Buanno helped shape politics

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GLOVERSVILLE - To hear it from 86-year-old Anthony C. "Chart" Buanno -in many ways the face of Fulton County politics since the middle of the 20th Century -he's not really slowing down.

The longtime Republican Gloversville 4th Ward supervisor is simply doing something foreign to him: Not running for re-election this time.

"Naturally, you get to be my age, you slow down a little bit," Buanno said during an interview at his home. "But I've still got an interest in politics."

Buanno recently announced he is not seeking re-election to a fresh two-year term on the Fulton County Board of Supervisors. Many people thought he was kidding.

"I've had a lot of people call me and say they don't want me to resign," he said.

Buanno said those people have included leather company executive Hugh Carville, a prominent local Democrat; Fulton Community Action Agency Director Denis Wilson, whose board he's on; and Republican Johnstown 1st Ward Supervisor Richard Handy, a close friend on the Board of Supervisors.

He recently was recognized for his many years of service by Democratic Gov. David Paterson.

Buanno said he's always been one to stand up for the concerns of his local constituents. He speaks an Italian phrase, which he said people used to use around him, especially when he was younger - the politician son of Dominick Buanno. He said the phrase translates to, "Call Dominick's son" when you want something done.

He said he is retiring from politics, but he is keenly interested in who takes his seat. He is supporting former Republican Gloversville Councilwoman Shirley Savage - whom he resides with at 6 N. Burton Ave. - as his successor.

"I think anybody who has ever had a conversation with Chart has benefited,' Savage said.

She says she has "a good guy for advice" about politics.

Buanno, who began serving as a $1,450-per-year member on the Fulton County Board of Supervisors in 1962 when John F. Kennedy was president, has seen and had a hand in most of the important legislation in the county for nearly 50 years. Before he became a county supervisor, he also served as a Democratic city of Gloversville councilman for three years.

He has an encyclopedic recall of his political career, even remembering fondly those days as a councilman under former Republican Gloversville Mayor Gene Grover in the 1950s.

His influence has been widespread over the years, such as on former Republican Gloversville 4th Ward Councilman Mike Rose, who later became county GOP chairman. He said he hitched a ride politically with Buanno in the 1980s when he was a young politician and ended up beating an established candidate.

"Chart took me under his wing," said Rose. "He showed me how to campaign and carry petitions. Everybody knew him very well."

A two-time former Board of Supervisors chairman in 1973 and 1996, Buanno was instrumental in seeing to it that Fulton-Montgomery Community College and the Fulton County Residential Health Care Facility were built in the 1960s. In the 1980s and 1990s, he helped build the Fulton County Jail. In later years, he has been active in many outside groups such as the Fulmont Community Action Agency and the Mohawk Valley Economic Development District, and on issues involving the Great Sacandaga Lake.

Many say that the mind of Buanno, who suffered a heart attack last year, is still razor sharp on the issues of the day. The rotund pol started serving the county the year the County Office Building was built and still goes there religiously, with nearly perfect attendance at meetings. It seems everyone has something to say about the legislator with the gravely voice, jet-black hair, pencil-moustache and the unusual nickname.

"He's leaving a legacy behind ... big shoes to fill," said Gloversville 5th Ward Supervisor Michael Rooney. "He's been a mentor to everyone one way or another on the board [of supervisors]."

Buanno said his full real name is Anthony Charles Peter Alexander Julian Buanno and he doesn't know how he got the nickname "Chart." He said he believes he got it as a young boy.

"People have asked me that," he says of the nickname. "I honestly don't know. I think a boy called me that when I was 5 or 6 years old."

State Sen. Hugh T. Farley, R-Niskayuna - whose career has somewhat paralleled Buanno's career since the 1970s - said Buanno's longevity is remarkable.

"He even supersedes me," Farley acknowledged. "Chart has always been a loyal supporter and friend of mine."

The state senator said Buanno's commitment to environmental issues in the face of criticism is second to none.

"Chart is kind of an icon, you could say, in Fulton County politics," Farley said. "He's one who has been a fixture. I'm sorry to see him retire. I still think he has a lot to offer."

Perhaps of all his accomplishments, Buanno will probably be best remembered as the driving force in the establishment of the 100-acre Fulton County Sanitary Landfill on Mud Road in the town of Johnstown. The longtime Environmental Resources Committee chairman reasoned with environmentalists to get the facility built, dedicated it by throwing the first bag of garbage into it in 1989, oversaw the start of the recycling program in 1992 and is active in the new gas-to-electricity program starting at the landfill this summer.

Buanno said it is his proudest accomplishment.

"I'm pretty proud of that landfill thing because that was a pretty tough thing to go through," Buanno said.

County Department of Solid Waste Director Jeff Bouchard said Buanno, who has had a hand in all the landfill projects, will "absolutely" be missed by his agency.

"The support for this department has been tremendous ... His dedication," Bouchard said. "He's constantly there [at the landfill]. It's going to be tough to replace him."

Buanno was born in Gloversville on Oct. 13, 1922 and graduated from Gloversville High School in 1941. For a short period after high school, Buanno said he went to New York City to work on Wall Street.

"That's where I learned about investing money in stocks," he said

He said he's proud of all aspects of life. That life has included 33 years as an assembler for the General Electric Co. of Schenenectady and his distinguished military service as a Marine Corps sergeant from 1942 to 1945 in World War II.

"When I took guys out on patrol, I was real careful," Buanno said.

The war service came first and in April 1945, Buanno was among the first wave of American Marines and soldiers who descended unopposed on the southwestern shores of Okinawa. Over the next 11 weeks, about 100,000 civilians - a fourth of the Okinawan population -and most of the 110,000 Japanese defenders were killed. On April 13, 1945 he was wounded and was later awarded the Purple Heart and a Presidential Citation.

After the war, Buanno came back to his hometown, but later signed up for Syracuse University extension "night school," he recounted. He said he was able to obtain three degrees in psychology, sociology and business administration.

In 1947, Buanno married the former Aileen Smith, who he met in a night club. She passed away 11 years ago and Savage used to care for her.

The Buannos had four children, who have their own thriving careers. They are Michael, who owns a body shop in Gloversville; Jackie, a supervisor for Frontier Communications; Deborah, data processor; and Marie, professional cook and a tax expert.

Buanno's late brother, Peter, started a garage on West Fulton Street and Arlington Avenue and he worked there from 1946 to 1947.

"We had probably one of the best businesses in Fulton County," he said.

From the garage job with his brother, he moved on to GE.

"I heard they were hiring guys with mechanical ability," Buanno said. "I did what I did because I felt like I wanted to do what I wanted to do."

He ended up working there 33 years, but eventually got into politics as a young man in the 1950s. The late Tony Carangelo got Buanno into politics and he started out as a member of the Democratic Party.

As a young man, Buanno said he admired Democratic President Frankiin Roosevelt, and later Democratic President Harry Truman.

"That's primarily why I became a Democrat," he said, when speaking of Roosevelt.

Over the years, Buanno said he's enjoyed helping others and has had an excellent relationship with other politicians and the media. He holds a special affinity for Farley, state Assemblyman Marc W. Butler and former state Assemblyman Glenn Harris.

"I saw an interest in some of the things I felt needed to be done," Buanno said of his political career.

By the mid-1960s, he switched to the Republican Party, saying the GOP "treated me real good."

When asked about his numerous colleagues over the decades-the other 19 members of the Board of Supervisors - he doesn't mince words.

"Some of them have irritated me, but I've put up with them," he said.

Buanno said he gets especially upset when people say "that we're not progressing in Fulton County."

"I was family man with all the people in my ward," he said.

Today, Savage knows Buanno as the guy who reads his horoscope every day, routinely checks out the comics such as loafer Andy Capp, and the man who makes homemade sauce for the pasta he puts on the table every Thursday.

"She means a lot to me," Buanno says of Savage. "She's helped me. She's a good person and she's honest."

Savage responds, "He doesn't know how proud I am of him."