AS CROWDS CALL HIM A HERO, DENNIS DELANO DECLARES IT'S TIME FOR A CHANGE IN THE EMPIRE STATE....ASKS WHERE OPPONENT HAS BEEN PAST 27 YEARS

It happens everywhere Republican state senate candidate Dennis Delano goes, at Hamburg's Blast on the Beach, at the Blessed Sacrament Church lawn, at Cheektowaga's Pulaksi Day Parade....Ordinary people come up to him pledging their support, calling him their hero for standing up for the innocence of DeJac and Cappozzi even if it meant risking the ire of his superiors, Democrats announcing they will cross party lines to vote for him.

What does Delano see as the major issue of his race against incumbent State Senator Bill Stachowski?

"The major issue for me is putting the taxpayers first," he replies. "Right now many of these politicians in Albany are catering to so many special interests that they aren't even thinking about the interests of the average taxpayer. Look at how they went home without passing the cap on property taxes, for example. There are thousands of hard working tax payers all over this state who

simply can't keep up with all these taxes and are in danger of losing their homes. But, instead of staying at work until they finished the job, they went back to their districts without doing the right thing for the people of this state. If I had taken this attitude, I wouldn't have solved a single case and DeJac and Cappozzi would still be in jail.

"I was always willing to work hard on my own time to do the right thing and they should be willing to work that hard too."

What are his views on the current Albany budget crisis about which Gov. Paterson has spoken so eloquently?

"I can't tell you exactly where to cut," he acknowledges. "But, I know there has got to be a lot of waste in Albany. Do you know they are saying we have a $20 billion deficit? $20 billion! It's unbelieveable! Meanwhile, there are not enough jobs for people and busineses are leaving in droves because we pay the highest taxes in the nation. That's why I want to go to Albany: To find it and let people know about it. I'm going to get to the bottom of the problems down there and then I'm going to do what I can to solve them. I want people to hold me accountable once I get into office. If I don't do what I say I"m going to do, they should throw me out."

Yet another prime example of Albany's dysfunctional ways in Delano's view is the Legislature's failure to pass a recent bill that would have expanded the state's DNA data base, thus enabling police to trace down the real identities of more culprits and solve more crimes.

"That's something we needed to keep people safe, yet, once again, they just decided to go home without passing it," he charges. "It's just another example of the same old thing we've been seeing for years."

What about his opponent, Senator Stachowski?

"From what I've heard, he's a nice guy, but I'm running on my own honesty and integrity," is his response. "You can't hold office in Albany for 27 years and then, all of a sudden, declare that now you see some problems and you are going to correct them. Where has he been the past 27 years?"