Restaino’s Alliance with the Conservative Party May Have Secured Win Democrat Mayor Robert Restaino has a small lead over Republican Carl Cain in the hotly contested Niagara Falls mayoral election. As of press time, Restaino leads by slightly over 200 votes, with affidavit and absentee ballots yet to be counted.Read More

By Tony Farina Election day is within sight (Tuesday) and there is a lot at stake in Niagara Falls for voters to consider, not the least of which is trying to keep the city in balance and not surrendering to the mysterious agenda of the incumbent mayor, Robert Restaino, whoRead More

Niagara Falls City Council Member Vincent Cauley is emerging as a force to reckon with. Known for his assertive stance, Cauley has vocally challenged Mayor Robert Restaino’s extravagant use of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. As a member of the Republican majority of the Niagara Falls City Council, CauleyRead More

By Brandon M. Stickney “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson For a time, human rights activist Malcolm X meant trouble for young Carlton “Carl” Cain. Malcolm’s autobiography, co-authored by Alex Haley, was nearly 500Read More

By Dennis Elsenbeck I have lived and worked in Western New York for decades now. Many in the area know me from the nearly 30 years I spent at Niagara Mohawk and National Grid (culminating in the position of regional director for Western New York), or from my role onRead More

As part of a series highlighting the Black candidates currently running for office in the City of Niagara Falls, this article will focus specifically on Democratic candidate for city council Brian Archie. In this series we will examine the Black candidates and judge them not by the color of theirRead More

This article is part of a series highlighting the Black candidates currently running for office in the City of Niagara Falls, focusing specifically on candidate for city council Uniquia Lewis. In this series we will examine the Black candidates and judge them not by the color of their skin, butRead More

This article is part of a series highlighting the Black candidates currently running for office in the City of Niagara Falls. This article will focus specifically on Republican candidate for city council Vincent Cauley, who is running for re-election. In this series we will examine the Black candidates and judgeRead More

This article is part of a series highlighting the Black candidates currently running for office in the City of Niagara Falls. This article will specifically focus on mayoral candidate Carl Cain. In this series, we strive to examine the Black candidates and judge them not by the color of theirRead More

By Tony Farina The New York Coalition for Open Government has long called on Mayor Robert Restaino to stop calling so many special sessions with the council where the public cannot comment on the issues of the day, effectively being shut out from participating on important matters at the specialRead More

  By Tony Farina Politics is definitely in the air in Niagara Falls with the election just around the corner on Nov. 7. Two council hopefuls working very hard to reach voters are Vincent Cauley, an engineer by trade, and CPA Michael Gawel, with both running on the Republican andRead More

Michael S. Gawel, a former councilman and current candidate for the City of Niagara Falls Council, has a clear vision for the future of the city. Having served the community before, he is no stranger to the challenges and opportunities that come with public service. He has extensive knowledge inRead More

Welcome to the first installment of our series of interviews with mayoral candidate Carl Cain, a retired police officer who served the Niagara Falls Police Department with distinction for 30 years, retiring as Deputy Chief. With Election Day slated for November 7, 2023, the 59-year-old Republican candidate is engaged inRead More

Is Mayor Robert Restaino losing his grip on reality? In his latest campaign ad—trumpeted with great fanfare for days on Facebook—Mayor Robert Restaino suggests NFR and Urbacon’s Niagara Digital Campus development proposal is not real. Not real? • Is Mayor Restaino suggesting the company Urbacon, a Toronto-based developer and operatorRead More

By Tony Farina It looks like the Oct. 25 debate between Mayor Robert Restaino and challenger Carl Cain, a retired deputy police superintendent, has all the makings of a rip-snorting political slugfest between two long-time Niagara Falls figures, one a lawyer and the other a cop. But lost in theRead More

The following is a screenshot taken directly from the main webpage of Mayor Restaino’s 2019 campaign platform. These are his top three campaign promises: For clarity, it reads: Development. We must focus on business development that can deliver employment with wages to empower families and help stabilize neighborhoods. Transparency. TheRead More

By Tony Farina     Vincent Cauley is a member of the Republican majority of the Niagara Falls City Council, named last December to fill out the term of retiring council member John Spanbauer. Cauley and fellow Republican Michael Gawel are candidates for the two open seats on the council,Read More

By Tony Farina The Niagara Falls mayoral race is turning ugly.  Just ask Republican candidate Carl Cain who is alleging that Mayor Restaino, a Democrat, and his appointed police chief, John Faso, have managed to deliver messages to him through two of his friends that he could face the publicRead More

MAYOR RESTAINO AND THE SO-CALLED “BLACK VOTE” Mayor Restaino has been handing out “candy,” but it’s not Halloween yet. It’s election season, and that candy is actually grant money. This past week, Mayor Restaino announced that he was awarding $100,000 to Christ Redemption Tabernacle Church, located at 339 22nd Street.Read More

By Tony Farina When attorney Dan Spitzer, a partner in the Hodgson Russ law firm, gives his counsel to city leaders about the ongoing eminent domain legal battle between the city and NFR over competing development projects, he is getting paid by the hour by city taxpayers. Spitzer, siding withRead More