Dan Gagliardo admits he was reluctant to run.
He was coming off a close loss in November’s race for Amherst town supervisor and initially had no plans to jump back into another campaign.
“So I wasn’t going to do it,” Gagliardo told BTPM NPR in an interview Friday, Jan. 23.
He felt he learned a lot from the experience. Left it all out on the doorsteps, so to speak, talking to residents. But he caught his local and state party leadership’s attention.
“So they started to explain how well we did, about crossing the divide, speaking to the Democrats, the blanks, the independents, how well we did, and that it was a good opportunity for me to take the message that I had started on a local level and expand into the state level,” he said.
He took his family’s encouragement as a final vote of confidence. A longtime businessman and owner of D'Avolio, his pitch is to serve residents like he’d serve any customer.
“Go to my restaurant, nobody asks you [your party],” he said. “And I think that that’s how we have to go forward. I believe the divisiveness that we have in today’s state and in this country is because we’ve drawn lines, and nobody’s talking.”
The Democrat-turned-Republican has repeatedly stressed his disinterest in party politics. Despite Republican leadership encouraging him to run, Gagliardo does not list his party affiliation on his campaign website.
“I don’t have any concern about being truthful about who I am,” he said. “Before I decided to run for supervisor, I told the leadership, if you’re looking for somebody who’s all red, you got the wrong guy. I won’t do it.”
As a state senator, Gagliardo said he would want staff members from multiple parties. He also said he hopes to work with Shawn Lavin, who defeated him in the Amherst supervisor race, and Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan, whose former seat he is seeking.
“I’m looking forward to working with Governor Kathy Hochul and Shawn Lavin and Sean Ryan and all those people,” Gagliardo said. “My umbrella is much bigger now. I have to bring things to our community that we need.”
Gagliardo said taxes and utility costs are top of mind for him. He also emphasized support for law enforcement, including funding for additional equipment. However, he did not outline specific policy objectives during the interview.
“You need to be out there, and you need to let people know that you’re interested,” he said.
He repeatedly returned to the idea of improving communication with residents and between different groups. Gagliardo said this is where he believes he would improve upon Ryan’s tenure.
“I met with a bunch of fire chiefs, and we were having a great conversation,” he said. “I asked, have you ever spoken to Sean [Ryan]? They said no, we never saw him. I think officials just have to be more vocal, more present.”
Gagliardo prides himself on several issues that have gained bipartisan traction, including eliminating taxes on tips, statewide universal child care and improving health insurance affordability.
He differs from his Democratic opponent, Jeremy Zellner, on several issues, including whether police should work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He also said he wants to root out what he describes as "waste, fraud and abuse" in government.
Gagliardo believes his independence distinguishes him from Zellner, especially following criticism surrounding Zellner’s endorsements from local Democratic leaders.
“I know my message is getting out,” Gagliardo said. “I’m not a party loyalist. I’m a people loyalist and that's the way it needs to be.”
