Norm Green addresses Chautauqua County Legislature (February 22, 2023)

The Chautauqua County Legislature is urging New York State to release funds to help get a new Brooks Memorial Hospital constructed.

The Legislature unanimously passed a motion requesting Governor Kathy Hochul release the $74 million toward the project.

Former Democratic Board of Election Commissioner and County Democratic Committee Chair Norm Green spoke at privilege of the floor, calling the project the biggest issue in Chautauqua County, “This isn’t a Dunkirk problem. It’s not a Fredonia problem. It’s not a Brocton problem. It’s not a Silver Creek problem. It goes way beyond those borders and only the County of Chautauqua can be the ones who assist. So I hope tonight, after you pass this motion, that the work won’t stop.”

Green brought up the idea that the County should even consider taking over the hospital.

Legislator Kevin Muldowney said he agreed with Green’s comments, which is a rare thing, and that it’s vital the legislature presents a united front in asking governor to release the funds issued in 2016, “It’s an economic development motivator. If we do want to recruit and continue to recruit businesses into Chautauqua County, we have to have a viable, state of the art hospital. And this is a regional issue. Stop thinking parochial and start thinking regional.”

Muldowney said access to a hospital is also important for north county residents from a safety standpoint.

County Executive PJ Wendel said in his monthly interview with WRFA that his biggest fear is that the state will release the funds for the construction of the hospital, and then the money will run out, “The model has some questions, as far as their sustainability financially. And my biggest concern is that they get the funding and the monies run out and the hospital isn’t finished. You know, prior to this large sum of money that Governor (Andrew) Cuomo first put aside from Brooks, and now Governor (Kathy) Hochul has it as well, they were supporting Brooks quite substantially, the Department of Health, with funding for two years prior to that.”
Wendel said the state required that the hospital have a sustainable financial model moving forward, which he doesn’t believe has been presented.

He said the blue ribbon task force he formed with Dunkirk Mayor Willie Rosas, State Senator George Borrello, Assemblyman Andy Goodell, and numerous health experts have worked with Brooks Hospital officials on moving forward with the proposed new hospital building.

Wendel added the hospital board is aware of the guidelines set by New York State and that they shoulder the responsibility in getting a completed plan to them.

Democratic Committee Chair Willie Rosas, who assumed the duties as chair following the resignation of Norm Green, said the committee has started fielding candidates even though the redistricting of Assembly and Senate districts hasn’t been completed yet by the State Legislature.

Rosas stated that those who are interested should contact Democratic Committee Secretary Donna Karcz at CHQDEM@gmail.com.

The deadline for submissions, which might be moved depending upon the decisions regarding district lines, is February 14, 2022.

In addition to New York State Assembly and New York State Senate candidates, the Committee also will consider people interested in running in the redrawn congressional district and Chautauqua County Sheriff.

PJ Wendel

Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel easily won re-election to his first full term over Democratic challenger Norm Green by a vote of 17,455 to 5,516.

Wendel had first been appointed to replace George Borrello as County Executive in January 2020 after Borrello vacated the seat due to being elected to the State Senate. He defeated Democrat Richard Morrisroe in a special election last year to fill out Borrello’s term.

Wendell said he was humbled by the results, “My team has been very focused and, you know, we’ve been leading by example, moving the county forward and we’re going to continue to do that for the next four years.”

Republican County Clerk Larry Barmore won a third term over Democratic Challenger David Salley by a vote of 16,505 to 6,192.

Republicans will retain a super majority on County Legislature with 15 Republicans being elected to 4 Democrats. District 11 Democratic Incumbent Bob Whitney lost to former legislator David Wilfong by a vote of 328 to 534.

In County Legislative District 12, Republican Incumbent Elisabeth Rankin won re-election by a vote of 614 to 307 over Democrat Heather Fagan.

Republicans also will have a super majority on Jamestown City Council even with the Ward 3 race too close to call.

Council President Tony Dolce called it a “statement election,” “The public spoke loud and clear. They wanted a check and balance on the Mayor and his administration. And they came out in droves and voted for all three At-Large candidates. There was a change in Ward 6 with Andrew Faulkner – a huge win, that was a huge upset. And even Grant Olson who didn’t run or actively campaign won that seat.”

Republican Incumbents Kim Ecklund and Jeff Russell came first and second for the At-Large race with Republican newcomer Randy Daversa coming in third with 16% of the vote.

In other ward races, Ward 4 Democratic councilmember Marie Carrubba held onto her seat against Republican Rick Elardo.

And the Ward 3 race between Democratic Incumbent Regina Brackman and Republican Robert Reedy will come down to absentee ballots with Brackman currently leading by 11 votes.

For the 8th Judicial State Supreme Court Justice race, Grace Hanlon, John Licata, Frank Caruso and Raymond Walter all were elected.

Voters statewide voted no on ballot propositions 1, 3, and 4 which all dealt with elections and redistricting.

However, Proposition 2 was passed which adds the right to clean water, clean air, and a healthful environment to the New York Constitution’s Bill of Rights.

Proposition 5 also passed which allows the New York City Civil Court to hear and decide lawsuits involving claims of $50,000, rather than the current threshold of $25,000.

For full local election results, visit VoteChautauqua.com

In County races, incumbent Republican County Executive Paul “PJ” Wendel is facing Democratic challenger Norm Green. Wendel is running for full 4-year term after being appointed to replace George Borrello in January 2020 when Borrello was elected to the State Senate. Green formerly worked in the Chautauqua County Board of Elections as its Democratic Commissioner for over 20 years.

The County Clerk race will feature incumbent Republican Larry Barmore against Fredonia Democrat David Salley.

All 19 County Legislature seats are on the ballot. In Jamestown, the contested races are in District 11 between incumbent Democrat Bob Whitney and Republican Dave Wilfong; and in District 12 between incumbent Republican Elisabeth Rankin and Democrat Heather Fagan.

In the City of Jamestown, all City Council seats are on the ballot.

In Ward 3, incumbent Democrat Regina Brackman faces Republican Robert Reedy. Brackman was appointed in April to fill the seat after the untimely death of Vickye James. In Ward 4, incumbent Democrat Marie Carrubba is running against Republican Rick Elardo.

In Ward 5, Republican Grant Olson is facing Democrat Doug Lawson, however Olson announced in mid-September that he was no longer seeking re-election. As it was too late to remove his name from the ballot, should Olson win and decline to accept his seat again, Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist would be charged with appointing a Republican from Ward 5 to replace him in January.

And in Ward 6, incumbent Democrat Tom Nelson is going up against Republican Andrew Faulkner.
There are six candidates running for 3 At-Large seats. Incumbent Republicans Kim Ecklund and Jeff Russell are running for re-election as well as Republican Randy Daversa. Running on the Democrat line are Christina Cardinale, Ellen Ditonto, and Alyssa Porter. Democrat Tamu Graham-Reinhardt is not seeking re-election for her At-Large seat.

There are two seats open for the 8th Judicial State Supreme Court Justices. Running on all four lines of Democrat, Republican, Conservative and Working Families are Grace Hanlon and John Licata. Frank Caruso and Raymond Walter are running on the Democrat, Republican, and Conservative lines.

There are also 5 propositions located on the back of the ballot.

Proposal 1 deals with redistricting and, if passed, includes capping the number of State Senate seats at 63, require that incarcerated persons be counted at the place of their last residence for redistricting, and require the state to count residents, including people who are residents but not citizens, should the federal census fail to do so.

Proposal 3 removes the requirement that persons must register to vote at least ten days before an election. This would allow people to register to vote the same day as elections.

Proposal 4 would allow no-excuse absentee voting. Currently, in order to qualify for an absentee ballot, a voter must be absent from their county of residence, ill, or physically disabled.

Proposal 2 would add a right to clean water, clean air, and a healthful environment to the New York Constitution’s Bill of Rights.

And proposal 5 would allow the New York City Civil Court to hear and decide lawsuits involving claims of $50,000, rather than the current threshold of $25,000.

Polls are open Tuesday from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. in Chautauqua County.

For all of WRFA’s Election coverage, visit wrfalp.com/election-2021

For voting information, including sample ballots and voting locations, visit VoteChautauqua.com

We’ll have Election Night coverage starting at 8pm tonight on 107.9 WRFA-LP.

WATCH ON YOUTUBE

The debate featuring the executive candidates was held Oct. 21 and took place at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts inside the 3rd Floor Multimedia Room. It was broadcast live on WRFA radio (107.9 FM or streaming at www.WRFALP.com/Streaming) and also live streamed by WNY News Now on Facebook or www.WNYNewsNow.com/live. It will also be rebroadcast at times TBA by WJTN and WRFA radio.

The debate was moderated by WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley and included questions from participating media members – Terry Frank (Media One Radio / WJTN), Justin Gould (WNY News Now). There was also an opportunity for each candidate to ask one question to one another.

The debate is intended to help inform voters of Chautauqua County on each of candidate prior to Election Day – Tuesday, November 2, 2021. It is made possible through funding from the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Norman Green

County Executive candidate Norm Green is condemning the hiring of 42 employees in the yet to be adopted 2022 county budget. The Democrat says the budget is unsustainable without future tax increases.

Green is challenging incumbent County Executive PJ Wendel, who is running on the Republican and Conservative lines.

Green said there are 100 more employees on the county payroll from five years ago with 42 of the hires in the proposed 2022 budget. He added that 200 employees took voluntary layoffs during the pandemic and claimed that layoffs created a budget windfall.

Green said future costs of annual wage increases are not reflected in the current budget.

Norm Green

The Democratic Challenger for Chautauqua County Executive has received endorsements from the county’s two city mayors and the largest town’s supervisor.

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist, Dunkirk Mayor Willie Rosas, and Pomfret Town Supervisor Dan Pacos announced their joint endorsement of Norm Green, citing his experience and leadership.

Green, speaking before the County Legislature‘s Audit & Control Committee Thursday, said the county should have held public input meetings, “A small, select group of county only people assembled by the County Executive met and only heard from County Department Heads. This money is being awarded to the entire county. And we’ve missed out on Silver Creek, we’ve missed out on Jamestown, we’ve missed out on Sheridan, not so much for the town of Harmony, but we’ve missed out on the metropolitan areas.”

Green was also critical of the $8.4 million proposed to fund Phase Two of the South & Center Sewer District expansion project, saying it would only benefit “a dozen millionaires from Cleveland.”

Legislator Chuck Nazzaro said four county legislators, including himself, were part of the committee put together by County Executive PJ Wendel to review potential projects to be funded, “There have been comments made that the public was not involved, well, we could argue that point but that’s not why we’re here. There are monies that came into the county. We’re elected officials. We’re listening to everyone. The plan has not been approved yet. But now we’re going to the next step where we’re going into the projects.”

The full County Legislature will vote on the 41 projects to be funded by American Rescue Plan monies at its meeting this Wednesday.

WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley spoke with Democratic Candidate for Chautauqua County Executive Norm Green to get to know him a little better and find out why he’s running for the office.

Norman Green

Legislator Chuck Nazzaro said this is a big win, “To reconstruct the runway at the Chautauqua County Airport and there is no local share on this and normally there would. So the $6.2 million is greatly appreciated and will benefit this county.”

The legislature also approved a memorandum of understanding with the City of Jamestown for the purchase of new fire software. Jamestown City Council had approved the purchase at its June voting session. Deputy Fire Chief Matt Coon said the new software will increase efficiency for fire reporting and help the department maintain compliance with the National Fire Incident Reporting System.

Resident and Democratic candidate for County Executive Norm Green spoke at the first privilege of the floor on the resolution, saying he doesn’t think the county should charge the city for the software, “Charging the City of Jamestown $111,000 just doesn’t make sense. This is absolutely what we should be all about – sharing services. And we certainly have other areas of the county of sharing of services such as the fly car, such as the Sheriff’s Department itself. Some 20% of the county’s population resides in Jamestown.”

Legislator Chuck Nazzaro responded to that, saying the county is helping the city of Jamestown, “Currently, the County of Chautauqua subscribes to the public safety software program and what we’re doing is letting the City of Jamestown purchase the fire records module of this software for their benefit. They would not be able to do that if we didn’t already subscribe to this software program.”

A resolution amending the rules of the County Legislature to not require verbatim transcripts of meetings passed. Legislator Bill Ward said he initially had reservations supporting the resolution, “I am satisfied, however, after investigating and discovering of course that all of the Legislature meetings will be transcribed verbatim and that technology exists that help us to review all of the committee meetings, perhaps in an even better way, because they’re going to be preserved in audio files and video files.”

A motion requesting that existing boundaries of the 23rd Congressional district be preserved was defeated by a vote of 11 to 6. It required 13 votes to pass and 2 legislators were absent.

The Chautauqua County Legislature, County Executive PJ Wendel, State Senator George Borrello, and a representative from Congressman Tom Reed’s office also held a commendation ceremony for Jamestown Police Officer Mark Conklin. Officer Conklin was recognized for his heroism in rescuing 2 people from a fire in Jamestown on July 19th. The Legislature also issued a commendation for outgoing Legislator Mark Odell, who announced his resignation effective the end of July.