Kryzan for Congress

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Kryzan enters race to oppose Reynolds

By Jerry Zremski BUFFALO NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF

Updated: 12/03/07 6:48 AM

WASHINGTON — Democrats are likely to have a primary to pick their 2008 candidate against Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds, R-Clarence, thanks to local environmental attorney Alice Kryzan's decision to enter the race against fellow Democrat Jon Powers.

Kryzan, of Amherst, announced last week she is running for the 26th District congressional seat, saying she offers experience that Powers can't match and a sensitivity to local concerns that Reynolds doesn't have.

"I just became really deeply frustrated that people in Washington are not getting things done and not dealing with the problems of working families in Western New York," said Kryzan, 59. "I just thought it was time for me to stand up and say, 'I can work for you.' "

Kryzan, whose father was the mayor of Youngstown, Ohio, moved to the Buffalo area 30 years ago when her husband, Robert Berger, got a job at the University at Buffalo Law School.

A graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, she became the first female partner at Phillips Lytle, once the area's largest law firm.

The clients she represented included Occidental Chemical and its predecessor, Hooker Chemical, the companies responsible for the Love Canal chemical disaster in Niagara Falls. More recently, Kryzan represented the Town of Clarence in its fight against the expansion of a hazardous waste transfer facility in the community.

Kryzan is new to elective politics and a newcomer to a race that her Democratic opponent entered in June.

Powers, an Iraq War veteran, has tapped into a network of anti-war activists and garnered an endorsement from retired Gen. Wesley Clark, a top Democrat.

Powers, 30, had raised $229,720 as of Sept. 30, while Kryzan, who didn't start raising money until September, collected $94,208.

That included $27,000 she loaned to her campaign and another $27,515 raised through ActBlue.com, which calls itself "the online clearinghouse for Democratic action."

Noting that the Democratic primary won't occur until September 2008, Kryzan said she isn't worried about being behind in the fundraising race.

"This is a marathon, not a sprint," she said. "I'm working hard every day to get the message out and wage a competitive campaign."

Asked why she would be a better lawmaker than Powers, she said: "He certainly has one kind of experience, and like everyone in Western New York, I honor his service to the country. But I think I have skills that are required for a successful member of Congress, skills that I developed over a long career."

Stressing that her law career left her with the ability to broker compromises and solve problems, Kryzan vowed to work to bring alternative energy "green-collar" jobs to the region. Meanwhile, on the national level, she would work to end the Iraq War and establish universal health care.

"I would work for the people of the district, not for my own career enhancement and special interests that don't have the concerns of the people at heart," she said.

That was a shot at Reynolds, a five-term Republican who was a congressional rising star until the GOP lost the House majority last year.

Reynolds fought off a tough challenge from industrialist Jack Davis in 2006, and Davis, a Democrat, said he will decide early next year whether to make another run for the seat.

Reynolds enters the 2008 race with advantages - a Republican enrollment edge in the district and a campaign war chest of $716,065 - but some political pros see him as vulnerable based on his difficult 2006 race.

A spokesman for Reynolds, L.D. Platt, refused to comment.

But Powers said, "People are rallying to our call for change and accountability in Washington. I welcome Alice to the race, but my campaign is about defeating Rep. Reynolds and serving the people of Western New York."

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