George Borrello (left) and Curt Crandall

The Chautauqua County Board of Elections says a total of 25,500 Republican voters are eligible to vote in today’s Primary for the 57th NYS Senate District – with candidates George Borrello, the current Chautauqua County executive, and Curt Crandall, the chair of the Allegany County Legislature, squaring off.

The Senate district includes Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany and part of Livingston Counties. There are 64,000 active Republican voters eligible to vote across the district.

Borrello was elected Chautauqua County executive in 2017 after spending eight years in the Chautauqua County Legislature, representing his home area of Hanover. Crandall is a long-time member member of the Allegany County Legislature and has served as its chair for the past 14 years.

Sen. Cathy Young was reelected to office in November 2018, but when she announced she was resigning from her seat in late February of this year, it meant that a special election would have to take place to fill that seat. As a result, the Republican party chairs for each of the four counties that comprise the 57th district (Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, Livingston) met in early March to select their candidate and it was Borrello, with only the Republican Party chair from Allegany County selecting Crandall.

When Gov. Andrew Cuomo did not set a special election date to fill the vacated seat, the special election date was set for this coming November’s general election. That gave Crandall an opportunity to challenge Borrello’s endorsement and force a primary.

Borrello is also the endorsed candidate for the Conservative Party.

• LISTEN: WRFA INTERVIEWS GEORGE BORELLO AND CURT CRANDALL

Andrew Liuzzo (left) and David Wilfong

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES FOR JAMESTOWN MAYOR

An estimated 3800 Republicans will be choosing their candidate for mayor to appear on the ballot for the November general election.

The two candidates who will appear on today’s republican party ballot are City Councilman at Large Andrew Liuzzo and Chautauqua County Legislator David Wilfong. Liuzzo was first elected to the Jamestown City Council in the 2017 election, while Wilfong was first elected to the County Legislature in 2013. He’s also the current chair of the Chautauqua County Republican Committee.

In February, Wilfong became the endorsed candidate of the Jamestown Republican Committee. But Liuzzo was able to force a primary by collecting an overwhelming number of petition signatures from registered Republicans living within the city.

Wilfong is also the endorsed candidate for the Conservative Party.

• LISTEN: WRFA INTERVIEWS ANDREW LIUZZO AND DAVID WILFONG

Tony Dolce and Raven Mason Thompson

CANDIDATES FOR CITY COUNCIL – WARD 2

There’s also a Republican primary for Jamestown City Council Ward 2 – with incumbent Tony Dolce being challenged by newcomer Raven Mason Thompson.

Dolce is the city Republican committee’s endorsed candidate, having served on the city council since 1999. This is Mason Thompson’s first attempt at running for public office.

• LISTEN: WRFA INTERVIEWS TONY DOLCE AND RAVEN MASON THOMPSON

OTHER LOCAL PRIMARIES

Other local primaries for the Republican Party include Carroll Town Supervisor and Town Clerk, Charlotte Town Council (Vote for 2), and Kiantone Town Supervisor. Also, Republicans have County Legislature primaries in Legislative District 1 in Dunkirk and Legislative District 18, covering the Mayville area, along with the towns of Mina and Findley Lake.

There are no primaries scheduled for the Democrats in Chautauqua County. However, a few third party primaries will be taking place in other areas of the county outside of Jamestown.

Polls are open Noon to 9 p.m.

Election officials say the busiest times to avoid will be Noon to 1 p.m. and in the evening during the dinner hour. All county poll sites will be open.

Results for all races will be posted online tonight at the website VoteChautauqua.com for local races and at Elections.NY.gov for 57th Senate district-wide results.

• MOBILE APP USERS: LISTEN VIA SOUNDLOUD

MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County County Executive George Borrello (R-Irving) confirms that he is hoping to be the area’s next representative in the New York State Senator.

George Borrello

On Thursday morning WRFA talked with Borrello during an appearance at Jamestown Community College. Borrello said that he was pleased to learn he has received the endorsement of the Chautauqua County Republican and Conservative Party Committees in being their candidate in a special election for the recently vacated 57th senate district.

“I’m certainly very proud to have the endorsement of our Chautauqua County Republican Committee,” Borrello said. “There are other steps to take and there are three other counties involved besides Chautauqua County, so we’ll move through that process.”

The three other counties involved include Cattaraugus, Allegany and Livinston Counties. In a special election  to fill the remainder of a term of a vacated legislature seat, the county committees for each party within the legislative district are required to agree to a candidate with a weighted vote taking place if more than one name is being considered. But with Chautauqua County containing nearly 50 percent of all registered Republicans in the district, it appears Borrello is a near certainty to secure a district-wide endorsement.

Borrello, who is a also former Chautauqua County Legislator, is only in his second year County Executive. He admits he was reluctant to consider the Senate opening, but eventually decided to pursue it for a number of reasons.

“I felt the sense of duty that we need good representation in Albany for Chautauqua County and the rest of the district,” Borrello said. “Although I was reluctant to jump in because of everything we have going on here as county executive, after talking to a lot of people including my wife, I really decided that for us to push forward with so many initiatives that are already in the works – things like the Ripley Gateway Center, or the hops and barley coop, or all the things going on around Chautauqua Lake to improve the water quality – those require strong, persistent diligent advocacy by our state representatives. Cathy Young did a fantastic job. She leaves a tremendous hole and big shoes to fill, so we need somebody there who is going to have the energy, drive, and commitment to advance those projects and everything else that is important to the people of the 57th District.”

A map showing New York’s 57th Senate District, which is now vacant following the resignation and departure of former Sen. Catherine Young

Making the path easier for Borrello on the Republican side is the fact that the region’s two Republican Assembly members – Andrew Goodell (R-Ellicott) of Chautauqua County and Joe Giglio of Cattaraugus County – have both reportedly announced they will not run for that seat.

Meanwhile on the Democratic side, Lakewood resident and past Senate candidate Nancy Bargar announced via email on Thursday afternoon she was withdrawing from the race. Chautauqua County Democratic Committee chair Norman Green tells WRFA they will likely announce their endorsement for the Senate seat next week.

The senate seat was vacated by Cathy Young (R-Olean) at the start of this week. She announced at the end of last month she was leaving the Senate to take a job at Cornell University. Prior to her departure she had served in the Senate for 15 years and prior to that in the State Assembly.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has the option of scheduling a date for when the special election will take place. If he opts to not schedule a date, it will automatically occur during the November General Election. The winner will serve the remainder of the current term, which ends December 31, 2020.

Meanwhile, as the district waits for a new Senator to be voted on to fill the district’s vacated senate seat, residents across the region are left without a representative in the State legislature’s upper chamber.

Despite the absence, 57th Senate District Administrative Assistant Lisa Vanstrom tells WRFA that the district offices are still staffed and anyone seeking help or assistance is still encouraged to call.

She also said that for questions involving legislation – local residents in Chautauqua County should contact via email Assemblyman Goodell.

George Borrello

MAYVILLE – It appears more and more likely that Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello is getting the support he needs to be a candidate for a recently vacated State Senate seat, whenever an election finally takes place.

According to the Post-Journal, the Chautauqua County Republican Committee is endorsing Borrello as its choice for running for the 57th Senate Seat that was vacated by former Sen. Cathy Young earlier this week.

The endorsement was reportedly confirmed by GOP Committee Chair David Wilfong, who said he will not bring that endorsement to the other county GOP committees that will also have a say in selecting the party’s candidate in a special election.

Under state law, any special election for a state legislature seat requires the committees from the involved counties to choose their candidate, rather than going with a traditional primary. If more than one candidate is being considered then a weighted vote will take place with number of registered Republicans of each county being considered. Counties included in the 57th Senate District include Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties along with a portion of Livingston County. Of those four counties, Chautauqua County holds 47 percent of registered Republicans living within the district.

Borrello’s endorsement by the County Republican Committee comes a day after he was also endorsed by the Chautauqua County Conservative Party, which consulted with the state conservative party before making its choice.

Borrello hasn’t formally indicated an intention to run for Senate but it appears he has talked with party officials and would be willing to step forward if he is selected by party members from across the 57th district.

Meanwhile a date has not been set for when a special election may occur. That decision rests with Governor Andrew Cuomo. If he chooses not to call for a special election, then Young’s replacement will be voted on during the November General election to fill out the remainder of the current term, which ends on December 31, 2020.

George Borrello

MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello (R-Irving) hasn’t announced his intention to seek a seat in the New York State Senate, but that hasn’t stopped at least one political party from endorsing him to fill the vacated seat.

The Chautauqua County Conservative Party in a media release said it is endorsing Borrello for the recently vacated 57th district New York Senate seat held by Senator Cathy Young. Last month Young announced she was leaving the Senate on March 10 in order to take a job with Cornell University.

The Conservative Party announcement was made Tuesday afternoon by chairwoman and member of the State Conservative Executive Committee, Anna Wilcox. She said the decision to endorse Borrello came after consulting with members of the Conservative Executive Committee and the State Conservative Party Chairman, Gerard Kassar.

Wilcox says the recent shift in power in Albany (due to Democrats taking control of the Senate) means its imperative that the strongest and best qualified candidate run for the seat in order to stand up to the progressive agenda and her party believes that person is Borrello.

“Soon we will have legalization of marijuana, in spite of numerous studies warning about the harmful effects on the brains of adolescents. We now have one of the most liberal abortion laws in the country, one that borders on infanticide, whose signing into law by the Governor was celebrated by cheering left-wing Democrat lawmakers,” Wilcox said in her statement. “While some people may be apprehensive about losing a promising young County Executive, it is imperative that the strongest and best qualified candidate run for this Senate seat.  We need someone who believes that Catholics, Protestants, and people of faith should be respected, not ridiculed; that it is our right to own a gun, if we so choose, to protect our homes and our families; that being on welfare should be a temporary situation — not a permanent lifestyle, and that illegal immigrants should not go to New York State Universities tuition free, while hard working lower and middle class families take out mortgages and work two jobs to send their kids to college. We need someone who will stand up and fight for the interests and beliefs of the people of the 57th district. We need George Borrello.”

Borrello, who became county executive at the start of 2018 hasn’t even announced his potential candidacy, though he did say during a recent Facebook live conference with constituents that it is something he’d consider, but hadn’t made any commitment.

“Whether or not I’m interested in it, I love what I do hear as the county executive in Chautauqua County,” Borrello said on March 1. “I feel like we’re making great progress, we’ve got a lot of initiatives and we planted some great seeds here. The only way I think I would really consider it is if I truly felt I could better represent the people of Chautauqua County in that position than as county executive. Right now, this is so fresh – the ink is barely dry on this – so I’m not going to make any commitments one way or the other, but I do love being the county executive and I think we have a lot of great things going on.”

WRFA reached out to Borrello via email on Tuesday night for a reaction to the Conservative Party’s endorsement but have yet to hear back from him as of Wednesday morning.

While the Conservative Party has endorsed Borrello as its candidate, and past Senate candidate Nancy Bargar (D-Lakewood) has also announced her interest in the vacated seat, there has been no news on when an election to fill the vacated seat will take place. The governor has the option of calling for a special election but if he fails to do that, an election will be held during the November general election to fill the remainder of the term in the Senate, which ends on Dec. 1, 2020.

Also according to the Jamestown Post-Journal, current assemblyman for Chautauqua County, Republican Andy Goodell (R-Gerry), has said he wont be seeking the senate seat.

In the only local county-wide primary race in Chautauqua County, challenger James Quattrone defeated incumbent Joseph Gerace in the county Conservative Party primary for Sheriff by a vote of 217-104 on Thursday.

The victory means Quattrone will be endorsed by the Republican and Conservative parties on the November ballot, while Gerace will be endorsed by the Democratic, Independence and Working Family parties.

The four candidates for Chautauqua County Family Court Judge in the 2014 General Election will be (from left to right): Sally Jaroszynski (Democrat), Jeffrey Piazza (Republican, Conservative and Independence), James Spann Jr. (Working Families), and Michael Sullivan (Green Party).

JAMESTOWN – It appears that all four candidates for the recently created second Chautauqua County Family Court judge position will have their names on the ballot for the 2014 General Election.

Primary day 2014 saw contested races for six parties in the race for county court judge and each of the four candidates won at least one of the races.

In the Democratic Primary, Falconer’s Sally Jaroszynski defeated Westfield’s James J. Spann Jr. Jaroszynski had a strong showing, picking up over 60 percent of the vote.

In the Republican primary, Jamestown’s Jeffrey Piazza defeated Fredonia’s Michael Sullivan.  In that race, Piazza received 60 percent of the vote.

Piazza also won the Conservative and Independence Party lines. Meanwhile, Spann walked away from Primary Day with the Working Families Party endorsement while Sullivan will run on the Green Party line.

In the other local primary race, involving a special election for the Chautauqua County Legislature’s District 12 seat, Elisabeth Rankin won the Independence Party line vote in the narrowest of margins. Rankin picked up 19 votes while her opponent, current legislator Beth Kresge, picked up 18 votes. Rankin will also run on the Republican line while Kresge will serve have the Democratic and Working Familes endorsements.

Election day will take place on Nov. 4. For a complete list of all candidates appearing on Chautauqua County ballots for this year’s elections, visit voteChautauqua.com.

Highlighting this year’s primary is the race for governor and lieutenant governor for the Democratic party, with three candidates on the ballot for governor and two candidates on the ballot for lt. governor.

• COMPLETE LIST OF CANDIDATES ON THIS YEAR’S LOCAL BALLOTS

THREE VIE FOR DEMOCRATIC ENDORSEMENT IN GOVERNOR’S RACE

In the governor’s race, incumbent Andrew Cuomo (Kisco, NY) will facing upstart challenger Zephyr Teachout (Brooklyn, NY) and fellow challenger Randy Credico (New York, NY). Teachout is a Fordham University professor who’s garnered a lot of attention after winning a court decision that would allow her name to remain on the ballot following a challenge by Cuomo’s campaign. Credico is a Comedian and considered a long-shot candidate.

In the Democratic Primary race for Lt. Governor, Kathy Hochul of Erie County has been tapped to be governor’s Cuomo’s running mate, replacing current lt. Gov. Robert Duffy of Rochester, who announced earlier this year he would not be seeking a second term as lt. governor Hochul is running against fellow democrat and Teachout running mate Timothy Wu.

FAMILY COURT JUDGE RACES HIGHLIGHTS LOCAL PRIMARIES

In addition to the democratic primary for governor, there will also be six party primaries in the newly created office for a second Chautauqua County Family Court Judge. A total of four candidates will have their names on the ballot, with all of them vying for at least one of the six party endorsement.

In the Democratic Party primary for that office, Falconer attorney Sally Jaroszynski, who is currently Ellicott Town Justice, will be facing Westfield attorney James Spann Jr. – who currently serves as the Westfield town justice.

For the Republican Party, Jamestown attorney Jeffry Piazza will be running against Fredonia Mayor and attorney Michael Sullivan.

In addition, Piazza, Sullivan and Spann will be competing for the endorsement of the Conservative Party.

Both Spann and Sullivan are candidates for the Working Families Party.

For the Independence Party, Piazza, Spann and Sullivan are all running for endorsement.

And for the Green Party, Spann and Sullivan are running for endorsement.

DISTRICT 12 SPECIAL ELECTION TO FEATURE INDEPENDENCE PARTY PRIMARY

There is also a primary for Jamestown residents who live in district 12 for the Chautauqua County Legislature. That seat is having a special election in November, since current legislator and Democrat Beth Kresge was only appointed to the seat earlier this year. She’ll be facing Jamestown Republican Elisabeth Rankin in the November general election. However, both candidates are also vying for the Independence Party endorsement on primary day – meaning any registered members of the independence party that live in District 12 will have the opportunity to vote for one of the two.

Primary day is on Tuesday, Sept. 9. All Chautauqua County poll sites will be open from Noon to 9 p.m.  Voters can find their personal voter information at www.votechautauqua.com.

Judge Ward received both the Independence and Conservative Party endorsements over his democratic opponent William Coughlin (D-Fredonia). According to the website votechautauqua.com, for the Independence Party nomination, Ward received almost 60 percent of the Independence Party votes and 80 percent of the Conservative votes. Judge Ward is seeking a third 10-year term behind the bench.

Meanwhile Goodell won 57 percent of the votes for the Independence Party nomination over his opponent, Democrat Rudy Mueller.

Complete results can be found at votechautauqua.com.

In the race for County Judge, Democratic County Legislator William Coughlin of Fredonia is challenging incumbent Republican County Judge John Ward, Jr. of Ashville for both the Independence and Conservative Party nominations.

In the race for State Assembly, Republican Assemblyman Andrew Goodell of Ellicott is facing off against former county legislator Rudy Mueller of Lakewood for the Independence Party nomination.

Republicans in the Town of Charlotte will be going to the polls to fill a highway superintendent vacancy for that town.  Mark G. LeBaron will be running against Michael A. Livermore.

There will also be nineteen Conservative Party primaries to choose election district level county committee representation.  There are to be only two committee members from each of the county’s 124 election districts.

The Board of Elections will be opening just one poll site for every town and city for the today’s primaries.  The consolidated list is available at votechautauqua.com. Contact the Board of Elections at 753-4580 for more information.

The Chautauqua County Board of Elections says County Legislator William Coughlin (D-Fredonia) is challenging incumbent County Judge John Ward, Jr. (R-Ashville) for both the Independence and Conservative Party nominations. In addition, Assemblyman Andrew Goodell (R-Ellicott) is facing off against former county legislator Rudy Mueller (D-Lakewood) for the Independence Party nomination.

There will also be a Republican Party Primary for voters in the Town of Charlotte to decide who will run for highway superintendant. There will also be nineteen Conservative Party primaries to choose election district level county committee representation. There are to be only two committee members from each of the county’s 124 election districts. 

The primary for all three parties will take place on Thursday, September 13.  That day, the Board of Elections will be opening just one poll site for every town and city in the county.

The general election is scheduled for Tuesday, November 6. For more information, contact the Board of Elections at 753-4580.