Ralph Lorigo (left) and Frank Sedita (right)

> by tony farina

The Erie County Conservative Party held its annual Holiday Breakfast Get Together last Saturday at Lucarelli’s Banquet Center on Abbott Rd. in Lackawanna, drawing a big crowd of political operatives, state and local officeholders, and family and friends from near and far.

The annual holiday breakfast is always a popular stop for political figures, much like the Saturday morning breakfast meetings at nearby Daisies Café on South Park Ave. where current and future political hopefuls swap tales and talk about the latest rumors on the political scene.

As usual, Ralph Lorigo, Erie County’s longest serving party chairman (1994), is the headliner at the holiday breakfast as he is on Saturday mornings at Daisies and he seems to find time for everyone who shows up to spend some time talking politics, visit with old friends, drink coffee, and maybe seek an endorsement.

The holiday breakfast is one of the Conservative Party’s major fundraisers and it was a full house Saturday at Lucarelli’s and included political figures from both sides of the aisle like outgoing District Attorney Frank Sedita, a Democrat who has been elected to State Supreme Court, and County GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy.

Others in attendance included Mike Flaherty, Sedita’s first assistant who will serve as interim DA after Sedita leaves in January and who is an announced candidate to succeed him, and Republican State Assemblyman Ray Walter who ran for county executive in November, losing to incumbent Mark Poloncarz. There were many state lawmakers from both major parties in attendance as well as many county legislators and John DelMonte from Niagara Falls, a highly regarded attorney and former State Supreme Court candidate who many think will eventually make it to the bench.

In his remarks, Lorigo touted the successes in November of the Conservative Party, especially in the case of Sheila Meegan who was re-elected West Seneca town supervisor on three minor lines, getting most of her 5,097 votes on the Conservative line in a race where the party spent about $40,000 to help her rebound from a narrow loss in the Democratic primary to Christina Bove.

Under Lorigo’s leadership, the Erie County Conservative Party has established itself as one of the strongest Conservative party organizations in the state and the party’s support is much coveted by politicians who see the Conservative Party’s third line on the ballot as often spelling the difference between victory and defeat. Hence the big turnout on Saturday at Lucarelli’s and the continuing popularity of the Saturday morning breakfast sessions at Daisies where Ralph Lorigo can be found just about every week, come rain or come shine.