husband, Roger, was given a plum $70,000 patronage job at the Niagara Falls Water Board this year, despite serious objections by several of the non-Maziarz factions on the board, and despite the fact that Roger does not even live in the district served by the Water Board.