Erie County Republicans have selected West Seneca Supervisor Gary Dickson as their nominee for the vacant congressional seat formerly held by Rep. Brian Higgins.
Dickson, 65, will face an uphill battle against State Sen. Tim Kennedy, the Democratic nominee for the seat, and possibly Nate McMurray, a Democrat who is trying to get enough signatures to get on the ballot.
“I’m running because I think the public deserves a choice,” Dickson said in an interview with The Buffalo News. “Our next congressman shouldn’t be simply anointed by the Erie County Democrats. You know, it’s an election – it’s not a coronation. And we don’t need yet another career politician in Washington. That is not going to solve our problems.”
An Army veteran, Dickson worked as a special agent with the FBI and also served as the FBI liaison in the American embassies in Russia and Romania. Upon retiring after 27 years with the bureau, he worked for JPMorgan Chase and M&T Bank. He retired from M&T in 2019.
That same year, the one-time Democrat became the first Republican supervisor elected in West Seneca in 50 years. He was re-elected to a second term in November, leading a Republican sweep of the Town Board seats, town clerk and town justice.
“Gary Dickson is one of the most respected Republican elected officials in Western New York,” said Erie County Republican Chairman Michael Kracker. “He’s a proven vote-getter in a historically deep-blue town. He ran on a message of bringing common sense problem-solving to government that resonated with voters across the political spectrum.”
Democrats outnumber Republicans by a more than 2-to-1 margin in the 26th Congressional District. Dickson pointed out that he was twice elected in West Seneca despite Democrats outnumbering Republicans by more than 5,000 voters in the town.
“My priorities are all going to be kind of geared towards what’s best for Western New York,” Dickson said. “Delivering tax relief,…
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