North Tonawanda Mayor Rob Orttvsigns the SCOPE (Shooters Committee on Political Education) pledge to back repeal of the New York SAFE Act gun control law as Orleans County SCOPE Chairman Tinker Young looks on. Ortt and his opponent Gia Arnold traded political PR jabs this past week. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

BY SCOTT LEFFLER
scott.leffler@eastniagarapost.com

---

Republican candidates for the New York Senate 62nd District seat poked each other with public relations jabs this past week.

Challenger Gia Arnold started things off last Sunday with a press release pledging not to take any donations from outgoing state Sen. George Maziarz, who announced earlier this month that he would not be seeking re-election:

In light of the allegations of impropriety regarding Senator Maziarz’s campaign account, I am pledging to accept no donations from either his campaign account or him personally.  I am calling upon my opponent, Robert Ortt to do the same publicly. This would include funds that the Senator donates to the Republican Committees to give to his chosen candidates.  In addition, I call upon the Republican Committees of New York State, Niagara County, Orleans and Monroe as well as the Conservative Committees to refuse to accept donations from the Senator until there is a thorough investigation conducted of these charges.

I believe denying donations from these funds is a show of responsibility and respect for the constituents of our district and all New Yorkers, to stand against apparent corruption and say I will take no part of it, not just for myself but my opponent as well. It is imperative that candidates for public office in New York vow to stop the cycle of corruption and abuse that New York is ranked worst for in the nation. If we do not stand against the misuse of campaign funds during the election cycle, what else would we not stand up for during our time in Albany.

Maziarz has more than $1 million in his campaign war chest, which he can donate to any political cause he chooses. As a self-proclaimed party outsider, Arnold is highly unlikely to benefit from any of that windfall. North Tonawanda Mayor Rob Ortt, meanwhile, would be much more likely to receive a donation from Maziarz' campaign coffers.

Her pledge to not take any funds from the sitting senator is likely an effort to either keep Ortt from dipping into the very large well that is the Maziarz campaign fund — or shame him for doing so if he does.

In turn, Ortt, on Tuesday pledged to work to overturn the S.A.F.E. Act. via a press release of his own:

North Tonawanda Mayor Rob Ortt, the endorsed Republican candidate in the 62nd Senate District, met with the local leader of an activist group that has grown by leaps and bounds since Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed the nation’s most restrictive gun control act into law last January.

Ortt joined Tinker Young, the Orleans County chairman of the Shooters Committee on Political Education, or SCOPE, at the Orleans County Fair Monday to discuss ongoing efforts to repeal Cuomo’s New York SAFE Act. SCOPE, an activist, grass-roots group that long advocated against gun control and for favorable state policies regarding hunting and shooting sports, has become one of the most vocal and energetic forces against the far-reaching SAFE Act gun control regime since the law’s enactment.

“The SAFE Act was a bad law because it was rammed through in the middle of the night, before the ink was dry on the printed copies, with no debate,” Ortt said after signing SCOPE’s pledge to work to repeal the gun control law and oppose similar legislation.  “But it was more fundamentally a bad law because it flew in the face of the Bill of Rights.”

At just 54 words, the SCOPE pledge gets right to the point: “As a candidate for office in the state of New York, I pledge to support the Second Amendment and the rights of gun owners, hunters, and sportsmen in our state. I pledge to support the repeal of the NY SAFE Act and oppose any similar gun-ban legislation at the local, state, and federal level.”  Young witnessed Ortt’s pledge signature.

Ortt, a combat veteran who earned a Bronze Star serving in Afghanistan, was blunt about his stance on repealing the SAFE Act and protecting the Second Amendment.

“I’m proud to have served my country.  When I first put on the uniform, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution,” Ortt said. “Signing the SCOPE pledge is just reaffirming an oath I took a long time ago. I meant it then, and I mean it now.”

Ortt is seeking election as the endorsed Republican candidate in New York’s 62nd Senate District, which includes all of Niagara and Orleans counties, as well as the towns of Sweden and Ogden.

The repeal of the S.A.F.E. Act has been Arnold's go-to subject matter since she started her campaign. By pledging to champion Arnold's primary issue — and with the implied endorsement of the chairman of SCOPE in Arnold's home county — Ortt could very well take a lot of wind out of the Holley woman's sails.

---

"ANALYSIS" is an occasional feature by East Niagara Post that will provide a more in-depth view of local politics and news than found in most news stories.