Jamestown Reapportionment Commission (May 31, 2022)

The Jamestown Reapportionment Commission has voted to move forward with creating a six ward map for new district boundaries.

Following discussion on whether to go with a five ward map as proposed by Democratic Committee City Chair Jim Walton, including whether to have it go to a referendum, City Council President Tony Dolce motioned to have maps designed with six wards. Alyssa Porter seconded the motion. Walton was the only no vote.

Dolce stated during discussion that reducing the number of wards would mean more work for council members and that the Internet has made it easier to contact and communicate with council members on top of council meetings being online. He said he’s receiving more communications about concerns now than in past decades despite population changes.

The commission received a “least change” map from Executive Assistant Zach Altschuler that moves ward boundaries by just a few blocks. This map, like the staff map submitted on May 24, all have populations within 1% of each other.

Ellen Ditonto expressed her desire to be sure the new wards on the maps keep neighborhoods together so they feel they have proper representation.

Ditonto also emphasized that the Commission will have to be diligent about making sure there is quorum of eligible members at meetings coming up, given that some members of the Commission have inconsistent attendance. One Commission member, Billy Torres, has not attended any of the Reapportionment meetings so far.

According to the City Charter, a member “shall lose his or her voting privilege if not present for a majority of meetings.”

The next meeting of the Reapportionment Commission will be held Tuesday, June 21.

On Tuesday, the city’s Reapportionment Commission held its second meeting of the year and further looked into the process of drawing ward boundaries. The commission also voted to move forward on drawing two maps – one that would maintain the current number of six wards, and another which would remove a ward and reduce the number down to five.

The idea of removing the ward seat was put forward by commission member and chair of the city’s Democratic party Jim Walton. He said the city’s shrinking population justifies eliminating a ward, adding that he also would support removing all three at large seats as well, “I’d like to get rid of all the at-large numbers. I’d like to go to five council people. The trend even with the county is to end up with less people, less legislators cause there’s less people.”

Walton added that each council member is $5,000 a year in salary, so by eliminating four seats, it would help to save money, “If you take out four that’s $20,000. If you wind up taking out two that’s $10,000. That’s the advantage. Everyone is looking for smaller government. I think we ought to be out there championing that cause instead of trying to figure out a way we can stay in the status quo as the population continues to decline.”

Not everyone on the commission was in favor of reducing the number of wards. Commission member Tony Dolce, who is also the current City Council President, voiced concern about an increased workload with fewer council members, “The problem with that is that it changes the whole structure of committees and work load and stuff like that because as it is you have four committees. Some people are on multiple committees. It’s a lot of extra work.”

In addition to his proposal, Walton put forward a draft map that contained only five wards. It will be developed into a more detailed, interactive map. Meanwhile, an updated six-ward map will also be created by tweaking the existing ward lines so that they all come within one percent of containing 4,785 residents – the number needed to have an equal number of residents in all six wards under the 2020 census count.

Commission chair Pete Johnson said city staff will develop two proposals in the coming weeks and the commission will meet again to review, “We’re going to see whether the current six wards can be tweaked to try to get a balance across those six, hopefully within 50 individuals, plus or minus. Then also to consider the possibility of moving from six down to five wards and what that might look like.”

The commission will meet again on May 24 to continue the discussion. Under the city charter, it is required to finalize and approve a plan by September 1.

Jamestown City Council

The appointments for the City’s Reapportionment Commission have been set.

Jamestown City Council approved the mayoral appointments of Ellen Ditonto, Alyssa Porter, and Billy Torres to the commission. Jim Walton will represent the Democratic Party, Peter Johnson will represent the City Republican Party, and Steve Muscarella will represent the Conservative Party. Attorney Michael Panebianco will represent the Jamestown BAR Association. Council President Tony Dolce and Council member Brent Sheldon will be the council appointments.

Mayor Eddie Sundquist said there isn’t a set schedule yet for when the Reapportionment Commission will meet to start the process of redrawing Ward District lines in the city.

He said with the Census count being ended early including people not wanting to answer their doors during a Pandemic in addition to not as many Census workers, he is concerned about an undercount, “Whether you are living in some type of transitional housing or whether you’re living in a permanent structure, those are very important to get, and we’re very concerned that is the case. But we are hearing some news reports that the Census Division is starting to look at those things again. I don’t know that we’ll see any changes, but we’ll take that into account as we go into this reapportionment.”

Sundquist said with the population loss, it’s up to the Reapportionment Commission to decide if the number of Wards or number of At-Large members is changed.

The new district lines would go into effect for the 2023 City Council election.

Democrat Eddie Sundquist addresses his supporters on Election Night 2019 after learning he will be the next mayor of Jamestown.

JAMESTOWN – Jamestown’s next mayor will be Democrat and local attorney Eddie Sundquist. Sundquist was announced the winner of the 2019 mayoral election Tuesday night, defeating both Republican and Chautauqua County legislator David Wilfong and Libertarian and current Jamestown City Councilman Andy Liuzzo.

Sundquist took 49.8% of the unofficial vote total, bringing in 2519 votes, while Wilfong came in second with 1959 votes, which was 38.7% of the vote. Meanwhile, Liuzzo came in a distant third with 11.4% of the vote (574 votes). Approximately 204 absentee ballots remain to be counted.

Following the victory announcement at Democratic Headquarters inside the Jamestown Brewing Company, Sundquist thanked those who helped to make him mayor elect.

“We fought long and hard, starting way back in the winter months. I can tell you that I am probably the proudest that I have ever been to see all of you here gathered to support what we are going to do for the future of the city of Jamestown,” Sundquist said. “I just want to say from the bottom of my heart ‘thank you’ to each and every single one of you who made this happen. Family, friends, volunteers, countless hours on the phone, knocking on doors, on social media – we could not have brought the city of Jamestown into the future without each and everyone of you. So for that, I thank you.”

Sundquist also said that in the coming weeks he will be working to prepare for the transition into the mayors office when he replaces current Mayor Sam Teresi, who decided not to run for a sixth consecutive term, on January 1, 2020.

“We have a long road ahead but we are going to do this and hopefully, we get through these four years and then work four more,” Sundquist said.

It was Sundquist’s second run for office in as many years. In 2018 he made an unsuccessful bid for Congress, failing to get the Democratic Party’s endorsement in that year’s primary.

CONTROL OF CITY COUNCIL TO BE DECIDED BY ABSENTEE BALLOT COUNT

While Sundquist was able to win the Mayor’s office, it’s not yet known if he will be working with a Democratic or Republican-controlled Jamestown City Council. That’s because the council is split with four Republicans winning and four Democrats also winning, with the ninth and deciding race still too close to call.

Brent Sheldon (left) and Tim smeal

In Ward 1, Republican incumbent Brent Sheldon (355 votes) leads Democratic Challenger Tim Smeal (348 votes) by just 7 votes. The outcome of that race won’t be known until absentee ballots are counted and according to the Board of Elections, 70 absentee ballots are left to be counted on Monday, Nov. 18.

City Democratic Chairman Jim Walton said he and the rest of the party are anxiously awaiting the results for the Ward 1 race.

“It looks like the fight for control of the council will come down to absentee ballots because we’re within several votes there. That Ward has always lived and died by the absentees that have come out of the Aldren Avenue area,” Walton said. “We’ll look forward to counting those and hopefully Tim Smeal did his work there and we’ll come out victorious. That will be the difference in who controls the city council.”

OLSON, RUSSELL WIN FIRST TERM ON CITY COUNCIL

Meanwhile, one of the ward races featured a challenger defeating an incumbent. In Ward 5, Republican Grant Olson (495 votes) was able to defeat Democratic incumbent Maria Jones (397 votes). Jones was first elected to the city council in 2011 and since then she’s served as chair of the council’s Public Safety Committee and has also served on the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities.

In the only other contested ward race, Democrat and current City Council president Marie Carrubba (630 votes) defeated Republican challenger Brittnay Spry (576 votes).

In the race for the council’s three at large seats, it was newcomer Republican Jeffrey Russell (2483 votes) joining fellow Republican and incumbent Kim Ecklund (2721 votes), along with Democratic incumbent Tamu Graham-Reinhardt (2173 votes) winning.

Those failing to get enough votes to be elected to the at large seats were Democrats Greg Rabb (2026 votes) and Taylor Scott (1985 votes) along with libertarian Raven Mason Thompson (293 votes).  Republican Greg Lindquist, who withdrew from the race earlier this year, also appeared on the ballot and was able to garner 1966 votes.

Winners of the 2019 contested Jamestown City Council races on election night (from left to right): Marie Carrubba (D-Ward 4), Grant Olson (R-Ward 5), Kim Ecklund (R-At Large), Jeffrey Russell (R-At Large), and Tamu Graham Reinhardt (D-At Large)

Candidates running unopposed this year were Tom Nelson (D) in Ward 6, Vickye James (D) in Ward 3, and Tony Dolce (R) in Ward 2 – although another person, Democrat Thomas Vitale, also appeared on the ballot for that office. However, Vitale had announced his withdrawal from the race earlier in the year.

David Wilfong

JAMESTOWN – The Republican candidate for Mayor of Jamestown reportedly failed to report his campaign finance numbers with the state board of elections on three separate occasion.

According to a media release sent out by Jamestown City Democratic Committee chairman Jim Walton, Republican Candidate David Wilfong failed to file a Pre and Post primary finance report and a periodic report – which was due on July 15 of this year. Walton said as of July 17, no such reports had been filed.

As a result, Walton filed a formal complaint with the Chautauqua County Board of Elections for violation of New York State’s campaign finance laws.  The board then contacted Wilfong, who immediately submitted his reports.

Wilfong explained to WRFA on Monday he has a member of his campaign who was responsible for filing the reports, but did not. However, he also said that as the candidate in the campaign he takes full responsibility for it not happening, adding he would make sure all future reports are filed in a timely manner.

Walton, meanwhile, said that Wilfong has been a politician for several years now and should know better than to violate state campaign finance laws on three separate occasions.

“Being Mayor of the City of Jamestown requires transparency and honesty in everything you do,” Walton said. “Our City deserves better than someone who is not willing to be transparent with finances and cannot file a form on time… Being a couple of days late on the current report can possibly be explained as mere oversight. However, the two previous reports not being filed shows a blatant disregard for the law and bring into question the capabilities of a candidate who wants to become Mayor of the City of Jamestown.“

Wilfong is running not only as a Republican candidate, but also as the Conservative candidate. He is facing Democrat Eddie Sundquist (also running under the Working Families and Independence party lines) and Libertarian candidate Andrew Liuzzo. The three are vying for the seat being vacated by current Mayor Sam Teresi (D), who opted not to run for reelection to a sixth consecutive term.

The Chautauqua County Democratic Committee announced on Tuesday that District 12 candidate Margaret “Peg” Cornell declined her party’s nomination to run for that seat, which covers the north side of Jamestown. The seat is currently held by Republican Elisabeth Rankin, who is seeking reelection.

As WRFA noted Tuesday, that race was to be the only contested race taking place in the greater Jamestown area before Cornell’s announcement. It was also only one of seven contested races expected for November. Unless Democrats can find a replacement, the number of contested races will drop down to just six out of 19.

The Jamestown Democratic Committee is continuing to accept applications to run for the $9,000 per year job, regardless of personal party affiliation. The Committee to Fill Vacancies will be meeting Thursday in Jamestown in hopes of identifying a replacement.

Anyone in District 12 interested in running for the seat is asked to contact city Democratic Chairman Jim Walton by email at jimwalton422@msn.com or County Democratic Chair Norman Green at chqdem@gmail.com.

Eddie Sundquist

JAMESTOWN – Democratic officials in Jamestown have selected their candidate for mayor.

On Thursday night the Jamestown Democratic Committee voted to endorse local attorney and 2018 Democratic congressional candidate Eddie Sundquist for Mayor in the 2019 local election.

The move comes after current mayor and Democrat Sam Teresi announced earlier this month he would not be seeking a sixth consecutive term in office.

In a media release sent out Thursday, city Democratic chair Jim Walton said party officials are excited to endorse Sundquist because of his commitment to Jamestown and its citizens.

Born and raised in Jamestown, Sundquist is a graduate of Jamestown High School and is the first in his family to graduate college, having earned a political science degree at St. John Fisher College. He then earned his Masters of Science in Education at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, and received his law degree from the University of Buffalo School of Law. His law practice currently focuses on helping injured workers and grieving families. His first foray into running for public office was in the 2018 race for the New York 23rd Congressional District. In that race he finished fifth out of five candidates in the Democratic Party June primary.

Sundquist is the third person to throw his hat into the ring for the mayoral race.  At the start of the month Republican City Councilman Andrew Liuzzo announced his intention to run and earlier this week the city Republican Committee endorsed County Legislator David Wilfong as its choice. That means if both Liuzzo and Wilfong get the required number signatures from registered party voters there will be a primary in June to determine which of those two will advance to the November General Election.

DEMS PRESENT FULL SLATE OF CANDIDATES FOR CITY COUNCIL

Meanwhile, the Jamestown Democratic Committee also endorsed several others for city offices, including current City Council members Marie Carrubba (Ward IV and current council president), Vickye James (Ward III), Maria Jones (Ward V), Tom Nelson (Ward VI), and Tamu Graham-Reinhardt (At-Large).

In addition, the committee is endorsing past council member and city council president Greg Rabb – who served on the council for 10 years before not winning reelection for an at large seat in the 2017 general election. Rabb still remains active in city government as the chair of both the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities and the Jamestown Planning Commission. He was appointed to both as a citizen member by Mayor Teresi at the start of 2018. Rabb is again running as an at-large candidate in 2019.

The Democrats other at large candidate will be newcomer Taylor Scott.

Rounding out the slate of candidates for city council will be newcomer Tim Smeal running in Ward I (a seat currently held by Republican Brent Sheldon) along with Tom Vitale running in Ward II (a seat currently held by Republican Tony Dolce).

Joining the Jamestown team are endorsed county legislator incumbent Chuck Nazzaro (District 9) and candidate Bob Whitney for District 11 – which is currently held by Republican mayoral candidate David Wilfong.

A rally is being planned to formally announce Sundquist and other endorsed Democrats on Thursday February 28 at 4 p.m. at the Chadakoin River scenic overlook on the Jamestown River Walk (across from McCrea Point).

City Democratic Committee Chair Jim Walton tells WRFA that he has called a search committee to identify and talk with potential candidates, adding that there are already three individuals being considered. However, Walton didn’t want to provide names until the full committee has an opportunity to meet with any and all individuals interested in running.

Walton said the search committee will likely begin the process of talking with potential Democratic candidates next week, with the full committee meeting to likely give an official endorsement on Thursday, Feb. 21.

The search for a Democratic candidate is due to long-time Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi’s announcement earlier this week that he would not be seeking a sixth term in office.

Meanwhile, the Jamestown Republican Committee will also start the process of choosing an endorsement for its canidate in the mayoral race next week on Wednesday, Feb. 13. So far only city councilman Andrew Liuzzo (R-At Large) has come forward to announce his intention to run for mayor. And while Liuzzo is a Republican, it doesn’t guarantee he will be the committee’s endorsement.

Because of recent changes in state election law, the schedule that candidates must follow in order to run for office has been moved up this year. In the past the local primary didn’t take place until the first Tuesday in September, which mean the process for running for office didn’t begin until later in the calendar year.

Any candidate for local office in the 2019 elections – including the mayoral race – will have to wait until Feb. 26 before they can circulating petitions to run for office, with a deadline of April 1 to submit their petitions. A candidate must collect signatures of 5 percent of the enrolled active voters of the political party on a petition (or 1,000 – whichever is fewer) in order to get their name on the ballot. If more than one person from the same party exceeds the required threshold of signatures then a primary race will take place on Tuesday, June 25. An enrolled active voter from a political party is not allowed to sign petitions for more than one candidate seeking the same office.

To learn more about recent New York State election law changes and what candidates need to know if planning to run for office in 2019, tune in to WRFA’s weekly public affairs program Community Matters on Thursday at 5 p.m.  During the second half of the show we’ll be talking with Chautauqua County Board of Elections Commissioner Norman Green. Also during the first half of the show, Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi will discuss his recent announcement, as well as further details into initiatives he laid out in his 2019 State of the City report.

You can also learn more about running for office by visiting the County Board of Elections website or reviewing the state Running for Elective Office Handbook.

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CORRECTION: An earlier report indicated this year’s race would be the first open-seat race since 1993. This is technically incorrect because the mayor at that time, Carolyn Seymour (D), did run for reelection but was defeated in the Democratic Primary, thus removing her name from the general election ballot. She still campaigned as a write-in candidate. 

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi (seated) announced Monday night he won’t be seeking a sixth term in office with his wife Becky and one of their two sons Joe standing behind him.

JAMESTOWN – Mayor Sam Teresi (D) won’t be seeking a sixth term in office.

During the Jamestown City Council work session on Monday night Teresi announced that he has opted not to run for reelection.

“I Shall not seek, nor shall I accept, the nomination of my party to serve a sixth term as the mayor of this wonderful city,” Teresi said.

The announcement makes the 2019 race for mayor an open contest, guaranteeing the general election ballot in November will feature the names of individuals who are currently not holding the office. That hasn’t happened since 1993 when then-mayor Carolyn Seymour failed to get her party’s endorsement and as a result didn’t appear on that year’s ballot.

Teresi said that he wrestled with the decision for several weeks, but after talking with friends and family he came to the conclusion the time was right to step away from a position he’s held since January 2000.

“I’ve been giving this a lot of thought. My family does not want it and if my wife Beckly could tell the truth, while she’s been very supportive over the years, I don’t think she would have wanted me to run in the first place,” Teresi said. “But it’s been a passion. I think it’s been a calling. And I think it’s been the best thing that could have ever happened to me personally and hopefully at the end of this year we will have left things a little better than we found them. It’s been a true honor and pleasure.”

Upon learning the news, several council members thanked the mayor for his years of service, including fellow Democrat and current city council president Marie Carrubba (Ward IV).

“I’ve personally seen up close, before I was on council, how hard you’ve worked and everything you’ve done. Whether you’ve been in the department of development as the director or as the mayor, you really have done a lot to turn things around<” Carrubba said. “I can remember some of the days when things were very dark and not looking to promising, but you have shown a light on this city. I have never heard anyone speak as passionately about the city of Jamestown and the best it has to offer, the goodness of the people and everything that’s right about this city as you have.”

Ranking council member and Republican Tony Dolce (Ward II) also thanked Teresi for his years of service to the city, saying he will be difficult to replace.

“It’s been an hour to work with. Politics aside – there have been differences and we’ve had our differences – but it’s a bittersweet moment and I know it’s a difficult moment for you,” Dolce said.

Mayor Sam Teresi with his wife Becky and son Joe

Teresi said that he’s not certain what the future may hold after he leaves office, other than being able to spend more time with his family. In the meantime he said he plans to work each and every remaining day of his final year in office.

“I am planning on finishing out this term, right until noon or thereabouts on January 1, 2020,” Teresi said. “We have a lot of work to do and we’re going to continue doing it like we’ve always done it, together with the best management team and public workforce that you’re going to find anywhere in this country.”

Teresi defeated Republican incumbent Richard “Dick” Kimball in the 1999 mayoral election. Four years later Kimball ran as a challenger but lost yet again to Teresi. In 2007 Teresi ran against and defeated former city clerk and Republican Shirley Sanfilippo. He ran uncontested in both the 2011 and 2015 elections.

When he took office in 2000 he inherited a city government that was dealing with a multi million dollar budget deficit. During his first term in office he worked to eliminate the deficit by making significant cuts to the city’s labor force, including reductions to in city administration, public safety, and public works departments. Teresi has also rolled out several cost-cutting measures and shared service initiatives to battle an ever-challenging city budget that’s seen continued growth in expenses while revenues remain mostly stagnant, with the exception of an ever-increasing property tax rate. In his final term in office the city saw its property tax levy reach its constitutional limit, meaning it couldn’t be increased any further unless there is a significant spike in taxable property value.

Prior to running for mayor in 1999 Teresi worked as the city development director.

POSSIBLE CANDIDATES FOR MAYOR? 

With Teresi choosing not to run for another term in office, the stage is now set for the first open seat mayoral race the city has seen in nearly 80 years and the first time a sitting mayor has not appeared on the general election ballot since 1993.

One candidate has already announced his intention to run. On Saturday first term Jamestown City Councilman Andrew Liuzzo (At Large), a Republican, announced his campaign for mayor. But while Liuzzo was the first city Republican to put his hat in the ring, it’s not a given that he would receive the Jamestown Republican Committee’s endorsement.

City Republican Party chairman and fellow city council member Brent Sheldon (Ward I)  said the committee will meet on Feb. 13 to discuss who they will endorse for mayor.

Among the names being floated around is ranking city councilman Tony Dolce, who’s also currently teaching in the Jamestown Public School district. WRFA asked him Monday night following Teresi’s announcement if he planned to make a run for mayor and while Dolce did acknowledge it’s something he’ll seriously consider, he wasn’t ready to commit one way or the other.

“I’ve always thought about it. I still have my job at Jamestown High School. So there’s a lot of things that have to come into play and it’s a decision that would have to come from the committee and I have some soul-searching to do in thinking about it as well. [Teresi’s announcement] obviously took my by surprise. We’ll go from here and again we’ll look at all different options and then move forward,” Dolce said.

In addition to the Republicans searching for a candidate to run for mayor, the Democrats will also work to identify a candidate. WRFA was unable to make contact with Democratic Party chairman Jim Walton on Monday night to get his reaction on Teresi’s announcement as well as what the party’s strategy will be in the coming weeks.

WRFA did ask former city councilman and current city development director Vince DeJoy if he planned to seek the Democratic party’s nomination. He said as of Monday night it’s something he would think about but hadn’t put much thought into it, saying he was unaware Teresi wasn’t going to run again until he made the announcement at the city council work session.

Due to new election laws in New York State, candidates must begin circulating petitions to get their name on a ballot this month, with a deadline to hand in the required number of signatures set for the first week of April. If more than one candidate runs for a party’s nomination they will then have to square off in a primary in June.

According to the Chautauqua County Board of Elections, 14 candidates submitted petitions to run for the nine city council seats, with six of those candidates vying for the three at-large seats. In addition, three of the six ward seats will also be contested.

Contested races for the nine council  seats include:

At Large – Incumbent and current City Council President Gregory Rabb (D), incumbent Kim Ecklund (R), Michael Laurin (R), Andrew Liuzzo (R), Vanessa Weinert (D), and Robert Whitney (D). Current at large council member George Spitale is not seeking reelection.

Ward 1 – Incumbent Brent Sheldon (R) is facing challenger James Walton (D).

Ward 2 – Incumbent Tony Dolce (R) is facing challenger Joseph Scapelitte (D).

Ward 4 – Incumbent Marie Carrubba (D) is facing challenger Richard Elardo (R).

Incumbents running unopposed include Vicki James (D-Ward 3), Maria Jones (D-Ward 5), and Tom Nelson (D-Ward 6).

There is no mayoral  race for this year, with  the next mayoral election set for 2019.