On Monday, County Executive-Elect Vince Horrigan named the eight members of his transition team, which he calls a non-partisan group that is designed to provide an external assessment of Chautauqua County government strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. The group will then provide its recommendations to Horrigan in an effort for his administration to improve Chautauqua County service delivery and economic development.

Among those included on the transition team are:

• John Jay Warren – Northern Chautauqua County Local Economic Development Committee
• Dr. Gregory DeCinque – Retired JCC president
• Dr. Sue McNamara – SUNY @ Fredonia business professor
• Mike Roberts – President and CEO of Allied Alarm Services, Inc.
• Dr. Lillian Ney – Jamestown Strategic Planning and Partnerships Commission
• Tory Irgang – Executive Director, United Way of Southern Chautauqua County
• Aaron Resnick – Westfield Development Corporation
• Kelly Borrello – Town of Hanover Chamber of Commerce

As part of its fact-finding mission, the team will interview representatives of manufacturing, tourism, agriculture, retail, health care and technology-related businesses, along with representatives of academics, not-for-profits, foundations, local governments, and faith-based groups.

Horrigan won election as Chautauqua County’s next County Executive during the Nov. 5 election. He defeated democratic opponent Ron Johnson.

On Election Day 2013, Horrigan picked up over 54 percent of the vote to defeat Fredonia Democrat Ron Johnson. The unofficial vote total was 13,858 for Horrigan and 10,926 for Johnson. A total of 1999 absentee and affidavit ballots are still waiting to be counted.

Following his victory, Horrigan thanked the voters of Chautauqua County for choosing him to be the county’s next top executive.

“It’s an absolute, incredible feeling,” Horrigan told WRFA. “I’m in the footsteps of the people that have gone before and so we will be building on the successes that we’ve had. We have challenges, but after talking with people in this county, businesses all over the county, I’m confident that we will be able to move ourselves forward to a period of growth.”

As for his future plans as County Executive, Horrigan said he will stick with his pledge of working toward leaner government, which includes the ongoing effort to privatize the Chautauqua County Home in Dunkirk.

“If we’re going to grow this county, we cannot be burdened by those things that can be done better in the private sector,” Horrigan said. “This is an opportunity. An opportunity to save the county home, to grow jobs and to add to the tax base. This is not a loss by any means, it is an opportunity. With that said, we will determine the best way to move forward with that and I’m excited about [tonight’s GOP victories], but I’m also excited to be working with our democratic folks from across the aisle.”

Vince Horrigan

Horrigan said he also wants to work on helping residents in the county become more self-sufficient while also creating new jobs working with existing businesses.

Horrigan will be replacing outgoing county Executive Greg Edwards, who announced earlier this year he would not be seeking reelection for a third term. Edwards has said he plans to step down from his post on Nov. 18 and will likely appoint Horrigan as his interim replacement. If that happens, Horrigan would have less than two week to prepare. As a result, he said he’s already put together a transition team to help get him ready.

“I won’t prejudge the interim position or how Greg will [make his selection], but I will tell you that I will have a transition team picked out. We’ll do some analysis of what our strengths are, what are weaknesses are, and where our opportunities are, and then we’ll put together the right team moving forward and make sure we have the right strategies in place to executive my vision.”

Horrigan is currently serving as a county legislator, representing the Town of Ellery. He had previously served as the Executive Director of the Southeastern NY Chapter of the American Red Cross.

On Wednesday morning, Edwards, along with several members of his economic development staff, announced that a deal has been finalized that will bring the Empire Specialty Cheese Co. into the former AFA Foods facility in the town of North Harmony.

Edwards says that he is obviously pleased that the county was able to find a new occupant for the facility, less than two years after AFA Foods closed its doors.

The outgoing County Executive also said he was very appreciative of what Empire Specialty Cheese co-owner Tony Carparco had to say about expanding operations into Chautauqua County. “During today’s announcement, he said this is percisely where anyone who is looking to locate their business ought to call because of the quality of the people who worked on this deal, the capacity of Chautauqua county to close a deal, the quality of people that are here to work and the quality of life that is available in Chautauqua County.'”

EDWARDS CALLS OUT RON JOHNSON FOR CRITICISM OF AFA FOOD LOCATION

The current county executive also said that announcement shows that his economic development team is doing its job, despite recent criticism from Democratic county executive candidate Ron Johnson.

“This is a company that governor Chris Christie’s team was courting dramatically, trying to get them to relocate to New Jersey,” Edwards said. “We won that race again, just like we won it against China, just like we won it against Sweden and just like we won it against southern states, and that’s because of who were are, what we offer, and the quality of our economic development teams. So for Ron Johnson – who said it couldn’t be done and who was proclaiming he should be hired because it wasn’t being done – well, he’s wrong again. He’s wrong on the facts, wrong on the realities and wrong for Chautauqua County.”

Edwards was referencing a recent photo featuring the Ron Johnson campaign, showing him out in front of the AFA Foods location and citing the loss of jobs in Chautauqua County during the past seven years.

Last week, the Chautauqua County Legislature voted unanimously to have the county apply for a $616,000 grant on Empire Specialty Cheese’s behalf from the New York State Office of Community Renewal. The money would go toward financing a portion of the cost of equipment and working capital required to establish operations at the former AFA site.

Empire Specialty Cheese currently operates in Conewango Valley, where it has been in operation since 2000.  The company currently employs 45 people, but plans to grow to more than 200 employees within five years at the new facility in North Harmony.

Chautauqua County Executive Candidates Ron Johnson (Left) and Vince Horrigan.

MAYVILLE – There’s just one week of campaigning left to go before the 2013 November elections take place.

This year’s elections will focus on several high-profile local offices, including the selection of the county’s next top executive. The candidates for Chautauqua County Executive are Bemus Point Legislator and former regional Red Cross Executive Director Vince Horrigan (R), and Fredonia-businessman, retired Sheriff deputy and former Town of Pomfret Justice Ron Johnson (D).

The two men agree that more can be done to help during the county’s economy around, but have put forward different plans and strategies to accomplish that goal.  Also, while Horrigan has come out in favor of selling the embattled Chautauqua County Home since January 2013, Johnson has stated that the county must first try to address the financial issues plaguing the home and correcting them, prior to simply signing it  over to a private owner.

Last week, the two squared off during a “Meet the Candidates” forum hosted by the Chautauqua County League of Women Voters. WRFA will feature two candidates comments at the forum later this week during our Community Matters program, which airs at 6 p.m. Thursday and Noon the following Sunday.

The Bemus Point Republican and current Chautauqua County Legislator said that after visiting their nursing home near Binghamton last month and talking to the employees, residents, and families, he came away assured that the quality of nursing home care was excellent. He also said that he is convinced that VestraCare will actually expand health services and grow our jobs through the addition of assisted living options, as well as other health care specialized services.

Horrigan has been an advocate of selling the home throughout the process. His opponent, Ron Johnson of Fredonia, has said he’d prefer to first see if the county home operation can be improved before making an effort to sell it to a private buyer.

Ron Johnson

ASHVILLE – The Democratic candidate for County Executive is making a bold promise in his campaign.

Fredonia businessman Ron Johnson says he’s so certain that Chautauqua County’s recent history of job losses can be turned around that he is willing to risk his own future on it.  In a media release earlier this week, Johnson said that if he can’t turn the county’s record of 7,000 lost jobs into job growth during his first term in office, he won’t seek re-election.

Johnson said he would develop job creation in the area by making better use of the county’s Economic Development Department and Industrial Development Agency. He said he’d use the state’s new Start Up New York program to bring new jobs to our area.

Earlier in the campaign, Johnson attacked current County Executive Greg Edward’s job creation record by pointing out that the county has actually seen a net loss of 7,000 jobs during Edward’s two terms in office. He said that if elected, he would remove the county’s current economic development staff and bring in his own group of development officials.

Johnson is running against county legislator and Republican Vince Horrigan in the Nov. 5 general election.

Earlier this year, the county’s Salary Review Committee recommended an annual salary of $109,480 for the county executive – an increase of more than $24,000 over the current salary, which is an increase of 28.8 percent.  The panel also recommended a 27 percent salary increase for the office of county clerk – bringing it up to $68,264. A 4.4 percent increase in the Sheriff’s Salary is also suggested, which would bring that total to $87,450.

The committee is also recommending an base-salary increase for legislators of 33 percent, bringing the total up from $9,000 to $12,000 per year.

Later today, the legislature’s Administrative Services committee will discuss the increase. In addition, the panel will also consider a motion, sponsored by Legislator Chairman Jay Gould (R-Ashville), opposing early voting in New York State.

The opposition stems from legislation introduced in the State Assembly and the State Senate that would allow residents to vote up to 14 days prior to the general election and up to seven days prior to a special election. Gould says that it would be an economic hardship to allow for early voting, with the annual local cost of extending voting for two weeks projected to be about $30,000.

While Gould’s motion is expected to gain some support in Mayville, at least one person is speaking out against it. County Elections Commissioner Norman Green – who also serves as the County’s Democratic Party Chairman – has already sent a correspondence to members of the legislature, asking that they not support the motion and instead support early voting, which would allow for an opportunity for greater voter turnout in the county.

The committee will meet today at 5:30 p.m in Room 331 of the Gerace Office Building. Also meeting today is the county’s public facilities committee at 4 p.m. in Room 331 of the Gerace Office Building. Both meetings are open to the public.