From the Desk of Henry

Election 2009

With the announcement of my resignation as Chairman of the Niagara County Republican Party, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on the prior nine years.

When I took the reins of the committee on 2000, little was going well. We were in the minority in the Niagara County Legislature and had moderate success in other local offices.

My approach to rebuilding the party in Niagara County was simple: Good government is good politics. I sought to attract candidates who understood this principle who understood that the word “politics” isn’t a dirty word when elected officials come together with a common goal of working for the betterment of the community.

That being said, I knew that simply recruiting qualified candidates who were willing to run for office was not enough. As Chairman, I believed that it was imperative that we as a party provide the resources for candidates with the right message, and help them get that message to the constituency.

I also recognized that if our party were to thrive again, that success must start with the local committees, many of which would be instrumental in creating and cultivating the grassroots efforts that are so often the key to success.

From that point on, I did what the head of any organization does: I sought to build a team of individuals who shared the same passion and goals.

Early on that team came together. Our organization didn’t simply seek bodies. We sought candidates who embodied the philosophies of our party, helped them craft their message, implement their campaign strategy and raised the necessary resources to put our candidates in a position to win.

Ultimately our approach paid dividends. In the 2003 election, we took back the county legislature, turning a 10-9 minority into a 13-6 majority. In the subsequent years, we continued to strengthen our organization with wins throughout the county.

The grassroots approach that started years before and continued to gain momentum culminated with the elections of 2009. Not only did we maintain the current 14-5 majority in the county legislature, our party scored huge wins in several towns, including Lewiston, where our Republican challenger defeated a long-time Democratic incumbent. We also scored great wins in North Tonawanda, defeating the incumbent Democratic mayor, Wheatfield, with a new Supervisor and in the Fifth Legislative District, where our 23 year-old candidate ran for and won the seat, which was previously held by Democrats for nearly 50 years.

Please know that I am the first person to recognize the fact that our successes have been a team effort. There are so many people that have been instrumental in the accomplishments of our party in Niagara County. From the volunteers who have worked so diligently for our cause, to the financial contributors that have provided us the much needed resources, to the candidates who share our party’s philosophies to the voters who have supported our efforts, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the opportunity to serve as your Chairman.

Henry Wojtaszek

Chairman of the
Niagara County
Republican Committee

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Sincerely,

Chairman
Niagara County Republican Committee