Nick Langworthy

Congressmen Nick Langworthy and Marc Molinaro are leading the charge against Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2024 state budget proposal to clawback Enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Program (eFMAP) funds.

These are funds designated for counties and local governments and the proposed clawback could result in up to $1 billion in new Medicaid costs for those municipalities.

According to a press release sent out by Senator Chuck Schumer in March 2020 about the bipartisan Coronavirus bill that was passed by Congress, FMAP is a matching rate enacted in 1965 that determines the federal funding share for state Medicaid programs. The federal government matches state funds spent on Medicaid, based on the state’s FMAP, which varies by state.

For example, New York’s FMAP is 50%. This means that for every dollar spent on Medicaid in New York, New York’s share of the cost is fifty cents (this fifty cents, in turn, is split between the State and Counties and localities), while the federal government chips in the other fifty cents. Schumer’s efforts increased the federal share of New York’s Medicaid program to 56.2 percent, thereby dropping the state’s share to 43.8 percent. This delivers more federal dollars immediately to the state and localities, to the tune of more than $6B annually.

In the breakdown of what counties could expect to receive as a result of that legislation in 2020, and, thus, what they are expected to lose due to the clawback by the Governor, is as follows for local counties:
– Allegany County: $1.97 million
– Cattaraugus County: $3.35 million
– Chautauqua County: $6.24 million
– Erie County: $41.66 million

Langworthy and Molinaro said the diversion of these funds will force municipalities to raise property taxes and drastically cut services. Together, with other members of the New York delegation, they sent a letter imploring the governor to reverse her decision that will have grave consequences for communities across the state.

Their letter stated, “Your decision to divert the necessary local support from eFMAP will force our state’s local governments to shoulder the shortfall. This will lead to a reduction in access for the very services that eFMAP is intended to support, leading to harm for the most vulnerable.. Other localities could be forced to raise property taxes.”

Joe Sempolinski, Nick Langworthy

Congressman Joe Sempolinski said Nick Langworthy is a good fit for the new 23rd Congressional District.

Sempolinski said being a former Congressional District Director is the best preparation someone can have to becoming a member of Congress, “And one thing Mr. Langworthy and I have in common is he is a former Congressional District Director. He has worked in that capacity for previous members of Congress and I think that will put him into be doing a job that is focused on the people of the new 23rd district.”

Sempolinski, who is representing the current 23rd Congressional District, said he’s been in contact with two members-elect and the sitting member whose new districts overlap with the old 23rd district, “Nick (Langworthy) will be responsible for six of the counties that I currently represent. Claudia Tenney will be responsible for three of them and Marc Molinaro will be responsible for two. And these are all people I have a great relationship with. They’re all people I’ve know for years. They’re all people I have a good line of communication with and they’re all people we’ve been discussing constituent issues. We’ve been discussing transition issues.”

Sempolinski credited Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin‘s strong campaign as to why Republican Congressional candidates had success at the polls, leading to seven new representatives from the Republican party joining the four Republican incumbents who won re-election in New York State.

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.

Larry Sharpe

BREWSTER, NY – Election Day is just two weeks away and so far, neither of the major party candidates running for New York State governor can claim they’ve visited each of the state’s 62 counties.

However, one third party candidate is making that claim, saying it illustrates he is the only candidate willing to meet with constituents again and again and share his vision with everyday voters while also hearing their concerns.

On Friday after a stop in Putnam County, Libertarian party candidate Larry Sharpe became the first and only candidate in the Governor’s race to have held campaign events in all 62 counties.

Sharpe has been conducting hundreds of public events and appearances throughout the state, demonstrating his commitment to hear from all voters and share his libertarian platform of less government and more individual freedom for New Yorkers.

The other candidates for governor include incumbent and front-runner Andrew Cuomo (running in the Democrat, Independence, and Women’s Equality parties), Marc Molinaro (Republican, Conservative, and Reform parties), Howie Hawkins (Green party) and Stephanie Miner (Serve America Movement).

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 6.

NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the National Comedy Center grand opening. (Image courtesy of NY Governor’s Office)

ALBANY – Gov. Andrew Cuomo blamed upstate weather for prompting New Yorkers to flee to other states.

Cuomo told reporters Tuesday that while job losses and high taxes once drove people to leave New York, his administration has ended that trend and improved the local economic situation.

He says many of the New Yorkers leaving the state now are doing so for personal reasons or decisions that he called “climate based.”

The comments came after Cuomo’s Republican challenger, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, said on Monday that Cuomo has failed to stem the number of New Yorkers leaving for states with lower taxes and more jobs.

While New York continues to attract immigrants from other countries, a study last year found that it led the nation in net migration to other states.