BIO: Lynne Dixon was first elected to the Erie County Legislature in Western New York in November 2009 to represent the town and village of Hamburg, City of Lackawanna, Village of Blasdell and a portion of South Buffalo. She's focused much of her work on cutting the cost and size of government in Western New York, and has been re-elected every two years since taking office. Prior to joining the Legislature, Lynne spent 22 years as a journalist. For 12 years she was a general assignment...

BIO: Kim Snetzinger is councilmember for Ward 4 in Northglenn, Colorado. Kim was first elected in November, 2009 and then reelected in 2013 for her second 4-year term. She’s now term-limited in 2017, but has earned a reputation in her community for her effective leadership in issues such as planning and housing. In addition to her responsibilities in the town of Northglenn, Kim also works as a Housing Asset Manager for the State of Colorado.

BIO: Ken Oplinger is president of the chamber of commerce in Santa Barbara, California and former member of the city council in Blaine, Washington. Before taking the reins in Santa Barbara in 2013, Ken was president of the Bellingham/ Whatcom Chamber of Commerce in the state of Washington. At the same time, he also served as Councilman in Blaine in 2012 and 13.

BIO: Carl Calabrese is a former Councilman and Supervisor in the Town of Tonawanda, NY and Deputy County Executive for Erie County. Carl has been involved in government and politics in Western New York for over 30 years, and earned a reputation as being one of Western New York’s most effective leaders. Since leaving public office in 2005, Carl is a partner in the firm Masiello, Martucci, Calabrese and Associates, and has been an active lobbyist in Albany in the areas of Medicaid reform,...

Bio: Since January, 2011, Tim Kennedy has served as New York State Senator, representing parts of the city of Buffalo and southern suburbs. Prior to his current position, Tim was an Erie County Legislator starting in 2004, until he made the leap to higher office. He's a licensed occupational therapist, and before running for office he served the community in a differen way - helping geriatric and pediatric populations recover from injuries sothey can fully participate in all life situations....

BIO: Lynn Marinelli is a former Erie County Legislator in North Buffalo and the Town of Tonawanda, New York. Lynn, who now serves as Western New York Director of Intergovernmental Relations at Empire State Development for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, served on the Erie County Legislature for 17 years – that’s eight and a half two-year terms – and was the first woman to be elected as Chair of the Legislature. As legislator, Lynn was known as a tireless worker on her campaigns in a district...

Braden Perry is city councilmember from Mission Hills, Kansas, just south of Kansas City. Braden was elected councilman in 2014, in a race that wasn't supposed to be contested when he signed up for it. In 2011, Braden co-founded Kennyhertz Perry, LLC, in Kansas City, a business, regulatory, government compliance, and litigation law firm representing companies and individuals that deal in highly regulated industries. He sits on the board of the Victory Project, the Kansas City Securities...

Mike Stanek is Chairman of COSE, the Council of Smaller Enterprises, Northeast Ohio’s 12,000-member small business organization. His experience in public office includes two stints at the local level, as a member of the City Council in Fairview Park, Ohio from 1992-1995 and Avon Lake, Ohio from 2001-2009. Mike is a private-sector guy. He’s Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Hunt Imaging LLC in Berea, Ohio, and has been since the company was established in 1996. With his wife,...

New York State Senator Rob Ortt represented New York’s 62nd Senate district, which covers the northern part of Western New York, along Lake Ontario, from Niagara Falls to Rochester, since January 2015. Prior to being elected to state office, Rob served as Mayor of North Tonawanda, New York, about ten miles from Niagara Falls, and City Clerk/Treasurer before that. Rob enlisted in NY Army National Guard in October 2001 in direct response to the attacks on September 11th, and is a veteran of...

Stefan Mychajliw currently serves as Comptroller of Erie County in Buffalo, NY. Stefan was elected to the Comptroller’s seat in a special election in 2012 to fill out the last year of a four-year team, and was re-elected in 2013. Stefan came into office and kicked off his political career by doing a full-scale audit of his own department, making numerous changes to make the office stronger and more responsive. He was no stranger to looking at government through a close lens, as in his...

Trace George is a former Town Councilman in Java, NY, about 45 minutes outside of Buffalo. Trace was elected by his town’s voters in November, 2013 – and has a great story to tell that’s right up The Campaign Coach’s alley – because he ran for office to accomplish something specific and then got it done. For his “real” job, Trace is President and CEO of a rapidly-growing marketing and graphic design firm, VSP Graphic Group, which he founded in 1995. VSP operates out of Buffalo and West Palm...

TAMEIKA ISAAC DEVINE, COUNCILMEMBER, COLUMBIA, SC Tameika Isaac Devine is a 4-term City Councilwoman from Columbia, South Carolina. Tameika was first elected the office in 2002 and was not only the first African-American woman to serve on the Council but the first African-American to win an at-large election in the history of her city. In that role, Tameika has done some amazing things including helping to establish the City's Criminal Domestic Violence Task Force, co-chairing the City's...

Guy Marlette is a former town board member in Amherst New York, just outside Buffalo. First elected to office in 2007, Guy served for eight years as town board member and deputy supervisor before he reached his term limit at the end of 2015. His bid for an Erie County Legislature seat in 2015 fell just short, polling 43% of the votes against a significant Democratic overlay. Guy's background is in the private sector. He's the owner of Alternative Information Systems in Buffalo, which provides...

MARK GRIMM, COUNTY LEGISLATOR, ALBANY, NY Mark Grimm is a County Legislator from Albany, New York. In November 2015, Mark won election, pulling 65% of his district while overcoming a significant enrollment disadvantage. In 2007, Mark upset two long-term incumbents to win a Town Board Seat in his home of Guilderland, New York, and actually ran for office for the first time back in 1989. In addition to serving as County Legislator, Mark is President of Mark Grimm Communications, where he...

Dr. Kevin Hardwick is the Director of Urban Studies Program at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, and Erie County Legislator, representing Buffalo's northern suburbs. Kevin's involvement in politics dates back to his senior year in high school when he was elected to a seat on the Susquehanna Valley Board of Education in the Binghamton, New York area. He served for eight years on the Binghamton City Council, twelve years as a council member in the city of Tonawanda, New York, and won...

Mayor Tom Riel is in his third term as Mayor of Bradford, Pennsylvania. In 2015, Tom won his third consecutive election for the mayor’s office, having first been elected in 2007 after serving 2 years on the Bradford City Council, earning re-election by a five to one margin. As Mayor, Tom led an economic turnaround in his hometown, highlighted by a revitalization of Bradford central business district. Tom also serves on the executive board of the Pennsylvania State Mayors’ association, and for...

On November 3, 2009, Kim was elected the first African-American mayor of the City of York and was sworn in as York's 24th mayor in January 2010. In 2013, Mayor Bracey was successful in her bid for re-election and is now in the middle of her second term, representing 43,000 residents and overseeing a budget of $98 million. Kim is a US Force veteran, serving our country over a decade and earning the National Defense Service Medal and the Air Force Good Conduct Medal. In her role as mayor, Kim...

James Hartman is an at-large member of the St. Tammany Republican Parish executive committee in Louisiana, and president and CEO of James Hartman and Associates, a political consultancy that has helped candidates win elections in nine states, Europe, and even Africa. James’ career in politics has involved roles with the media, as a legislative staffer, a campaign staffer, and political consultant before opening his own firm from being a reporter, to a legislative staffer, to a consultant, to...

Brian was elected Mayor of the Village of Williamsville in 2011 after four years serving as a Village Trustee and he was re-elected in 2015. He is an architect and urban planner at the Clark Patterson Lee design firm in Buffalo and is a graduate of the University at Buffalo with Bachelors and Masters degrees in Architecture and Urban and Regional Planning. Brian is the President of the Erie County Village Officials Association and the former President of the Association of Erie County...

CHUCK SWANICK, FORMER ERIE COUNTY LEGISLATOR, TONAWANDA, NY Chuck Swanick is a former County Legislator from Erie County in Western New York. Chuck served the residents of Erie County’s northern suburbs for 26 years before retiring from office in 2005, including nearly a decade as the Legislature’s Chairman, after answering an ad in the local paper for candidates in 1979. In 2005, Chuck left public service to return to his career in the railroad industry he’d started long before. And...

Chris Duquin is village trustee from Williamsville, New York, just outside of Buffalo. Chris has been in office since 2012. He was appointed to his current role and then had to run for re-election the next year and won. Since then, he has been appointed to a dual role as the village's deputy mayor, as well. Before that, Chris served on the staff of the Erie County Legislature, where he had extensive experience working on a wide array of local campaigns. He's also a small businessman -...