General Election: Message from Seth

The 2019 Democratic primary campaign for Mayor of Niagara Falls was a spirited contest. I am grateful to have been part of it. More importantly, I am to grateful to my family, friends and supporters for coming together and working so hard to share our message of inclusion, policy reform and leadership Niagara Falls can be proud of. From day one, I said that “we” are running for mayor because citizens are more important than politicians and I believe in the limitless creativity, enduring strength and grit of my fellow residents. Thank you to everyone who helped us carry our message. I appreciate you more than my mere words or any political statement could ever convey.   

My first run for office has been a series of lessons. Over and over again, I re-learned how much I love my city and confirmed my lifetime commitment to serve this place. Niagara Falls is home and it always will be. In the weeks since the primary, I have also learned that there are times to take a step back, so others can share their ideas and plans for our city. For me, this is one of those times. I will not be actively campaigning on the Working Families Party line, although my name will appear on that line on Election Day. Democratic voters made a decision on June 25, and I respect that. In turn, I have made my own decision in the weeks since, after much reflection. I wish all the candidates well in the coming months. As a voter and tax payer, I expect to see each present a detailed platform on tax reform, neighborhood investment and crime prevention. You, as citizens, deserve that.

Niagara Falls: If my campaign was the first one you worked on, stay involved, build on our successes and learn from our weak-spots. If you are frustrated with the state of politics, do not just change the channel. Do not just post on social media. Show up, in real life. Demand more from our leaders and be sure that they speak to your issues. Run for office. Take on a complicated problem. Coming close, but short of your goal, is much more rewarding than just commenting from the sidelines. I can now assure you of that. Walking away out of frustration will not solve any of our problems, it just creates more of them. If we are going to be better as a community, we as individual citizens must show resolve, grace and tact even in moments of adversity or unfairness. Those are the most important moments in life, and they forever define who we are and how we will be judged as people.  Most importantly, if you have an idea to make something here better or improve our quality of life, large of small, please give me a call. As always, I am here to help. 

Thanks everyone. - Seth.