 Thompson was encouraged to pursue Brown 's New York State Senate seat that was to be filled by special election on February 28 , 2006 after Brown ascended to be the Mayor of Buffalo on January 1 , 2006 following the 2005 election . The district has a 4 – 1 ratio of registered Democrats to Republicans . In 2006 , the Erie County Democratic Party chairman was Leonard Lenihan , and he noted that Thompson had not been timely in entering the special election process . The Erie and Niagara County Democratic committees bypassed Thompson as their nominee in favor of Marc Coppola despite Brown 's backing . 
