Observers predict that the high profile anti-corruption activist, Joe Mascia, will run for State Senate on the Conservative or Tea Party line, in an effort to thwart the reelection of freshman Republican Senator Chris Jacobs. When Jacobs was County Clerk, he fired Mascia at the behest of the political operative Adam Perry, who enjoyed lucrative legal work from the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority and was a frequent target of Mascia’s criticism.
Jacobs is an attractive politician with boyish looks and a charm that stands in some contrast to Mascia’s more crass style and accusatory tone. Mascia is unlikely to take the 60th district himself, but as a loud contender on any minor party line, he would undoubtedly split some fraction of the vote on the right — something that would imperil any Republican candidacy in such a Democrat enrolled district.
Mascia enjoys running for public office, and is often the only candidate advancing policy positions that elected leaders avoid. A source says that he is inclined to wage a one-issue candidacy to make a very important point: We need term limits in Albany, and the people who are there right now can’t get it done. Mascia enjoys pervasive name recognition in the district, and would likely attract considerable media attention.
Yesterday, Jacobs held a press conference calling for term limits himself, but excluded independent media outlets from the event — behavior seen as unbecoming of a Senator. The 60th District will be highly contested by both parties, and the Democratic Primary field is expected to be crowded.
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