While talk of Bush and Kerry echoes through UB's classrooms and dorms, students outside of political clubs are largely ignoring local elections that could impact the entire country.
The Buffalo area is playing host to one of the most important congressional races in the United States, for the hotly contested vacant seat in the 27th Congressional District, which includes South Campus and University Heights.
With Republican Nancy Naples running against Democrat Brian Higgins and only 12 seats open in the House of Representatives, either local candidate could tip the House to their party.
But most UB students, if they are even aware of the election, haven't shown an interest, even though the race has the potential to shift the balance in power in Congress.
"Unfortunately, UB students are not getting involved as they are in the presidential election," said College Democrats vice president Corey Mohr.
Although the presidential election has taken the spotlight off some of the other important races, local campaign officials are optimistic about the 18-24 year-old demographic and their interest in local elections.
"We've got more young people involved that I have ever seen," said Bob Richardson, Chairman of the Erie County Young Republicans. "If you take into account College Republicans from Canisius, D'Youville, UB, and Niagara University, we'll have 50 to 100 College Republicans out campaigning at any given moment."
The College Democrats said they've been more focused on working for the John Kerry campaign.
"We'll have eight to 10 people out campaigning for local elections which is good, but not great, when you think about it," Mohr said. "But we'll have 25 to 30 people traveling to campaign for Kerry, which is really, really good in relation. Unfortunately we need that many working for the local campaign."
College Republican Dan Hatem said it's because Republicans focus more on local politics that New York has a Republican governor and senate, although the state is considered largely Democratic.
"We win. We work hard," Hatem said. "Bottom line, we work harder."
Local Democratic campaign leaders said that campaigning for the presidential race helps all the campaigns for a given party.
"When people are out campaigning for us, it is not a matter of helping one over the other," said Kathy Callan, executive director for the Erie County Democratic Committee. "Every time someone is out there helping John Kerry, they are helping local candidates."
Callan added that the presidential election is an excellent primer for people interested in politics and it helps political parties add to their strength for non-presidential election years.
"The presidential election always brings energy and enthusiasm to the party. It's a wonderful opportunity to recruit," she said. "This year is not typically referred to as a local year. The energy from this year helps us for next year with the local elections."
Even with the presidential election on tap, the College Republicans have been working heavily for the Naples campaign to hand out fliers and get the word out in the community, said Duncan Stanley, treasurer of the College Republicans.
"I've been surprised by the sheer number of volunteers," Stanley said. "They have a lot more volunteers than just us."
Yet outside of the College Republicans, Stanley said student interest in local politics has been limited to students from the Buffalo region that know the candidates.
"I haven't really seen or heard anyone outside the club," he said.
Mike Marinaccio, a junior political science major, is one of those few students.
In his free time, Marinaccio works for the Hamburg Democratic Committee, a smaller branch of the Democratic Party that he says is able to focus on issues specific to Hamburg better than the countywide campaign.
"We work inside the town, something that is harder to do on the county level," he said.
Marinaccio said there are many young people on the town-level committee and their efforts will make a big difference in the Nov. 2 election and beyond.
"I'll make this prediction," he said. "Voter turnout for the 18- to 25-year-old age bracket is going to increase dramatically. UB students specifically are taking a huge interest in the election, and that will create larger interest in the future."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
