Patrick Swanson is sworn in as Chautauqua County District Attorney during a ceremony on Jan. 1, 2017 in Mayville. (Image courtesy of Norman Green, Chautauqua County Democratic Party Chair)

MAYVILLE – Patrick Swanson (D-Fredonia) is now officially the district attorney for Chautauqua County. Swanson, who won a special election in November against Jason Schmidt (R-Fredonia), was sworn in as Chautauqua County DA on Sunday, Jan. 1 at the Mayville Courthouse by former DA and current County Court Judge David Foley. Swanson will finish the remainder of the DA’s term, which concludes at the end of this year.

Also sworn in on Sunday was Michael Sullivan (R-Fredonia), who will serve as Family Court Judge of Chautauqua County, finishing the term of retired judge Judith Claire. Swanson defeated Sally Jaroszynski (D-Falconer) in a special election in November.

Donald Trump following the news that he had won the 2016 Election and will become the 45th President of the United States (Damon Winter/The New York Times)

The 2016 Election is in the books and it’s turned out to be a major victory for Republicans across the country as well as in the Southern Tier.

In the race for U.S. president, upstart Donald Trump pulled off one of the biggest surprises in election history by defeating former U.S. Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Trump won enough support in key battleground states to tilt the total number of electoral votes his way, and by early Wednesday morning he had secured more than 270 votes – which is the minimum amount needed to win the presidency.  While Trump garnered more electoral votes, both candidates had about an equal share of popular votes with each approaching 60,000,000. The total number of votes cast won’t be known for a couple more weeks, after an official canvas of the votes as taken place and all electoral votes are counted.

REED WINS REELECTION TO FOURTH TERM

Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning)

Chautauqua County’s representative in Congress, Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning, NY 23), was able to secure a fourth term in office after defeating Democratic Challenger, Naval Captain John Plumb (D-Lakewood).  Reed picked up just under 150,000 votes in the district, which spans the Southern Tier of New York from Chautauqua County east to Tioga County. Plumb picked up just over 108,000. The margin of victory for Reed was 58 percent to 42 percent.

“We are humbled by the outpouring of support from volunteers and voters,” Reed said following the win. “I care deeply about this place we call home. I am proud to have earned your trust. I am excited to continuing working for our families.”

“We will put our record up against anyone’s because we have always fought to make sure New York got its fair share,” continued Reed. “Thank you for standing with us.”

• LISTEN TO REED ELECTION NIGHT PRESS CONFERENCE CALL

In his concession speech, Plumb also thanked those who supported his campaign.

John Plumb

“This has been a long uphill battle, and I’m very proud to say that I’ve woken up every day of this campaign to fight on our behalf. Unfortunately, the votes have been counted and today did not go in our favor,” Plumb said during his concession speech in Jamestown.

“I’m proud to say that we ran the race I wanted to run. The race we all want our politicians to run. We ran our race with integrity and honor, and with a focus on the communities we seek to serve. Those are the values I ran our campaign with, the values that run deep in the Southern Tier, Western New York, and the Finger Lakes. Those are the principles we should always strive for no matter what challenges we face. Thank you all for supporting me throughout this journey,” Plumb added.

In Chautauqua County Reed picked up an unofficial total of 27,400 votes to Plumb’s 19,900 (also 58 percent to 42 percent), with between 3200 and 4000 absentee ballots left to be counted.

Reed was just one of 238 Republican who were elected or won reelection to the House on Tuesday, given the party a 40-member advantage over the Democrats.

Meanwhile in the Senate, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-Brooklyn) easily won reelection over Republican Challenger Wendy Long by a margin of 70.4 percent to 27.5.

Despite predictions from some national media outlets that the Democrats would take over Congress’s upper legislative chamber, the GOP was able to maintain its control and will likely have 52 members come January, to the Democrats 48 members.

YOUNG, GOODELL CRUISE TO REELECTION

Senator Cathy Young and Assemblyman Andy Goodell

The area’s two representatives in Albany also won reelection.

In the State Senate race, Cathy Young (R-Olean, 57th District) easily defeated challenger Lee Hyson (D-Frewsburg). Young received 87,000 votes from across the 57th district – which comprises all of Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties, along with the southern portion of Livingston County. Hyson, meanwhile, only managed to pick up just under 18,000 votes, giving Young an 83 to 17 percent margin of victory.

Nearly half of all of Young’s votes came from Chautauqua County, where she picked up an estimated 40,000. Hyson picked up just over 8,000.

While some races are still to close to call, state GOP officials are claiming victory in maintaining control of the state senate, meaning Young will continue to serve as chair of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, as well as serve as one of the top ranking Republicans in state politics.

Over in the Assembly race, Assemblyman Andy Goodell (R-Jamestown) won his fourth term in office, easily defeating challenger Jason Perdue (D-Jamestown) – 35,000 to 12,200 (74 to 26 percent).

SWANSON, SULLIVAN WIN IN SPECIAL COUNTY ELECTION

Chautauqua County Acting District Attorney Patrick Swanson (D-Fredonia) won in the race to fill out the remainder of the DA’s term – which expires at the end of 2017. Swanson defeated Jason Schmidt (R-Fredonia) 25,207 to 21,447. Swanson was appointed to the DA’s office at the start of 2016 after former DA David Foley left the post to assume the role of Chautauqua County Court Judge.

In the special election for Chautauqua County Family Court Judge, Michael Sullivan (R-Fredonia) defeated Sally Jaroszynski (D-Falconer) by a margin of 61 to 37 percent. The election took place to fill out the remainder of the term of former judge Judith Claire, who retired from the post earlier this year.

COUNTY LEGISLATURE TERM LENGTH REMAINS AT TWO YEARS

Voters in Chautauqua County voted down a proposition to amend the county charter and increase the term length for legislators from two years to four years. The proposition was defeated 26,783 to 16,287 – a margin of 62 to 38 percent.

STATE SUPREME COURT RACE TOO CLOSE TO CALL

And in the election to appoint two new Justices to the New York Supreme Court 8th District (which includes Chuatauqua County), the Buffalo News is reporting Wednesday that Republicans Mary L. Slisz and Daniel J. Furlong narrowly led a four-way race late Tuesday, but the outcome may depend on the districts in Erie County where ballots had not yet been tabulated.

Slisz, a Buffalo lawyer, and Furlong, confidential law clerk for retiring Justice Joseph R. Glownia, built pluralities in the seven Western New York counties outside Erie County. Both also ran for seats on the court in 2014.

Unofficial totals late Tuesday showed Democrats Lynn Wessel Keane, the Orchard Park town justice, and Grace M. Hanlon, former first assistant district attorney in Chautauqua County, ahead in Erie County by sizable margins, but it was not clear whether that would offset the vote for Slisz and Furlong elsewhere.

Chautauqua County Family Court Judge candidates Sally Jaroszynski (D-Falconer) and Michael Sullivan (R-Fredonia)

JAMESTOWN – Two regional attorneys are pointing the finger at a Jamestown attorney for allegedly influencing the rating of a Chautauqua County Family Court judge candidate by the Independent Judicial Election Qualification Commission.

Frewburg Attorney Sherry Bjork and Buffalo attorney Margaret Murphey recently contacted the Jamestown Post-Journal with evidence she claimed proves Jamestown attorney Ken Lasker tainted Sally Jaroszynski’s campaign and worked to influence the commission’s not-qualified rating.

Jaroszynski is a Democrat from Falconer who is running against Fredonia Attorney Michael Sullivan for the Family Court Judge seat.

Murphey – who is speaking on behalf of Jaroszynski – and Bjork reportedly provided the Post-Journal with evidence that shows Lasker was working to keep Jaroszynski from winning the race. However, Lasker’s response is that he recused himself from the committee that handed out the ratings, and as a result he played no role in what the final ratings were.

Jaroszynski received a not-qualified rating from the commission while Sullivan recived a highly qualified rating. Just two years earlier both candidates received highly qualified ratings from the commission.

Jaroszynski currently serves as justice for the Ellicott Town Court. She also served as one of the two Ellicott Town Justices between 2011 and 2015, when former court clerk Jennifer Piazza was found to have taken more than $34,000 in cash.

An audit from the office of State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, released in 2015, stated that both town justices “did not segregate the duties of the full-time Court clerk, who controlled all phases of the Court’s cash collection, recording and reporting process with minimal oversight. As a result, the full-time Court clerk was able to manipulate Court records and admitted to embezzling funds. Neither the Justices nor the Court clerks performed monthly accountabilities, and the Board did not consistently conduct, or retain anyone to conduct, the required annual audit of the Justices’ records.”

The current race for Family Court Judge comes after Judith Claire retired from the bench in June.

In 2014 Jaroszynski unsuccessfully ran for the newly created second family court judge seat, losing to judge Jeffrey Piazza in the 2014 November election. Sullivan also lost to Piazza that same year in the Republican primary.

Sally Jaroszynski

MAYVILLE – The Democratic Nominee for Chautauqua County Family Court Judge has received an unfavorable rating for a local judicial commission – despite the fact that she received a favorable rating just two years earlier.

The Jamestown Post-Journal is reporting today that the Independent Judicial Election Qualification Commission has given Family Court Judge candidate Sally Jaroszynski an unqualified rating.  In 2014, when Jaroszynski ran for a newly created family court seat, she received a qualified rating.

The ratings from the commission are only given upon request from a candidate. When given a rating, the commission has the option of rating a candidate as highly qualified, qualified or not qualified.

FAILED TO DETECT EMBEZZLEMENT BY FORMER COURT CLERK

Jaroszynski is a local attorney who’s practiced law in family court for 25 years and also currently serves as justice for the Ellicott Town Court. She also served as one of the two Ellicott Town Justices between 2011 and 2015, when former court clerk Jennifer Piazza was found to have taken more than $34,000 in cash.

An audit from the office of State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, released in 2015, stated that both town justices “did not segregate the duties of the full-time Court clerk, who controlled all phases of the Court’s cash collection, recording and reporting process with minimal oversight. As a result, the full-time Court clerk was able to manipulate Court records and admitted to embezzling funds. Neither the Justices nor the Court clerks performed monthly accountabilities, and the Board did not consistently conduct, or retain anyone to conduct, the required annual audit of the Justices’ records.”

It’s not known if the audit from the state comptroller’s office played a role in the commission’s unqualified rating.

Jaroszynki is running against Fredonia area attorney Michael Sullivan and Sherry Bjork – who will square off in a Republican party primary next week.

The current race for Family Court Judge comes after Judith Claire retired from the bench in June.

In 2014 Jaroszynski unsuccessfully ran for the newly created second family court judge seat, losing to judge Jeffrey Piazza in the 2014 November election.

Chautauqua County Family Court Judge Judith Claire

MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County Family Court Judge Judith Claire will be retiring from the bench later this year.

According to a report in the Jamestown Post-Journal, Judge Clair will close her 18 years on the bench on June 16. However, she will reportedly work to continue offering assistance to local families by continuing her work with trauma-informed care.

Claire will also continue to serve on the New York State Family Court Advisory and Rules Committee as well as trustee on the board for Chautauqua Institution.

Before becoming the county’s family court judge in 1998, Claire worked for the New York State Health Planning Commission, the Mental Health Information Service Appellate Division, and for 20 years in her private practice conducting trial work and spending much time in family court.

Image from www.facebook.com/andrewcuomo

ALBANY – Governor Andrew Cuomo will remain in office for four more years.

That after voters across New York went to the polls on Tuesday to vote for the top office in New York State – along with several other statewide, regional and local offices.

With nearly all election precincts reporting by the end of Election Day, Cuomo had collected about 54 percent of the statewide vote, with Republican challenger Rob Astorino of Westchester County picking up 41 percent and Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins coming in a distant third with just over 5 percent.

Shortly after the close of the polls on Tuesday, the Associated Press declared Cuomo the winner. During his victory speech, the governor focused on his campaign’s rhetoric – playing up his accomplishments of the last four years, which include legislation involving property tax assistance, new jobs and on-time budgets. The governor also promised those in attendance that he was just getting started and that New Yorkers “ain’t seen nothing yet.”

The governor said during the next four years he will focus on raising the minimum wage, improving public education, fighting the local property tax burden, passing the Women’s Equality Act and passing the DREAM Act.

Schneiderman, DiNapoli Win Re-Election

In addition to Cuomo’s victory, the two other state-wide office holder also picked up re election wins for their respective offices. Both Democratic Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli will serve four more years in Albany following wins on Election night.

Schneiderman defeated Republican opponent John Cahill 58-39 percent, while DiNapoli bested his Republican opponent Robert Antonacci, 61-36 percent. It was the first re-election for both Democrats.

Reed Cruises to Third Congressional Term

Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning) with his family following news that he won re-election on Election Night, 2014. (photo from www.Twitter.com/TomReedCongress)

Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning) will remain in office for at least two more years. The two-term Republican from Corning easily defeated his lone challenger – Martha Robertson (D-Dryden) from Dryden New York – by a margin of nearly 63 to 37 percent. The unofficial Election Night total from CNN had Reed picking up more than 105,000 votes across the 23^rd Congressional District, while Robertson was able to pick up just over 63,000.

Reed fared especially well in the western section of his district, which includes Chautauqua County. He picked up an estimated 40,600 votes in Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties compared to the 20,000 that Robertson Received. The only county Robertson won was her home of Tompkins County – where she received over 14,000 votes compared to just 5,700 for Reed.

GOP Retakes State Senate

While Republicans were unable to win any of the three statewide offices, the GOP did find some success in the state’s upper legislative chamber.

It appears that Republicans will once again have sole control of the state Senate with candidates picking up enough wins to attain the required 32-vote majority.

Statewide, there were enough GOP victories rolling in around 11 p.m. on Election Night for Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos to declare in a statement that “New Yorkers have chosen balance and bipartisanship over an entire state government made up of Democrats from New York City, and placed their trust in Republicans to lead the Senate.”

Democrats later conceded that they weren’t going to win the majority.

It remained unclear whether members of the Independent Democratic Conference, led by Bronx Sen. Jeff Klein, would once again join forces with the Republicans, as they have for the past two years, or ally with their minority-conference Democratic colleagues.

Locally, Senator Cathy Young (R-Olean) picked up her fifth term in office after running unopposed.

In the State Assembly, the Demcrats picked up a seat and increase their majority with 99 of the 150 seats.

Goodell, Gerace and Piazza win County-Wide Races

Assemblyman Andy Goodell (R-Chautauqua) and Chautauqua County Sheriff Joseph Gerace (D-Jamestown) both won re-election, while Jeffrey Piazza was a four-way race to be the county’s new Family Court Judge.

In the Local elections here in Chautauqua County, it was a big night for the two candidates who hold county wide offices.

Assemblyman Andy Goodell, who’s 150^th district covers all of and only Chautauqua County, cruised to a third term in office after easily defeating democratic challenger Barrie Yochim. With all districts in the county reporting, Goodell picked up 75 percent of the vote.

Meanwhile, Chautauqua County Sheriff Joseph Gerace cruised to a sixth term in office, defeating Republican Challenger Russell Payne from Frewsburg by a margin of 63 to 37 percent.

In the race for the newly created second Chautauqua County Family Court Judge position, republican Jeffrey A. Piazza of Jamestown easily defeated his three opponents. Piazza picked up 59 percent of the votes throughout the county. In addition to running as a Republican, Piazza also ran on Conservative and Independence party lines.

Democrat Sally Jaroszynski, picked up 28.5 percent of the vote, Fredonia Republican Michael J. Sullivan, who ran on the Green Party line, picked up 6.6 percent of the vote while Working Families candidate James J. Spann, received 5.81 percent of the vote.

Rankin Defeats Kresge in District 12 Special Election

The Chautauqua County Legislature will have a new member serving on the panel. Republican Elisabeth Rankin won the special election for the District 12 seat which cover the north side of Jamestown, picking up nearly 52 percent of the votes. Rankin was challenging Democrat Beth Kresge – who was appointed to the seat earlier this year after it was vacated by Fred Larson, who had to step down after being appointed as the new Jamestown city court judge.

Rankin picked up an unofficial election night total of 746 votes, compared to Kresge’s 691.

All Three State Propositions Pass

State voters were supporting all three ballot propositions, according to unofficial returns on Tuesday night.

Voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 1 – the amendment that would retool the state’s redistricting practice, the once-a-decade redrawing of the state’s political districts.

And Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed Smart Schools Bond Act, Proposal 3, which would generate $2 billion to improve classroom technology and other elements of educational infrastructure, also saw approval, as did Proposal 2, the constitutional amendment that would eliminate the need for legislative bills to be printed and supplied to every lawmaker before being considered.

Attending the forum were the two candidates for State Assembly, the four candidates for Chautauqua County Family Court Judge and the two candidates for Chautauqua County Legislature’s District 12 special election. In addition, County Sheriff Joseph Gerace was in attendance although his opponent, Republican Russell Payne, backed out of the event citing a busy schedule.

GOODELL & YOCHIM

The 2014 candidates for 150th NY Assembly District, which covers all of Chautauqua County, incumbent Andy Goodell (R, C) and challenger Barrie Yochim (D, WF).

The first 45 minutes of the event were devoted to the Assembly Candidates – incumbent Andy Goodell (R-Chautauqua) and challenger Barrie Yochim (D-Jamestown). Both said the most important issue in the campaign is working to making the 150^th assembly district more competitive for business.

Goodell said to accomplish that goal, he would focus on welfare reform, lifting onerous business regulations and providing more tax cats to businesses and individuals. In addition to focusing on improving the business climate, he said he’s also focused on addressing the problems in public education – mainly the common core teaching standards.

Yochim said he’d also focus on improving the business climate by addressing the shortage of a skilled workforce in the area. He noted that while there are many people who need jobs in the area, they currently don’t have the skills and qualifications necessary to get the jobs that are available. He also said he wants to focus on improving public education by reducing class sizes in many of our public schools.

While both Goodell and Yochim shared similar views on several issues, the most noted difference between the two was their view on horizontal hydrolic fracking – which is currently under moratorium in New York State. Goodell said he is in favor of lifting the moratorium – explaining that the process, which requires a large volume of water, is safe under current state regulations. He also said that if the moratorium was lifted it would have a major economic upside for the region.

However, Yochim said that he is concerned with the chemicals that are put in the water as part of the process, which could pose a serious threat to public and environmental health if they were to make their way into the water table. As a result, he said he is not in favor of lifting the moratorium and would only support a lift if the chemicals were no longer a part of the process.

A recap of the other candidates’ comments along with complete audio will be provided later this week and also will be available on this week’s Community Matters program (Thursdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at Noon).

The election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 4. For a complete list of candidates, visit our WRFA 2014 Election Page.

The Chautauqua County League of Women Voters is sponsoring its Meet the Candidates Forum Tuesday at the Robert H. Jackson Center. It’s one of two forums the organization is hosting for the community. A second forum is set for this Thursday night in the north county in the Fredonia Village Hall. Both forums begin at 7 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

According to organizers, several candidates will be on hand for Tuesday’s forum. They include:

• Candidates for State Assembly: Republican incumbent Andy Goodell and Democratic challenger Barrie Yochim;
• Candidates for Chautauqua County Sheriff: Democratic incumbent Joseph Gerace and Republican challenger Russell Payne;
• Candidates for the county legislature’s 12th district special election: Democratic incumbent Beth Kresge (appointed earlier this year) and Republican challenger Elisabeth Rankin;
• And the four candidates for Chautauqua County Family Court Judge: Sally A. Jaroszynski; Jeffrey A. Piazza; James J. Spann, Jr. and Michael J. Sullivan.

The two candidates for Congress – Republican incumbent Tom Reed and Democratic challenger Martha Robertson – will not be in attendance.

WRFA will be on hand to cover Tuesday’s forum and will broadcast the portions of forum during this week’s Community Matter’s program on Thursday at 6 p.m. Audio from the forum will also be available at our website www.WRFALP.com.

IN addition, WRFA will be hosting one-on-one interviews with both Congressman Tom Reed and challenger Martha Robertson – which will air next week during our Oct. 30 Community Matters Program.

County election officials say incumbent Democratic Legislature District 12 candidate Beth Kresge trailed challenging Republican Elisabeth Rankin in the Independence Party primary by just one vote on election night 19 to 18.  Three absentee ballots and one provisional affidavit ballot were opened with a count of 3 for Kresge and 1 vote for Rankin.  The final unofficial count for the primary election with the absentees and affidavit ballot added now stands at 21 votes for Kresge and 20 for Rankin.  Kresge now will be the Democratic, Independence and Working Families candidate and Rankin will be the Republican and Conservative candidate.

For the Green Party, Michael Sullivan expanded his one vote lead over and James Spann for Chautauqua County Family Court by picking up the sole Green Party absentee ballot received by the elections office in Mayville. Both candidates lost their major party primary bids.  However, the unofficial final Green party primary result now stands at Sullivan with 4 votes and Spann with 2 votes. As a result of the absentee ballot count, the November General election ballot for Family Court will find Jeffrey A. Piazza, Republican, Independence and Conservative; Sally A. Jaroszynski, Democratic; Sullivan, Green; and Spann, Working Families.

That from the Chautauqua County Board of Elections, which said Wednesday that the Independence Party primary for County Legislature District 12 and the countywide Green Party primary for Family Court Judge remain too close to call.  Election officials announced that absentee ballots for the two close races will be opened Tuesday Sept. 16 at 2 p.m.

In the Independence Party race for the District 12 legislature seat, Republican Elisabeth T. Rankin finished with 19 votes and incumbent Democratic Legislator Beth Kresge brought in 18 votes.  A total of 5 absentee ballots were issued for the race and 3 have so far been received by the Board of Elections in Mayville.  Rankin has already secured the Republican and Conservative lines for the Nov. 4 General Election and Kresge is assured of the Democratic and Working Families party lines.

For the Family Court Green Party candidacy, Republican Michael Sullivan and Democrat James Spann both lost their major party primary bids last night.  However, the Green Party primary result from Tuesday shows Sullivan with 3 votes and Spann with 2 votes.  A total of 2 Green Party absentees were mailed out in the race and 1 has been received back.  If the two candidates were to tie in the race, a failure to elect would be declared by the Board of Elections.