Max Della Pia and Tracy Mitrano

The race for the Democratic Nomination for the 23^rd Congressional District – which includes Chautauqua County – is too close to call.

That after the Primary Day totals were reported following yesterday’s vote.  Of the five candidates seeking the party’s nomination, both retired Air Force officer Max Della Pia and educator and college administrator Tracy Mitrano are within 26 votes of each other, with Della Pia receiving a reported 7,022 votes while Mitrano received 6,996 votes.

Combined the two received nearly 65 percent of all votes from Primary Day.

“I set out to run for Congress with one goal: to amplify the voices of the people of New York’s 23rd District. Tonight, we took a major step towards achieving that goal. I am honored by the trust so many people have placed in our campaign over the last year. From volunteers to voters, it was a community of dedicated citizens that made this result possible,” Della Pia said in a media release following the results being announced on Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, with the race being too close to call, Mitrano released her own statement Tuesday night. “At the moment, the race is too close to call. There are people hard at work across the district to count each and every vote, including absentee ballots. Every person who voted in this election deserves to have their vote count,” she said.

Mitrano stressed unity to go against Congressman Reed in November, “The supporters of our campaign, as well as the supporters of Max, Ian, Linda’s and Eddie’s campaign are a formidable force.”

The five candidates for 2018 NY 23 Democratic Party Primary (from left to right): Tracy Mitrano, Ian Golden, Max Della Pia, Linda Andrei, and Eddie Sundquist.

The next highest vote-getter was cardiologist Linda Andrei, who received 3,330 votes, followed by Ithaca business owner Ian Golden who received 2,918 votes. Jamestown Attorney Eddie Sundquist finished with 1,395 votes.

“I’m grateful for the many conversations and dialogues I had with voters across NY-23 over the past year, and I sincerely hope that we are heading toward change,” Golden said after conceding the primary on Tuesday night. “I’m committed to doing everything I can to help the winner advance the Democratic campaign and continue the fight for better representation for all of NY-23 come November.”

A total of 21,716 votes were cast, which is about 17 percent of the total number of registered Democrats across the district. That’s significantly higher than in 2012, the last time a Democratic Congressional Primary was held in the 23rd. In that primary the total turnout was just 10,265.

“The high turnout in today’s primary makes one thing clear: there is something special happening in our district. From forums to rallies, in libraries and storefronts, people across this district have been demanding to have their voices heard,” Della Pia said. “[Republican incumbent] Tom Reed has made a political career out of misleading his constituents and overlooking their interests. Tonight, we took a huge step towards holding him accountable.”

Election officials will have to tally all absentee and any qualified affidavit ballots before a winner of the Democratic Primary can be announced.

“We look forward to having the results certified by the Board of Elections, and are excited to have every voice heard,” Della Pia said.

Meanwhile, there was also an opportunity to ballot primary for the Women’s Equality Party (WEP). Mitrano was the only name to appear on the ballot, but there was an effort to force an opportunity to ballot race in which any of the 136 registered WEP members in the district would be able to write-in another candidate if they so choose.

However, it appears on three of those party members showed up to vote, with all three casting a vote for Mitrano. There were no reported write-ins.

Mitrano is also the candidate for the Working Families Party.

If Della Pia holds on to his slim lead over Mitrano in the Democratic Primary, Mitrano will be faced with the decision of keeping her name on the ballot under the WEP and Working Families line, or withdrawing in order to give Della Pia a better chance in the General Election against entrenched incumbent, Republican Tom Reed.

During a meet the candidates forum in Mayville in May, Mitrano would not commit to saying whether or not she would remove her name from the ballot if she didn’t win the Democratic Primary and instead said it was something she would have to think about if and when the time comes.

Tuesday night, Mitrano stressed unity to go against Congressman Reed in November. “The supporters of our campaign, as well as the supporters of Max, Ian, Linda’s and Eddie’s campaign are a formidable force,” she said.

The five candidates who will appear on the 2018 Democratic Party primary ballot for the NY 23rd Congressional District: Top, L to R – Linda Andrei, Max Della Pia and Ian Golden; Bottom, L to R: Tracy Mitrano and Eddie Sundquist.

Five states across the country are holding congressional primaries today, including here in New York State.

Locally, the focus will be on the Democratic Primary for the 23^rd Congressional District, which covers several counties across the Southern Tier, including Chautauqua (along with Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chemung, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tompkins, Yates and parts of Ontario and Tioga).

• RELATED: COMMUNITY MATTERS – THE FIVE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES FOR NY 23

The crowded field of candidates includes Jamestown attorney Eddie Sundquist, along with retired cardiologist Dr. Linda Andrei of Ithaca, college administrator and educator Tracy Mitrano of Penn Yann, retired air force officer Max Della Pia of Owego, and business owner Ian Golden of Ithaca.

According to Chautauqua County board of elections, a total of 25,032 Democrats in the county are eligible to vote today.  The winner of the primary will move on to face incumbent Tom Reed (R-Corning).

Polls are open Noon to 9 p.m., but 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.  Voters who have not moved will vote at the same site as last year.

WOMEN’S EQUALITY PARTY PRIMARY

There is also an opportunity to ballot for the Women’s Equality Party, with 30 residents in the county registered in that party. Mitrano will be the only candidate whose name will appear on the ballot, though voters will have the option to write-in any other candidate’s name if they chose. About 200 voters are registered with the party across the 23rd district.

Republicans and all other political parties or non-affiliated voters have nothing to vote for at this Primary election.

District wide results will be available at Elections.ny.gov.

NY 23 DISTRICT: The NY 23 Congressional District, containing: Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, Steuben, Chemung, Schuyler, Yates Tompkins and Seneca counties – along with a portion of Ontario county.

Chautauqua County Democratic Election Commissioner and County Democratic Committee Chairman Norman Green.

MAYVILLE – The chair of the Chautauqua County Democratic Committee is blasting Congressman Tom Reed and his reelection campaign for taking advantage of state election and trying to run as a third-party candidate on the Women’s Equality Party (WEP) line.

According to a release sent out over the weekend by Norman Green, Reed is not on the ballot in Tuesday’s WEP Congressional primary, but he is requesting members of the party to pick a different candidate other than Tracy Mitrano of Penn Yan, who the party leadership has already endorsed and who will be the only name on the ballot.

Green said that over 200 registered WEP members across the New York 23^rd Congressional District received a mailing (PRINTED BELOW) on Friday paid for by and from the Tom Reed campaign, featuring a cigar smoking man the campaign claims is a party boss calling the shots for that party’s endorsement. The ad calls for voters to select any other candidate besides Mitrano – including Reed himself.

The ad comes after Reed’s campaign circulated and filed the Opportunity to Ballot (OTB) petition in April, forcing the WEP Primary that will allow the writing in of another name other than Mitrano.  Mitrano will be the only name that appears on the ballot. The WEP primary is only open to voters registered with that party.

Green said the mailing might be an absolute new low for Tom Reed’s silly political games and mocking of the process. Green said if Reed was serious and had a true goal to be the WEP candidate, the mailer for the write-in would say straight up vote for Tom Reed and not mention the other four candidates. Green said Reed is trying to create confusion and political chaos.

A Democratic Primary featuring the five candidates seeking the party’s nomination will also take place on Tuesday. The five Democratic Candidates besides Mitrano include Ian Golden and Linda Andrei from Ithaca, Max Della Pia from Owego, and Eddie  Sundquist of Jamestown.

The candidates who will appear on the Democratic Party Primary on June 26 (from left to right): Tracy Mitrano, Ian Golden, Max Della Pia, Linda Andrei, and Eddie Sundquist.

There’s less than a week remaining before Democrats in Chautauqua County and across the 23rd Congressional District go to the polls to choose a candidate to run against incumbent Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning) in November.

The 2018 Democratic Primary will take place on Tuesday, June 26 with polls open from noon to 9 p.m. with five candidates seeking the party’s nomination.

The five candidates are Eddie Sundquist (Jamestown), Tracy Mitrano (Penn Yan), Ian Golden (Ithaca), Max Dela Pia (Owego), and Linda Andrei (Ithaca).

While all the candidates have spent most of their time sharing their thoughts and views on pressing issues, as well as heaping criticism on Congressman Reed, they’ve also spent time going after each other.

Mitrano is viewed by some as the primary race’s front-runner, largely due to her success in various unofficial straw-poll events during the campaign as well as her acquiring the most signatures on her ballot petition.

Tracy Mitrano

But with the perceived front-runner status comes increased focus and criticism. During a League of Women Voters’ Meet the Candidates forum in Mayville earlier this year, Mitrano fended off attacks related to her primary residence (she has purportedly said she is from both Penn Yann and Ithaca while campaigning), whether or not she’ll remain in the race if she loses the Democratic primary (she’s also received the endorsement of the Working Families’ party and is the only candidate on the Women’s Equality party ballot), and she was asked about not filing her campaign finance disclosure statements on time.

Last week Mitrano was criticized again, this time by the Democratic Committee Chair of Cattaraugus County Frank Puglisi, who said she is misleading her way through the primary and saying it is disqualifying to her candidacy. Mitrano’s campaign responded by saying, in part, ” It is unfortunate that a Democratic chair would go so far as to use antiquated language in dismissing a woman frontrunner with Tracy’s experience and background as ‘disqualified’ to run for Congress.”

Eddie Sundquist

This week, Mitrano found herself yet again in the cross-hairs, this time by fellow candidate Sundquist, who sent out a media release criticizing her for a recently filed public documents indicating she sold a home Massachusetts that had been recorded as her primary residence.

“Legal documents indicating Ms. Mitrano’s residence as Massachusetts while also claiming a primary residence in New York, and receiving a tax benefit, raise significant questions and serious legal ramifications,” said the Sundquist release.

Mitrano’s campaign responded by saying that she did own property in Massachusetts will working at UMass so she would have a place to stay when she was not working remotely from her homes in New York. When she sold that property, she signed a series of legal documents and one included a parenthetical clause about primary residence being Massachusettes, which she said she didn’t see and inadvertently signed off on it. She has since contacted an attorney in Massachusetts to file an amended document.

“This political attack seeks to challenge Tracy’s primary residence and her 2017 NY Star exemption. It’s hard to believe that a week before the primary, campaigns are choosing to spend their time going through years of paperwork hunting for clerical errors,” Mitrano’s campaign said in its statement.

Again, the Democratic Primary for congress will take place next Tuesday from noon to 9 p.m. Any registered Democrat in the district is eligible to participate.

On Thursday, June 21 at 5 p.m. during WRFA’s Community Matters program, we’ll broadcast a series of recent interviews we did with each of the five candidates.  An encore of the program will also be broadcast at Noon on Sunday, June 24.

NY 23 DISTRICT: The NY 23 Congressional District, containing: Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, Steuben, Chemung, Schuyler, Yates Tompkins and Seneca counties – along with a portion of Ontario county.

Tracy Mitrano

PENN YAN, NY – With a month to go before the Democratic Primary, one of the five candidates vying for the party’s nomination in the New York 23rd Congressional District race has picked up another victory.

According to her campaign office, Democratic Candidate Tracy Mitrano (Penn Yan) won the Yates County Democratic Straw Poll during the Yates County Democratic Candidate Forum in Penn Yan on May 20.

The Yates County Democratic Committee released the results Wednesday night. No information was provided on the number of individuals who participated in the straw poll.

The results were:

• Tracy Mitrano – 60.8%
• Max Della Pia (Owego) – 15.5%
• Ian Golden (Ithaca) – 15.5%
• Linda Andrei (Ithaca) – 6.2%
• *Eddie Sundquist (Jamestown) – 2.1%

*Sundquist regretfully missed the forum due to a loss in his family and was the only candidate not in attendance.

According to Mitrano’s campaign, the Yates County Democratic Committee straw poll is Tracy’s fifth win out of five 2018 straw polls.

• RELATED: League of Women Voters – Meet The Democratic Candidates for Congress Forum

The Democratic Primary for the 23^rd congressional district is June 26 with all registered democrats in the district eligible to choose their candidate. The winner will advance to face Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning) in the November Election.

• MOBILE APP USERS: LISTEN HERE

NOTE: The  Audio Quality is diminished in some areas, due to audio engineering issues with the sound system at Chautauqua Lake School. We apologize for the low fidelity in some areas of the audio.

The Meet the Candidates forum, featuring the five candidates running for the Democratic Party nomination in New York State’s 23rd Congressional District.

The five candidates are Linda Andrei (Ithaca), Max Della Pia (Owego), Ian Golden (Ithaca), Tracy Mitrano (Penn Yan), and Eddie Sundquist (Jamestown).

The event took in the Chautauqua Lake School Auditorium in Mayville, NY and was hosted by the Chautauqua County League of Women Voters and moderated by Marcia Merrins.

The candidates who will appear on the Democratic Party Primary on June 26 (from left to right): Tracy Mitrano, Ian Golden, Max Della Pia, Linda Andrei, and Eddie Sundquist.

The candidates who will appear on the Democratic Party Primary on June 26 (from left to right): Tracy Mitrano, Ian Golden, Max Della Pia, Linda Andrei, and Eddie Sundquist.

MAYVILLE, NY – An estimated 150 people were on hand Wednesday night for a Meet the Candidates forum featuring the five candidates running for the Democratic Party nomination in New York State’s 23rd Congressional District. The event took in the Chautauqua Lake School Auditorium  in Mayville, NY and was hosted by the Chautauqua County League of Women Voters.

• LISTEN TO FULL FORUM

The five candidates are Linda Andrei (Ithaca), Max Della Pia (Owego), Ian Golden (Ithaca), Tracy Mitrano (Penn Yan), and Eddie Sundquist (Jamestown).

Throughout the two-hour forum, the candidates fielded more than 15 questions from the moderator, audience members, and from each other.  They covered a wide variety of topics, including Economic Development, Alternative Energy, The 2nd Amendment, The Environment, and Education.

The NY 23 Congressional District, containing: Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, Steuben, Chemung, Schuyler, Yates Tompkins and Seneca counties – along with a portion of Ontario county.

The 23rd District is currently held by Republican Tom Reed (R-Corning) – an entrenched incumbent seeking his fifth term in office and who has won reelection by double-digit percentage points the past two elections (15.2 in 2016 and 21.9 in 2014).

Much of the evening’s criticism was focused on Reed, including his record on economic development, or attack ads that label all five candidates as “extreme liberals”, or the amount of campaign donations he receives from interests outside of the district.

When the candidates were given the opportunity to question each other, Mitrano received the most attention, with each of the other four candidates challenging her and asking for clarification on everything from her residence (“Is it Ithaca or Penn Yan?” Golden asked) to comments she made in the past. At one point Della Pia asked her if she would remain on the ballot in November as a Working Families Candidate (whose endorsement she has already received) even if she doesn’t win the Democratic Party primary. Mitrano would only say she would cross that bridge if and when she comes to it.

The focus on Mitrano could be due to her running a strong primary campaign. She collected the largest number of signatures from party members out of any of the five candidates in order to get her name on the ballot. She’s also placed in the top 3 of various straw polls that took place late last year and earlier this year.

The Demcocratic Party Primary will take place on June 26. The winner will square off against Reed in the November General Election. The Cook Report currently rates the race as Solid Republican.

• [RELATED] EDDIE SUNDQUIST: WRFA INTERVIEW (July 2017)
• [RELATED] IAN GOLDEN: WRFA INTERVIEW (November 2017)
• [RELATED] TRACY MITRANO: WRFA INTERVIEW (December 2017)
• [RELATED] LINDA ANDREI: WRFA INTERVIEW (February 2018)
• [RELATED] MAX DELLA PIA: WRFA INTERVIEW (March 2018)
• [RELATED] MEET THE CANDIDATES FORUM (March 2018)

The five candidates vying the Democratic Party’s nomination to run for Congress in November 2018 (from L to R): Tracy Mitrano, Eddie Sundquist, Linda Andrei, Max Della Pia, and Ian Golden.

MAYVILLE – The Chautauqua County League of Women Voters is holding a Meet the Candidates forum Wednesday Night in Mayville, featuring the five candidates who will appear on the ballot for the Democratic Party’s 23rd Congressional District Primary.

Appearing at the event will be candidates Linda Andrei (Ithaca), Max Della Pia (Owego), Ian Golden (Ithaca), Tracy Mitrano (Penn Yan), and Eddie Sundquist (Jamestown).

The forum will start at 7 p.m. in the Chautauqua Lake School auditorium.

The five candidates will square off in the Democratic Party Primary, scheduled for June 26. The winner will be the party’s candidate to oppose incumbent Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning) in the November General Election.

Eddie Sundquist and Tracy Mitrano

JAMESTOWN – Jamestown attorney and candidate for Congress Eddie Sundquist is a step closer to getting his name on the Democratic Party’s primary ballot after filing over 2,000 signatures with the New York State Board of Elections.

Meanwhile, Democratic Congressional candidate Tracy Mitrano (Penn Yan) officially filed over 5,300 signatures.

The signatures are needed for the candidates to on the ballot for the June 26 Democratic Congressional primary for New York’s 23rd District. According to Mitrano’s  campaign, the total number of signatures she collected is more than four times the number needed to get her on the ballot and 50 percent of the number of voters who voted in the last Democratic NY-23 Congressional primary in 2012.

A total of five Democratic candidates are expected to file for the Democratic runoff to take on incumbent Republican Congressman Tom Reed in November. The other candidates include Linda Andre and Ian Golden of Tompkins County and Max Della Pia of Owego.