Senator Cathy Young and Assemblyman Andy Goodell

ALBANY – The two Republican incumbents representing Chautauqua County in the New York State Legislature easily won reelection, but Democrats had big victories in all areas of state government, including taking control of the State Senate.

Republican Incumbent Andy Goodell won a fifth term in the State Assembly, cruising to a 69 to 31 percent victory over Democratic Challenger Judith Einach. Goodell claimed 28,133 votes on Election Day to Einoch’s 12,621. The 150th assembly district includes all of and only Chautauqua County.

Meanwhile, Sen. Cathy Young ran unopposed for her eighth term in office, picking up 76,000 votes across the the 57th senate district.

While local Republicans enjoyed victory, Democrats were celebrating across the state with a sweep of all major statewide offices.  Andrew Cuomo and comptroller Thomas DiNapoli were both re-elected to their third term in office, while U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was also easily re-elected to her second full term. And New York State has its first elected female and African American Attorney General.  NYC advocate Letitia “Tish” James will become New York’s first black woman, and first African-American, to hold the office of state attorney general after a landslide victory on Tuesday, winning more than 65 percent percent of the vote.

Cuomo, meanwhile, coasted to re-election as he defeated four other candidates, including Republican Marc Molinaro, in his bid for a third term in office.  Cuomo said President Donald Trump’s unpopularity in the state was a driving factor. In his victory speech, Cuomo said The president defrauded this nation when he said he was for the middle class and then turned around and gave a tax break to millionaires. The governor added that New York has made clear that the people of the state are not buying what President Trump is selling.

Gillibrand defeated Chele Farley, but the Democratic party was unable to gain any seats in the Senate. The most high profile race on Tuesday saw Senator Ted Cruz being re-elected in Texas over the Democratic rising star Beto O’Rourke, all but ensuring Republicans will keep Senate control.

It was a different story for the New York State Senate, which will flip from Republican to Democratic Control in January.  If Democrats can hold the Senate in 2020, they will be the party solely responsible for redrawing Congressional district lines.

Also worth noting is that Chautauqua  County’s representative in the state senate will lose a key position. Sen. Young, a Republican, will have to give up her spot as the chair of the powerful Senate Finance Committee.

County Election Commissioners Norman Green and Brian Abram announce there is a total of 75,930 active registered voters in Chautauqua County who are eligible to cast ballots in the Nov. 6, 2018 General Election. There are 24,944 registered Democrats and 25,590 Republicans.

Hours to Vote? Polls are open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. The busiest times to avoid will be 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., Noon to 1 p.m. and in the evening during the dinner hour.  All county poll sites will be open.   Voters who have not moved will vote at the same site as last year.

Eligibility to Vote: Any Chautauqua County citizen at least age 18 the date of the General Election who has previously registered with the Board of Elections and has not moved is eligible to vote and will be included in the poll books.

Is it too late to register to vote?  The last day to register to vote was Friday Oct. 12th.  However, voters should check their voter status by visiting www.votechautauqua.com  and click on “Personal Voter Lookup” to access their current voting record or they should call the Board of Elections at 716-753-4580.

What if the “Personal Voter Lookup” info says you are an “inactive” voter?   Any voter who has previously registered to vote and is now “Inactive” due to the Board of Elections sent mail having been returned by the U.S. Post Office, should plan to vote by “Provisional Affidavit Ballot” on Election Day at the poll site assigned to service the voter’s current Election Day residence.

Moved? A registered voter who has moved within the county and who has failed to notify the Board of Elections must go to their new polling place and fill out a provisional affidavit ballot that will be counted along with the absentees, once the voter is proven to be eligible.

Will any voter be turned away from the polls on Election Day? No voter with a residence in Chautauqua County will be turned away from a poll site assigned to service that voter.  All voters within any county election district will be either provided an opportunity to sign in the poll book of registered voters where the election inspector finds the voters name, or the voter will be provided a “Provisional Affidavit Ballot”.  The provisional ballot will be researched after the election and if the voter is found to be eligible, the voter’s provisional ballot will be opened, votes counted and votes will be added to the Election Day totals.  Following the election, the “Provisional Affidavit Ballot” voter will be notified if their ballot was counted and will also be notified that the Board of Elections has update their voter registration and/or registered the voter for future elections.

How to see a sample of the ballot? Visit www.votechautauqua.com  and click on “Sample Ballots” to view the Election Day ballot.

Who is on the Ballot? Candidates on the 2018 ballot have been nominated by ten different statewide political parties including Democratic (DEM), Republican (REP), Conservative (CON), Green (GRE), Working Families (WOR), Independence (IND), Women’s Equality (WEP), Reform (REF), Serve America Movement (SAM) and Libertarian (LBT).

ELECTIONS THAT HAVE MORE THAN ONE CANDIDATE FOR EACH OFFICE

2018 Candidates for Governor: (Clockwise from upper left) Andrew Cuomo, Howie Hawkins, Stephanie Miner, Larry Sharpe, Cynthia Nixon (was working families candidate but withdrew from race following loss of Democratic primary), and Marc Molinaro.

NYS Governor and Lieutenant Governor:

• Andrew M Cuomo and Kathy C Hochul (DEM-WOR-IND-WEP)
• Marc Molinaro and Julie Killian (REP-CON-REF)
• Howie Hawkins and Jia Lee (GRE)
• Stephanie A Miner and Michael J Volpe (SAM)
• Larry Sharpe and Andrew C Hollister (LBT)

NYS Comptroller:

• Thomas P DiNapoli (DEM-WOR-IND-WEP-REF)
• Jonathan Trichter (REP-CON)
• Mark Dunlea (GRE)
• Cruger E Gallaudet (LBT)

NYS Attorney General:

• Letitia A James (DEM-WOR-IND)
• Keith Wofford (REP-CON);
• Michael Sussman (GRE)
• Christopher B Garvey (LBT)
• Nancy Sliwa (REF)

United States Senator:

• Kirsten E Gillibrand (DEM-WOR-IND-WEP)
• Chele Chiavacci Farley (REP-CON-REF);

Tracy Mitrano and Tom Reed

NYS 8^th Judicial District State Supreme Court Justice:

(Vote for any Two)     

• Paula L Feroleto (DEM-REP-CON);
• John M Curran (DEM-REP-CON)

Representative in Congress 23rd District:   

• Tracy Mitrano (DEM-WOR-WEP)
• Thomas W Reed II (REP-CON-IND)

Member of NYS Assembly 150th District:

• Judith S Einach (DEM-WOR-WEP)
• Andrew Goodell (REP-CON-IND)

Judith Einach and Andrew Goodell

County Sheriff:

• Joseph A Gerace (DEM-WOR-IND)
• James B Quattrone (REP-CON)

Portland Town Justice:

(Vote for any Two)

• Thomas S DeJoe (DEM-GRE-WOR-IND
• Michelle L Patterson (DEM-GRE-WOR)
• Daniel R Thompson (REP-CON-IND)

Ripley Town Justice: 

• John Hamels (DEM-GRE-WOR-IND)
• Lawrence M Freligh (REP-CON)

Chautauqua County Sheriff’s candidates Joseph Gerace (incument, left) and James Quattrone pause for a friendly photo with one another following their Meet the Candidates forum on Tuesday night at JCC.

Villenova Town Council – Vacancy:

• John Dudley Robinson Sr (DEM)
• Yvonne M Park (REP)

Mayville Village Mayor:

• Ken Shearer Jr (DEM)
• Richard Syper (REP)

Mayville Village Trustee:

(Vote for any Two)

• Tim Jacobson (DEM)
• Diane Seaton (DEM)
• Eagle Harrington (REP)
• Martin Murphy (REP)
• Bill Ward (Write In)

ELECTIONS THAT HAVE ONLY ONE CANDIDATE FOR EACH OFFICE: 

NY State Senate 57th District:

• Catharine M Young (REP-CON-IND-REF)

Busti Town Justice:

• Lyle T Hajdu (REP)

Clymer Town Clerk – Vacancy:         

• Stephanie M Bailey (REP)

North Harmony Town Supervisor – Vacancy:

• Robert E Yates (REP)

North Harmony Town Council – Vacancy:

• Steven W Senske (DEM)

Pomfret Town Highway Superintendent – Vacancy:

• Jude A Gardner (DEM-REP-CON-WOR)

Pomfret Town Justice:

• Anthony J Pulci (REP-CON-IND)

Sherman Town Justice:

• Douglas A Neal (REP)

Villenova Town Justice:

• Ronald Lucas (DEM-REP)

Bemus Point Village Trustee:

(Vote for any Two)

• Theodore W Farnham (REP)
• David I Lipsey (REP)

Celoron Village Trustee:

(Vote for any Two)

• Kate Burnett (DEM)
• Norm Mattison (DEM)

Panama Village Mayor:

• William F Schneider (PAN)

Panama Village Trustee:

Jonathan G Weston (PAN)

Silver Creek Village Trustee:

(Vote for any Two)

• Marv Cummings (DEM-REP-CON)
• John Burt (DEM-REP-CON)

Where to see election results?   www.votechautauqua.com election night results starting at about 9:15 p.m.

U.S. Senate Candidate Chele Farley (center) made an appearance at the Mid-Knight Dairy Farm in Jamestown to promote her agriculture agenda.

JAMESTOWN – The Republican candidate challenging incumbent U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in this year’s election was in Chautauqua County on Monday to promote her platform for helping dairy and agriculture in New York State.

U.S. Senate candidate Chele Farley of New York City said that if she was elected, she would do a better job ensuring farmers in New York State were getting the help they needed – including pushing for better deals in Trade Pacts as well as ensuring more aid would be available when the market struggles.

“Sen. Gillibrand’s very first bill that she put forward was a Farm Bill, which I would absolutely support. Unfortunately that, like the next 304 bills that she put forward, didn’t get passed. We need somebody in Washington who can actually get things done and help New York,” Farley said.

Farley said the proposed U.S. trade deal with Canada and Mexico that was announced last month will provide some help and New Yorkers need a Senator who will work on and support revised trade deals with other global partners as well – claiming that Sen. Gillibrand would rather fight the Trump administration and its proposals rather than work with the administration to ensure New Yorkers are getting their fair share. That not only includes reworking trade pacts, but also crafting and passing the overdue federal farm Farm Bill.

“Reauthorization of the Farm Bill is two years overdue and while farmers struggle here in New York, Sen. Gillibrand is busy campaigning in Georgia and around the country,” Farley said. “While there was good news last week as Canada agreed to end its so-called ‘Class 7’ trade quotas and tariffs with the US as part of an agreement to modernize NAFTA, more help is needed now. Dairy prices have been on a long decline and the impacts of the new trade agreement won’t be felt immediately.”

Farley appeared with both Senator Cathy Young and Assemblyman Andy Goodell as well as County Executive George Borrello Monday afternoon at Mid-Knight Dairy, located off of Fluvanna Town Line Road in Jamestown.

Chele Farley

NEW YORK – Chele Farley was chosen Friday by New York state GOP leaders to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in this fall’s election.

• Chele Farley for Senate Webpage

Farley is a private equity executive and Republican Party fundraiser. Her selection at a state party meeting gives her the Republican and state Conservative Party lines for the race against Gillibrand, who’s considered a potential candidate for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020.

Farley pledged to raise $10 million for her campaign, about what Gillibrand already has in her war chest.

Farley has little public name recognition and would face a Democrat with broad appeal in New York, where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1. Gillibrand received 72 percent of the vote in her 2012 election.