'Coffee with Chris'

Chris Voccio is retreating from public service but “Coffee with Chris” is not going away.

The Niagara County Legislator is finishing his second 2-year term in the 6th District after 4 years on the Niagara Falls Council.

A staunch Conservative and believer in term limits, he is purposefully not running again so he won’t qualify for a state pension.

He hosted his final Coffee with Chris Saturday morning at Cristoforo Columbus Society on Pine Avenue with Legislature Chairperson Becky Wydysh and 3rd District Legislator Christopher McKimmie.

McKimmie announced he will be continuing Coffee with Chris, a monthly in-person town hall in the new year only in his district, likely somewhere in LaSalle or the Town of Niagara (both in the Niagara Falls Police officer’s district.)

After the meeting, Voccio said rumors he plans to leave town once he’s done serving are just that, rumors. He hasn't made a decision. As someone who retired early from a career as a corporate hitman specializing in killing newspapers, his resources are limited and, even if he moved closer to family in Rhode Island or Connecticut, such a relocation would push his cost of living through the roof. That is something the avowed minimalist and conservative would have a hard time accepting.

A big topic of conversation during the event was the ballot proposition to increase terms for legislators to 4 years from 2. As it is, a newcomer barely learns the job in the first year before needing to begin campaigning for reelection.

Wydysh has a day job as Niagara County deputy commissioner of jurors. The State formerly approved her outside activity as a Legislator but declined to do so for another term.

Wydysh expressed empathy for those hurt not receiving SNAP during the federal shutdown but she said the county legislature has nothing to do with it even if 11,000 Niagara County residents will be missing about $5 million in monthly benefits.

“People are going to struggle for a little bit until the shutdown is over,” Wydysh said.

Wydysh also spoke a bit about the Amazon behemoth on Lockport Road in McKimmie’s district noting that while construction and manufacturing jobs related to the buildout are nice, it is too soon for Amazon to be hiring hourly workers because construction is more than a year from completion.

It remains mystifying why Grand Island stood against it. The Island will get most of the traffic and none of the tax revenue.