George Borrello

MAYVILLE – Regardless of what happens with a special election for an open state senate seat, Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello (R-Irving) intends to remain focused on county government while he also campaigns to be the region’s next representative in the New York State Senate.

During an interview this week with WRFA, Borrello spent some time offering an update on his election effort. In March Borrello announced that he would be seeking the Republican Party’s endorsement to be its candidate in a special election for the 57th Senate District. The announcement came after former Senator Cathy Young (R-Olean) resigned from the position the first half of March to take a job with Cornell University, less than three months into a new 2-year term in the Senate.  It also came with Borrello in just the second year of a four-year term as Chautauqua County Executive.

Borrello has already received endorsement from the majority of the Republican Committee Chairs of the four counties in the 57th Senate District (Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, and Livingston Counties). In addition, he’s secured enough signatures to get his name on the ballot, should the special election wait until this year’s November General Election.

“We were able to deliver more than double of what was needed as far as signatures, and in a very challenging environments, in the sense that this was the first year [candidates] were collecting petitions for the November elections in March [due to a new state law]. Typically that is something that had been done in June July,” Borrello noted. “Then you had the timing of Senator’s Young announcement, which came after the petition process had already started. And then [Republicans] went through our own series of meetings to determine who would be our chosen candidate here in Chautauqua County. You add that all up and we had less than two weeks to collect all those signatures.”

With the seat being vacated, Governor Andrew Cuomo has the option of setting a special election date to fill the seat prior to November. If that were to take place, then Borrello would be the Republican Party’s endorsed candidate by way of the endorsement from the majority of the four county Republican committees (a rule laid out in state law).

But if the Governor opts to not set a special date for an election to fill the seat, then the special election will automatically be held at the same time as the local elections in November. That is the likely scenario and as a result, all Senate candidates will follow the same procedure as any other candidate would, which means they are required to get their name on the ballot through a petition process. That’s why Borrello circulated nominating petitions for the Republican Party, and also for both the Conservative and Independence Parties.

In addition to Borrello running, Allegany County Legislature Chairman Curtis Crandall (R-Belfast) is also seeking the endorsement of registered Republicans in the district, should the special election take place in November. If both Borrello and Crandall submit enough signatures on their nominating petitions, then a Republican Primary Race for the Senate seat will take place in June. That means Borrello would have to focus more energy into a campaign during the next couple months. However, he says he wont let that district him from his current job as County Executive.

“First and foremost, being county executive is job number one and will continue to be,” Borrello said. “But this is a process and I’ll be happy to go out there and tell people why I’m the right choice. Mr. Crandall is nice man, I’ve met him before at New York State Association of Counties and he’s done a great job as a county legislator in Allegany County. So we’ll move through this process as needed.”

In addition to discussing the campaign during his interview with WRFA, Borrello also discusses several county issues including the recently completed Chautauqua Lake Consensus agreement, the newly announced county economic development alliance, and the impact the new state budget will have on the county.

The interview will be broadcast Thursday at 5 p.m. on Community Matters, with an encore at noon on Sunday.

Curtis Crandall

BELFAST, NY – Nominating Petitions to run for office in the 2019 November General Election are due this week and besides the numerous local races that will be taking place there will also likely be a special election for New York’s 57th Senate District.

At the end of February former Senator Cathy Young (R-Olean) announced she would be resigning from her position, creating a vacancy in a district that covers Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, and Allegany Counties along with a portion of Livingston County.

Since then three candidates have received endorsements from party officials to run for the open seat in a special election, including Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello (R-Irving), who’s seeking the Republican, Conservative, and Independence Party lines on the ballot.

But Borrello is not the only person seeking the GOP endorsement. He is joined by long-time Allegany County Legislature Chairman Curtis Crandall (R-Belfast) who recently explained to WRFA why he wants to be the region’s next senator.

“We all know friends, family and neighbors that have left this state. The population is decreasing. And if you look at the reasons why they’re leaving and where they are going to, it has to do with the property taxes and the cost of doing business and living in New York,” Crandall said. “I really think that there could be a better way of doing business in New York. Reduce those costs and get more in line with some of the other states that people are moving to.”

• RELATED: WRFA March 28 Interview with Curtis Crandall

Crandall said that during his time on the Allegany County Legislature he’s also seen first-hand how unfunded mandates on local governments have put pressure on local taxpayers, which is something he would work to remove if elected.

“A lot of the issues that we have to deal with at the county level are pushed down from the state,” Crandall said. “Several mandated programs, as a county we have to carry out and provide for, takes up a large portion of our revenue just for the state programs.”

Crandall also says that if he is elected, he’s not worried about working in a legislative Chamber that will be controlled by a majority of Democrats. He said his years of leadership experience in the Allagany County Legislature has prepared for dealing with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle.

“If you have a good idea or proposal that is good for the 57th District, it’s obviously good for New York State,” Cranadall said. “As long as I’ve been in the legislature – and I’m currently the longest-serving chairman and that’s only a year-to-year designation. You don’t get there by not getting along with others across the aisle or your colleagues.”

Crandall was first elected to the Allegany County Legislature in 2000 and was appointed as chairman of the legislature in 2006. Unlike Chautauqua County, Allegany County doesn’t have a county executive position, meaning the legislature chairman as viewed as the head of county government. Prior to serving in the legislature he was also a member of the Belfast Town Board.

In addition to public service, Crandall is a businessman with memorial companies in Allegany, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties. He said that’s allowed him to regularly travel the district, making him very familiar with the various communities across the western half of the Southern Tier, from the shores of Lake Erie in Chautauqua County to the county line Allegany County shares with Steuben County.

Crandall has been endorsed as a Senate candidate by his home county and he says he has received enough support to get a nomination for the Republican Party. As a result, he will likely square off against Borrello in a party primary, scheduled for June 25.

The winner of the likely primary in June will go on to face Democratic candidate Austin Morgan of Cattaraugus County in November.

George Borrello

MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello (R-Irving) has now been endorsed by all four county Republican committees in the 57th State Senate District.

Borrello is vying for the vacated seat previously held by Cathy Young (R-Olean), who left office earlier this month after announcing at the end of February she was taking a job with Cornell University.

If a special election is to take place to fill the seat, the party committees from each county have to choose their candidate.

On Wednesday the Post-Journal reported the Republican Committees in Cattaraugus, Allegany, and Livingston Counties have all come out in support of Borrello, in addition to his receiving the Chautauqua County Republican Committee’s endorsement earlier this month.

Meanwhile the Democratic Committees from each county have selected 22 year old Austin Morgan of Freedom NY.

If the governor does not schedule a special election to fill the remainder of the vacated senate seat, then it will automatically occur during the November 2019 general election. In that case the candidates for the senate race will have to circulate petitions in order to get their name on the ballot. If more than one candidate from the same party gets enough signatures of support then a primary will take place in June.