Former Chautauqua County Executives recognized at the Robert H. Jackson Center

The eight men who have led Chautauqua County in the nearly 50 years since the County Executive position was created were honored at an event held at the Robert H. Jackson Center Friday.

Until 1975, the Chautauqua County Board of Supervisors appointed a chair to serve as chief executive of county business. The Board of Supervisors system was challenged as being unconstitutional, with the challenge succeeding and the county required to rewrite its charter. The new charter included the establishment of a County Legislature and the County Executive position.

The former County Executives all shared memories of successes and challenges during their tenure.

The County Executives who have served Chautauqua County include:
Joseph Gerace (serving Jan. 1, 1975 to May 10, 1983),
John “Jack” Glenzer (serving Nov. 25, 1983 to Dec. 31, 1989),
Andrew Goodell (serving Jan. 1, 1990 to Dec. 31, 1997),
Mark Thomas (serving Jan. 1,1998 to Dec. 31, 2005),
Gregory Edwards (serving Jan.1 2006 to Nov. 17, 2013),
Vincent Horrigan (serving Jan. 1 2014 to Dec. 31, 2017)
George Borrello (serving Jan. 1, 2018 to Nov. 27, 2019)
Paul “PJ” Wendel (serving Jan. 1, 2020 to present).

Current County Attorney Stephen Abedella also was in attendance and was recognized for serving as Acting County Executive from November 18 to December 31, 2013. While not in attendance, David Dawson was recognized as well for his service as an Acting County Executive from May 10 to November 25, 1983.

We’ll be sharing the full recognition event on WRFA at a later date.

WATCH ON YOUTUBE

The debate featuring the executive candidates was held Oct. 21 and took place at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts inside the 3rd Floor Multimedia Room. It was broadcast live on WRFA radio (107.9 FM or streaming at www.WRFALP.com/Streaming) and also live streamed by WNY News Now on Facebook or www.WNYNewsNow.com/live. It will also be rebroadcast at times TBA by WJTN and WRFA radio.

The debate was moderated by WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley and included questions from participating media members – Terry Frank (Media One Radio / WJTN), Justin Gould (WNY News Now). There was also an opportunity for each candidate to ask one question to one another.

The debate is intended to help inform voters of Chautauqua County on each of candidate prior to Election Day – Tuesday, November 2, 2021. It is made possible through funding from the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley spoke with Democratic Candidate for Chautauqua County Executive Norm Green to get to know him a little better and find out why he’s running for the office.

Norman Green

(Left to Right) Jason Schmidt, PJ Wendel, Andy Goodell, George Borrello, and Tom Reed

It was a clean sweep for Republicans in Chautauqua County in the 2020 Election, as all GOP candidates on the ballot appeared to have won their respective races, regardless of the record number of absentee ballots that have been cast and await to be counted.

The big winners in the county-wide races were Andy Goodell (R-Ellicott) for the 150th State Assembly District, Paul “PJ Wendel (R-Lakewood) for the special election for Chautauqua County Executive, and Jason Schmidt (R-Fredonia) in the race for Chautauqua County District Attorney. Also picking up regional victories were George Borrello (R-Irving) for the 57th State Senate District and Tom Reed (R-Corning) for the New York 23rd Congressional District.

• ALL ELECTION NIGHT TOTALS IN CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY

SCHMIDT VOTED INTO OFFICE FOR THE FIRST TIME

Jason Schmidt

For Jason Schmidt, the second time was a charm in his run for Chautauqua County District Attorney. He appears to have cruised to any easy victory over incumbent Patrick Swanson (D-Fredonia) after previously losing to the current DA in the 2016 election.

This time around, Schmidt received 29,925 votes between early voting and Election Day voting while Swanson picked up 17,122.

According to the Chautauqua County Board of Elections, there remains a possible 11,926 absentee ballots in Chautauqua County that could be added to the final vote total, but even if Swanson picked up all of those votes, he still wouldn’t have enough to win.

“I’m humbled, honored, and grateful to all my supporters and so appreciative to the team of people who have stood by my side the entire time and the movement that we created. Getting into this, it was really about the community – the victims and the police. We stayed true to that and that’s really what it is all about for me,” Schmidt told WRFA on Election Night following news that he had won.

Schmidt also offered his thoughts on how he was able to win by such a wide margin on Election Night.

I think in many respects, the election was about different philosophical approaches to the office. I tried to make that clear and I wanted to define the campaign based on that. I felt there wasn’t enough emphasis being placed on prosecution and conviction,” Schmidt said. “That doesn’t mean that I want to go out there and be a hammer looking for a nail, that’s not who I am. But at the same time I feel there were a lot of people let down in many high profile cases here, and that was never lost on me. It was important that they be remembered and honored by my campaign.”

WENDEL NO LONGER ‘ACTING’ COUNTY EXECUTIVE

PJ Wendel

In the special election for Chautauqua County Executive, Wendel defeated Democratic opponent Richard Morrisroe (Dunkirk) by an election night vote of 33,633 to 13,126. Wendel had been serving as acting county executive after being appointed by the Republican-controlled county legislature at the start of this year. Previously he had served as a member of the legislature representing Lakewood and Busti along with a small portion of Jamestown. He also was legislature chairman prior to his appointment to county executive.

“I’m excited and I’m very humbled by the residents of the county who elected me for this position. I’m humbled to win by that much – that’s the voters who spoke. It’s not an appointment, that’s the residents of the county and I think that means a lot. I’m humbled to have that kind of a margin,” Wendel said.

Wendel will now serve the final year of the current term of the office for County Executive and will have campaign all over again next year, as he’s already stated that he wants to serve a full term as the county’s top executive.

GOODELL LOCKS UP 6TH TERM IN ASSEMBLY

In the race for the 150th State Assembly District, Goodell also had an insurmountable lead over his Democratic opponent, Christina Cardinale of Jamestown. Goodell received 34,627 votes on election night to Cardinale’s 12,514.

Andy Goodell

“I’m very thankful that the residents of the Chautauqua County have given me the opportunity to represent our county in the State Legislature and I’m also very thankful that my Assembly colleagues give me the opportunity to serve as the floor leader on the floor of the Assembly,” Goodell said. “That gives me the opportunity to make sure the voices, concerns and issues that are important to us here in Chautauqua County are front and center in all of our legislative proceedings. I’m excited to go back, but I’m also very mindful that there is a tremendous amount of work to do and it will take everybody’s help and cooperation as we move forward to address these serious issues.”

The win secures Goodell a 6th term in Albany after first being elected to the office in November 2010.

BORELLO WINS FIRST FULL TERM IN STATE SENATE

George Borrello will also continue representing the three southwestern-most counties of the state in the State Senate as he easily won a full two years to represent the 57th District in Albany.

George Borrello

Borrello defeated Frank Puglisi (D-Cattaraugus County) with an election night final of 78,047 to 24,940.  Borello was first elected to the Senate in a special election last year to finish the final year for the current term after former Sen. Cathy Young resigned from her post in early 2019 to take a job in the private sector.  Last year, he defeated Democrat Austin Morgan by 42,563 to 17,270.

“I am honored and grateful for the trust that the hardworking people of our region have again placed in me to represent the 57th District,” Borrello said in a statement released Tuesday night. “Over the past year, we’ve faced the unimaginable challenges of a global health emergency and a devastating economic crisis…. The COVID-19 challenge has exacerbated many existing issues and failures of our state government, which has further energized the need for change. That will be the starting point for our efforts. We must now set aside the politics and work to face the tough road ahead. I vow to continue working to advance our recovery and fight against the extreme, politically self-serving agendas that undermine our security, ignore our shared values, and prevent us from realizing our fullest potential.”

REED DEFEATS MITRANO IN REMATCH OF 2018 RACE

Tom Reed

In the race for the 23rd Congressional district, Republican incumbent Tom Reed defeated Democratic Challenger Tracy Mitrano (Penn Yan) with an election night total o 160,131 to 90,959. It’s not known how many absentee ballots remain to be counted throughout the district but it is likely that there are not enough outstanding to give Mitrano an opportunity for a come-from-behind victory.

It was the second time in as many elections that Reed squared off against and defeated Mitrano.

GREENAN WINS SUPREME COURT RACE

There was also a race for State Supreme Court for the eight counties making up the Eight Judicial District. In that race, Republican candidate Gerald Greenan III defeated Democrat Amy Martoche 246,688 to 181,674. Again, the total number of absentees that remain to be counted are not available at this time, but the Greenan has a likely insurmountable lead over Martoche.

The final vote totals for each race won’t be known until later this month after all absentee ballots are opened and counted and then the canvasing of all votes takes place to provide an official, final result.

•  AUDIO ALSO AVAILABLE AT SOUNDCLOUD

WRFA’s May 28, 2020 conversation with Dunkirk attorney Richard Morrisroe, the Democratic Candidate in the 2020 special election for Chautauqua County Executive.

Richard Morrisroe

Paul “PJ” Wendel

MAYVILLE – The Chautauqua County Legislature has appointed Lakewood Republican Paul “PJ” Wendel as the new Chautauqua County Executive. The appointment came during the Legislature’s organizational meeting on Thursday afternoon.

From 2012 until Thursday, Wendel had represented Lakewood, northern Busti and a small portion of southwestern Jamestown in district 10 of the legislature and was the body’s chairman for 2018 and 2019.

Wendel’s appointment came after he was recommended to be the next county executive by the Chautauqua County Republican Committee. The recommendation came after the November election victory in the state Senate by former county executive George Borrello.

Under recently amended county law, the party committee of the previous executive who left office is given the opportunity to make a recommendation to the legislature on who shall fill a vacancy, with the legislature then required to formally act on the designation.

According to the Post-Journal, Wendel says he will be running for the special election in November of this year to finish Borrello’s original four-year term, which ends in December 2021. He also said he would run again for the full, four-year term during the 2021 general election.

Meanwhile, members the legislature also elected their chairman for the new term.  Bemus point resident and District 8 Republican Pierre Chagnon will be the chairman for the next two years. Chagnon is entering his seventh year in the legislature and had previously served as the chair of the legislature’s audit-and-control committee, along with other committees and commissions.

Paul “PJ” Wendel

MAYVILLE – The Jamestown Post-Journal is reporting that the Chautauqua County Republican Committee has made its recommendation on who should be appointed to fill the vacant County Executive position.

On Thursday, the committee met in a closed-door meeting to choose between Republican Legislators Paul “PJ” Wendel of Lakewood and Mark Odell of Brocton – who both announced their intention to seek the party’s nomination after former County Executive George Borrello left office to serve in the State Senate.

Following the meeting, it was announced that Wendel was the committee’s recommendation. As a result, that recommendation will now be forwarded to the Chautauqua County Legislature for its consideration, with a formal vote on the appointment likely to take place during the Dec. 18 voting session.

The process of selecting a county executive to fill out the remainder of a term when the position is vacated was updated this past summer, when the legislature unanimously approved a plan to allow the respective party of the previous office holder to make a recommendation. Because Borrello is a Republican, the county republican committee was given the opportunity to make the recommendation.

Wendel is a physical education teacher at Falconer who was first elected to the county Legislature in 2012. He has been chairman of the legislature since January 2018.

Once Wendel is formally appointed by the legislature, then his district 10 seat will be vacant and the Republican committees in both Busti and Jamestown will meet to determine a recommendation for his replacement.

County Attorney Stephen Abdella will continue to serve as the acting county executive until Wendel is confirmed by the county Legislature.

Mark Odell

BROCTON – A Republican who’s represented the Brocton and Stockton areas of the Chautauqua County Legislature for the past four years says he wants to be the next county executive.

On Monday Legislator Mark Odell (R-Brocton, District 7) announced he is a candidate for county executive to fill the seat that was recently vacated by George Borrello after he won the 57th State Senate race last month.

Odell said his decision to run for county executive came after he was asked by county residents and political leaders to consider serving as County Executive.

While on the county legislature, Odell has served as the chair of the the Planning and Economic Development Committee and is also the legislature’s representative on the County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) Board.
Odell – who is a 1989 Cassadaga Valley Graduate – also points to his experience as a private-sector businessman as one of his qualifications for being county executive. He holds advanced degrees/certifications in Economics and Engineering and is the Vice President of Sales Engineering for Econoburn Boilers/Abasco Mfg with manufacturing facilities in Brocton and Hamburg.

It’s also been reported that current county legislature chairman Paul “PJ” Wendel (R-Lakewood) is also seeking the county executive appointment.

Under new rules approved in August, the county legislature will await a nomination from the Chautauqua County Republican Committee for who it wants to fill out the remainder of the current county executive term. The Committee has 45 days from Borrello’s resignation to nominate an individual. Borrello’s resignation was on Monday, November 25 and since then county attorney Steve Abdella has been serving as acting county executive.

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A debate featuring the 2017 candidates for Chautauqua County Executive – George Borrello (R – Irving) and Mike Ferguson (D-Fredonia) – hosted by the Jamestown AM Rotary Club and taking place Monday, Oct. 2, 2017 at the Robert H. Jackson Center.