An exuberant Mayor Robert Restaino announced Tuesday night that he will seek a second term in office.
Speaking to a gathering of several hundred supporters in a banquet hall at the Como Restaurant on Pine Avenue, the place where he launched his first campaign for Niagara Falls mayor, Restaino said, “It’s my intention to try this again for four more years.”
In a rousing stump speech, Restaino highlighted what he saw as both the challenges and accomplishments of his first three years in office.
“When this administration started three years ago, we came in with a plan that would help the city achieve excellence,” the mayor said. “We wouldn’t settle for just ‘good enough’.”
Restaino immediately pivoted to a discussion of development in the Cataract City. Without ever mentioning Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) by name, the mayor took aim at what he described as developers who have come to the Falls with “grand plans” only to tell both residents and city officials to “wait” awhile.
“I’m telling you, I’m not waiting any more,” Restaino said to a round of applause. “I’m done waiting. We’re smart enough to know what we need in this community.”
Notably absent during the mayors remarks were officials of NFR, including its president, Roger Trevino. NFR has traditionally played an outsized role in local politics, but the firm, which controls a large swath of prime South End tourist district real estate, has been locked in a contentious battle with the city over its plans to build a gateway events center known as Centennial Park.
In his remarks, Restaino asked his supporters, which included prominent business and community leaders, to back the Centennial Park project.
“It’s not just a dream,” Restaino said. “It’s a chance for Niagara Falls to put itself on the same platform as other cities on the northern border (of the United States and Canada). If they can do it, we can do it.”
The call to back Centennial Park elicited another outpouring of applause and cheers.
Restaino noted the presence of members of the city’s police and fire departments in the hall and said he believed that the “first step to building a better community” was making sure that the public safety agencies were fully staffed and had new and better equipment, including $11 million in new fire apparatus.
“As they keep us safe, we gave them the tools to do it,” the mayor said.
On matters of economic development, Restaino emphasized the need to focus on local residents rather than tourists.
“The tourists will come every May,” he said. “I’m focused on the 12 million people who live with 90 miles of the Falls.”
The mayor said he will look to continue to restore what he said was a “neglected Hyde Park.” He also teased what he said would be announcements of a new amphitheater and ice rink downtown.
While acknowledging the financial challenges created by the Covid pandemic, Restaino noted that he has presented three consecutive city budgets that were all adopted with amendment. and the mayor pointed out that during her term, the New York State Comptroller removed the Falls from his list of fiscally stressed cities in the state.
“That’s good government,” Restaino said.
After his remarks, as he mingled with supporters, Restaino said it was the people in the banquet hall that had energized his announcement.
Among those on hand for the announcement was Niagara County Democratic Party Chair Chris Borgatti. Restaino, a registered Democrat, will certainly seek his party’s endorsement.
Asked if his attendance had any meaning to Restaino’s re-election bid, Borgatti said, “There’s no inference. I think things are good. We’re moving in the right direction.”
