Batavia councilman reportedly plans to change parties

Enjoy the Conservative party Mr. Cox. I'm not sure you're going to find much more grass roots, change-oriented thinking over there.

I wonder if you'll still be seeking the Republican line when you run for re-election...

What party stands for spending cuts, downsizing government, elimination of government programs, government job cuts, tax cuts, and private industry growth?

Chris,
Or will he seek your Democratic Party line for a 2nd time?

Rich,

None of them.

John,

He might, but I'll have the answer to that soon enough. I'm just wondering if he's expecting to run against a Republican challenger next year.

Chris, I doubt that his reelection played any part in his move.

Bill is a man of principle and he has also been a man without a country since he ran for Council. Being a Republican meant more to Bill than you will ever know, even though it was pretty obvious to me that his politics really didn’t fit the party any longer. I am also sure this decision was one of the most difficult he has ever made but, it was a good one for him.

Good luck, Bill.

Charlie, I agree with you. Mr. Cox has proven more than once that he's willing to stand on principle regardless of party pressure. I'm just curious, as a political observer, what his expectations for next year might be.

If I was Bill, I would run under the Conservative\Tea Party banner and not ask for a secondary endorsement. Political parties come with too much baggage.

The Conservative Party comes with just as much and maybe even more baggage than the Republican Party. Their stated platform includes quite a bit of the Christian-right dogma that tends to turn off the fiscally conservative/socially liberal members of the Republican Party.

good luck Bill, your right,Republicans have no platform and do not stand for anything.at least here in genesee county and maybe NYS, good luck

Bravo and Good luck Mr. Cox. I couldn't in good conscience be a member of either the democratic or republican parties. Unfortunately even in local politics, you need to sell your soul to one party or the other in order to get elected. Then once elected, God help you if you don't march lockstep with the party agenda. If you do what your told, raise money for the party, and drink the koolaid, you just might get re elected. But, by all means don't think for yourself. That is strongly discouraged. I vote for the candidate of my choice regardless of his/her party affiliation. But given the opportunity I never would vote for my candidate on either of the major party lines. There is really little to no hope of changing anything from within the current system. More good people need to reject business as usual and flee the two parties. I have met good and honorable people from both sides of the aisle. I just wish there were more than two sides.
sincerely,
jim

When Bill ran for election, he was on the Democratic and Conservative Party lines, after losing the Republican primary.

Matched Democrat vs Republican, he narrowly lost, but won the election with the Conservative Party votes.

So, if he felt he had to change parties, but wanted to stay in an established party, the Conservatives were a good choice for him.

It's discouraging to know that you have to belong to a political party in order to be successful at running for a public office in this country. It's to bad you can't just be and ordinary American citizen.

Chris, I agree with the idea that the Conservatives have a strong right wing agenda. But, having run and won on the conservative line, I was never asked by their committee to do a single thing while in office. There are no mandatory fundraisers, party meetings or late night calls. My experience is one of being left alone. In four years, I was only invited to one event, a breakfast. It was more of a social gathering and I had a great time.

Don't get me wrong, i had more than my share of great meals with the Democrats but, chatter during those events had a lot more to do with the party. Conservatives have an ideology. They are focused on their principles.

Jeremiah,
You can run, and win, without a party. But it is easier if you have a party line to get on the ballot.

And with the major parties, it is easier to get help getting signatures and the like.

The terms "democrat" and "republican" are essentially the same thing nowadays. Both parties feel it their inherent right to tax, tax, tax, and spend, spend, spend. I don't know Mr. Cox, but I like the way he's thinking. There are other parties as well. I am currently exploring the Whigs. I would encourage anyone unhappy with politics as usual, visit this website: www.nywhig.org. We finally have a NY chapter, and I'm excited at the prospects this party offers.

Oh Good Lord, Republican is not right wing enough in Batavia. You have to go Tea Bag Whacko to get elected, or maybe there is a God and he'll lose. I joined the Palin Perry Barbour Prayathon yesterday and all I got was tar on my knees.

Not bad at all Bud, Whigs are socially liberal, strong on defense and fiscally conservative. It sounds too good to be true.

Bud, the No Nothing Party looks to be making a resurgence too. I like my Tea with H&C, if you don't mind.

I am glad to hear that Mr.Cox..You are a man of principal..Good luck you have my support..I think libertarian would be a better way to go..
Howard do you think you could get a interview with him..And ask questions of where he stand on the issues facing the city right now..

Richard asked: "What party stands for spending cuts, downsizing government, elimination of government programs, government job cuts, tax cuts, and private industry growth?"

That would be the Libertarian Party.

Congratulations to Mr. Cox. Best of luck to you.

Also, I'm with Jeremiah, a person running for office should run on their own platform as a concerned citizen and if a party decides to endorse him/her, they can. Too bad that doesn't happen enough.

Howard said " I wouldn't call the Whigs "strong defense." They're pro military intervention, which has nothing to do with defense. "

I do have to agree Howard, that this is the area I have the most difficulty with. The modern version of this political movement was started by veterans of our recent wars, who don't like the idea of intervening in a war that was unprovoked, namely the Iraq conflict. The belief is our efforts should be concentrated on Afghanistan and the terrorists that want us dead. 9/11 was provocation.
In other words, we won't start a fight. But mess with us or our allies, and we'll finish it.
Nothing is perfect, but a lot of what they stand for makes sense. Something's gotta give, cause we can't keep doing what we've been doing.

Bud,
Check out the libertarians at www.lp.org. It is refreshing to read these posts and see several people looking for options beyond the old chocolate and vanilla.