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

(Left to Right) Jason Schmidt, PJ Wendel, Andy Goodell, George Borrello, and Tom Reed

It was a clean sweep for Republicans in Chautauqua County in the 2020 Election, as all GOP candidates on the ballot appeared to have won their respective races, regardless of the record number of absentee ballots that have been cast and await to be counted.

The big winners in the county-wide races were Andy Goodell (R-Ellicott) for the 150th State Assembly District, Paul “PJ Wendel (R-Lakewood) for the special election for Chautauqua County Executive, and Jason Schmidt (R-Fredonia) in the race for Chautauqua County District Attorney. Also picking up regional victories were George Borrello (R-Irving) for the 57th State Senate District and Tom Reed (R-Corning) for the New York 23rd Congressional District.

• ALL ELECTION NIGHT TOTALS IN CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY

SCHMIDT VOTED INTO OFFICE FOR THE FIRST TIME

Jason Schmidt

For Jason Schmidt, the second time was a charm in his run for Chautauqua County District Attorney. He appears to have cruised to any easy victory over incumbent Patrick Swanson (D-Fredonia) after previously losing to the current DA in the 2016 election.

This time around, Schmidt received 29,925 votes between early voting and Election Day voting while Swanson picked up 17,122.

According to the Chautauqua County Board of Elections, there remains a possible 11,926 absentee ballots in Chautauqua County that could be added to the final vote total, but even if Swanson picked up all of those votes, he still wouldn’t have enough to win.

“I’m humbled, honored, and grateful to all my supporters and so appreciative to the team of people who have stood by my side the entire time and the movement that we created. Getting into this, it was really about the community – the victims and the police. We stayed true to that and that’s really what it is all about for me,” Schmidt told WRFA on Election Night following news that he had won.

Schmidt also offered his thoughts on how he was able to win by such a wide margin on Election Night.

I think in many respects, the election was about different philosophical approaches to the office. I tried to make that clear and I wanted to define the campaign based on that. I felt there wasn’t enough emphasis being placed on prosecution and conviction,” Schmidt said. “That doesn’t mean that I want to go out there and be a hammer looking for a nail, that’s not who I am. But at the same time I feel there were a lot of people let down in many high profile cases here, and that was never lost on me. It was important that they be remembered and honored by my campaign.”

WENDEL NO LONGER ‘ACTING’ COUNTY EXECUTIVE

PJ Wendel

In the special election for Chautauqua County Executive, Wendel defeated Democratic opponent Richard Morrisroe (Dunkirk) by an election night vote of 33,633 to 13,126. Wendel had been serving as acting county executive after being appointed by the Republican-controlled county legislature at the start of this year. Previously he had served as a member of the legislature representing Lakewood and Busti along with a small portion of Jamestown. He also was legislature chairman prior to his appointment to county executive.

“I’m excited and I’m very humbled by the residents of the county who elected me for this position. I’m humbled to win by that much – that’s the voters who spoke. It’s not an appointment, that’s the residents of the county and I think that means a lot. I’m humbled to have that kind of a margin,” Wendel said.

Wendel will now serve the final year of the current term of the office for County Executive and will have campaign all over again next year, as he’s already stated that he wants to serve a full term as the county’s top executive.

GOODELL LOCKS UP 6TH TERM IN ASSEMBLY

In the race for the 150th State Assembly District, Goodell also had an insurmountable lead over his Democratic opponent, Christina Cardinale of Jamestown. Goodell received 34,627 votes on election night to Cardinale’s 12,514.

Andy Goodell

“I’m very thankful that the residents of the Chautauqua County have given me the opportunity to represent our county in the State Legislature and I’m also very thankful that my Assembly colleagues give me the opportunity to serve as the floor leader on the floor of the Assembly,” Goodell said. “That gives me the opportunity to make sure the voices, concerns and issues that are important to us here in Chautauqua County are front and center in all of our legislative proceedings. I’m excited to go back, but I’m also very mindful that there is a tremendous amount of work to do and it will take everybody’s help and cooperation as we move forward to address these serious issues.”

The win secures Goodell a 6th term in Albany after first being elected to the office in November 2010.

BORELLO WINS FIRST FULL TERM IN STATE SENATE

George Borrello will also continue representing the three southwestern-most counties of the state in the State Senate as he easily won a full two years to represent the 57th District in Albany.

George Borrello

Borrello defeated Frank Puglisi (D-Cattaraugus County) with an election night final of 78,047 to 24,940.  Borello was first elected to the Senate in a special election last year to finish the final year for the current term after former Sen. Cathy Young resigned from her post in early 2019 to take a job in the private sector.  Last year, he defeated Democrat Austin Morgan by 42,563 to 17,270.

“I am honored and grateful for the trust that the hardworking people of our region have again placed in me to represent the 57th District,” Borrello said in a statement released Tuesday night. “Over the past year, we’ve faced the unimaginable challenges of a global health emergency and a devastating economic crisis…. The COVID-19 challenge has exacerbated many existing issues and failures of our state government, which has further energized the need for change. That will be the starting point for our efforts. We must now set aside the politics and work to face the tough road ahead. I vow to continue working to advance our recovery and fight against the extreme, politically self-serving agendas that undermine our security, ignore our shared values, and prevent us from realizing our fullest potential.”

REED DEFEATS MITRANO IN REMATCH OF 2018 RACE

Tom Reed

In the race for the 23rd Congressional district, Republican incumbent Tom Reed defeated Democratic Challenger Tracy Mitrano (Penn Yan) with an election night total o 160,131 to 90,959. It’s not known how many absentee ballots remain to be counted throughout the district but it is likely that there are not enough outstanding to give Mitrano an opportunity for a come-from-behind victory.

It was the second time in as many elections that Reed squared off against and defeated Mitrano.

GREENAN WINS SUPREME COURT RACE

There was also a race for State Supreme Court for the eight counties making up the Eight Judicial District. In that race, Republican candidate Gerald Greenan III defeated Democrat Amy Martoche 246,688 to 181,674. Again, the total number of absentees that remain to be counted are not available at this time, but the Greenan has a likely insurmountable lead over Martoche.

The final vote totals for each race won’t be known until later this month after all absentee ballots are opened and counted and then the canvasing of all votes takes place to provide an official, final result.

FEDERAL RACES HIGHLIGHT 2020

The main focus is on the race for presidents, where Republican incumbent Donald Trump is being challenged by Democratic candidate and former vice president Joe Biden. There are also several other third party candidates appearing on this year’s ballot.

In addition to the race for president, all seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs, including the election for the New York 23rd congressional district, which has ten-year Republican incumbent Tom Reed facing Democratic challenger Tracy Mitrano in a rematch of the 2018 election.

One-third of the U.S. Senate is also up for election, but neither New York’s two seats are on the ballot for this year. Those two seats are currently held by Chuck Schumer and Kirstan Gillibrand.

STATE OFFICES UP FOR VOTE

All legislative seats in Albany are also up for election. In the state Senate, Republican incumbent George Borrello from Chautauqua County – who won the state’s 57th senate seat during a special election last year – is facing Democratic Challenger Frank Puglisi of Cattaraugus County.

In the race for the 150th State Assembly seat, ten-year Republican Incumbent Andy Goodell of Ellicott is being challenged by Democratic Newcomer Christina Cardinale of Jamestown.

There’s also the a race to fill a State Supreme Court Seat. Democrat Amy Martoche and Republican Gerald Greenan III are competing for a 14-year term in a judicial district that spans eight counties, including Chautauqua county.

LOCAL RACES

There are also two local races of note.

The Chautauqua County District Attorney’s race features Democratic incumbent Patrick Swanson facing Republican challenger Jason Schmidt in a rematch from four years ago. There’s also a special election for county executive to fill the remaining year on the current term – with Republican PJ Wendel of Lakewood facing Democratic candidate Richard Morrisroe of Dunkirk. Wendel is currently serving as acting county executive after the seat was vacated by Borrello at the start of this year.

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

A debate between the two 2020 candidates for the special election of Chautauqua County Executive – PJ Wendel and Richard Morrisroe. Moderated by WRFA’s Jason Sample with questions provided by media panelists Terry Frank of WJTN Radio and Justin Gould of WNY News Now. Recorded Oct. 15, 2020 at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts in Jamestown, NY.

Full video of debate also available at youtube.

Richard Morrisroe (Left) and PJ Wendel

Andrew Goodell and Christina Cardinale

JAMESTOWN, NY – A 60-minute debates involving the candidates for New York State Assembly 150th District will take place at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts’ Media Arts Studio Thursday night, Oct. 8.

The debate featuring New York State Assembly candidates Andrew Goodell, the Republican incumbent, and Christina Cardinale, the Democratic challenger, will begin at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on local radio along with video streaming online.

Three different media outlets will be collaborating to bring the debates to residents throughout Chautauqua County. Participating media members include Media One Radio Group, WNY News Now, and WRFA Radio – all based in Jamestown.

Jason Sample, WRFA Public Affairs Director, will serve as moderator for all three debates. Questions for the candidates will be provided by participating media members – Terry Frank, Media One News Director;  Justin Gould, WNY News Now Director/Anchor; and Sample. There will also be an opportunity for each candidate to pose a question to one another.

The debate will take place at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts in Jamestown, inside the facility’s Media Arts Studio.

Due to COVID-19, there won’t be a live studio audience for the debate. However, it will be broadcast live on WRFA radio (107.9 FM or streaming at WRFALP.com/Streaming) and also a live video stream will be available at WRFA’s Youtube Channel.

In addition, it will also be live streamed by WNY News Now on its Facebook page as well as WNYNewsNow.com/Live. It will also be rebroadcast at 10 a.m. on WJTN Radio (101.3 FM / 1240AM), and also on WRFA at 5 p.m. on Oct. 15 and again at noon on Oct. 18.   Video will also be available for viewing afterward through WNY News Now and the WRFA Youtube Channel.

Funding for the live broadcast and online streaming of the event was provided by the Reg and Betty Lenna Fund at the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation.

OTHER DEBATES ALSO PLANNED

Two other debates will also be held on Thursday, Oct. 15 and feature candidates for the special election of Chautauqua County Executive: Richard Morrisroe (Democratic, Working Families) and Paul “PJ” Wendel (Republican, Conservative, Independence); and the election for Chautauqua County District Attorney: Jason Schmidt (Republican, Conservative) and Patrick Swanson (Democratic, Independence, Working Families). Those debates will take place at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively and will also be broadcast live on WRFA, as well as streaming on WRFA and WNY News Now media platforms.

Rirchard Morrisroe

DUNKIRK – The Democratic candidate for Chautauqua County Executive is criticizing current County Executive PJ Wendel for how the county handled a recent outbreak of COVID-19 cases at a north county food processing plant. In addition, Dunkirk Democrat Richard Morrisroe is also calling for free, rapid testing for every public school employee and student ahead of the start of the new school year.

Morrisroe put out a media release on Tuesday, in response to the recent handling of the cluster of COVID-19 cases coming out of the Fieldbrook Foods processing plant in Dunkirk.  Morrisroe is questioning what he calls Wendel’s lack of transparency and timeliness in addressing  the 49 confirmed COVID-19 cases at the Fieldbrook Foods plant.

“There is no such thing as going overboard in communicating with the public about preventable threats to their health,” Morrisroe said in response to Wendell and the county Public Health Director Christine Schuyler’s delay before publicly acknowledging the cluster and given details on where it was located.

“We deserved to know what happened at the Fieldbrook Farms plant within days, not weeks,” Morrisroe noted. “The secrecy and inaction of county officials and plant management endangered lives and threatens school reopening. Their ongoing incompetence is a threat to our long-term economic recovery. The time to prepare for a crisis is before it happens. The unelected County Executive had more than five months to plan for a county COVID cluster and his lack of transparency and leadership is very troubling.

COUNTY WAITS EIGHT DAYS BEFORE GOING PUBLIC

While Morrisroe accuses officials of waiting nearly two weeks before announcing the Fieldbrook cluster, the actual timeline between the first known positive case of the cluster (Aug. 16) and the county publicly announcing it (Aug. 24) was eight day, or just over one week.

During a press conference on Friday, Aug. 28 and also in his weekly Monday Morning Memo correspondence, Wendel explained that Schuyler and her staff were closely monitoring the increased number of confirmed cases among employees at the Fieldbrook. Wendel said they had been working with the New York State Department of Health and Fieldbrook administration to manage and control the spread of the disease.

“Since August 16…  the County Health Department has been notified of and investigated 49 cases of COVID-19 in Fieldbrook employees and 14 cases in close contacts of those employees. All communicable disease protocols have been adhered to including isolation and quarantine. The outbreak investigation is ongoing,” Wendel said. “We have taken all appropriate and necessary actions during this outbreak and I am extremely proud of my staff and grateful for the many partners who are working collaboratively with us during these unprecedented times.”

Throughout the pandemic, Schuyler and her department have initiated a policy of not identifying specific communities in the county where an active case is present, nor had her office provided the name and location of any business that had a positive case reported. In March, WRFA had asked Schulyer about the policy for withholding the names of businesses and specific communities, despite other counties in the state doing so.

“In all three of the confirmed cases in Chautauqua County [through March 29], the individual and all household contacts were identified and ordered in mandatory quarantine, and all proximal contacts were identified and ordered into precautionary quarantine,” Schuyler wrote in response via email on Thursday. “If a broader potential exposure would have been identified, then it would have been publicized. Just because someone works somewhere or visited a place, one cannot assume that there is broad exposure.”

The past two weeks that “broader potential exposure” has been evident in the Fieldbrook outbreak and the county has followed through by identifying Fieldbrook Foods as a source of the cluster.

Still, Morrisroe and other critics say the county was being more reactive than proactive, especially since the Governor’s office was the first to indicate a food processing facility in Dunkirk was the source of an outbreak on Aug. 23. It was only then that that Wendel and Schuyler held a press conference the following day, on Aug. 24, to formally announce the location of the outbreak, along with the number of those infected.

MORRISROE CALLS FOR FREE, RAPID TESTING FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS, TEACHERS

Morrisroe also said that school districts around the country are experiencing spikes in confirmed cases of COVID-19 as they return to in-person instruction. he said that most children who become infected will be asymptomatic or experience a mild version of the illness, but they can become “super-spreaders” by passing the virus onto other unwitting students, who can then pass it on to older and more vulnerable family members.

“I call on PJ Wendel to provide free, rapid testing for every public school student and employee before school starts. We cannot afford to play fast and loose with this virus,” he said.

Morrisroe also outlined some steps he would have taken to immediately address the public health crisis as County Executive:

• Dispatch a SWAT team of public health inspectors for onsite inspection at Fieldbrook within 24 hours of confirmed cases at the plant and prepare to suspend operations if the doors weren’t open for inspection and employees were not provided with resources relating to the virus, including Spanish speakers and translation services.
• Hold a public information session announcing county wide testing within 48 hours and sharing information vital to the public who may have encountered the infected individual.
• Coordinate with regional county executives and state officials on best practices for testing and contract tracing, PPE supplies.
• Redirect county personnel to the County Department of Health in coordination with union representatives and hire temporary contract tracers and frontline personnel if there are still not enough resources to stop the spread of the virus.
• Ensure that every frontline worker, even temporary workers, have health insurance, rapid testing, and worker protections.
• Provide every public school employee and student with free rapid testing.

•  AUDIO ALSO AVAILABLE AT SOUNDCLOUD

WRFA’s May 28, 2020 conversation with Dunkirk attorney Richard Morrisroe, the Democratic Candidate in the 2020 special election for Chautauqua County Executive.

Richard Morrisroe

George Borrello (left) and Andy Goodell

ALBANY – Chautauqua County’s two representatives in Albany have put forward a plan they say will help to reopen the state economy as it struggles amidst the shutdown caused by the COVID-19 novel coronavirus.

Senator George Borrello (R-Irving) and Assemblyman Andy Goodell (R-Ellicott) say their strategy hinges on an application of a regionally based assessment model that would determine risk level based on a variety of factors. Those factors include population density, infection rate and health care capacity. The strategy would also incorporate risk analysis by industry.

Since governor Andrew Cuomo announced the NY on Pause executive order that basically shuts down all non essential businesses, there has been a sharp spike in unemployment and thousands of  businesses have been left shuttered. In addition, the crisis is also driving up government budget deficits at both the state and local levels.

The geographical template for the plan would be the state’s existing ten Regional Economic Development Council zones (REDC). Each zone would be evaluated based on a multi-tiered risk assessment that could include factors such as infection level, hospitalization utilization, demographic and trend data, such as the increase or decrease in number of active cases. Risk analysis by business sector would also be conducted, based on the four-level model developed by OSHA, with corresponding guidelines for protecting workers safety.

“Almost like a horror film, the COVID-19 pandemic invaded our world seemingly overnight, and in so doing, changed life as we know it. While our battle with this insidious virus isn’t over, the strength and unity of New Yorkers in meeting this challenge has been extraordinary, helping us ‘flatten the curve’ and ease infection rates in many of our hardest hit downstate areas,” said Borrello. “However, an economic crisis has been unfolding alongside our public health emergency. The shuttering of our businesses has resulted in staggering job losses – 1.2 million residents filed for unemployment over the past five weeks, four times the total number of jobs lost during the Great Recession of 2008.”

“While New York is one state, we cannot ignore the reality that there is a huge gap between infection rates in New York City and its surrounding counties and rural areas of upstate. For example, in Chautauqua County we currently have four active cases and a substantial drop in the number of people in precautionary quarantine. That is just one example, but it is illustrative of the experience of many rural areas,” said Borrello. “Under the plan we are advancing, economies in regions like this could be safely restarted by following safety protocols, putting people back to work and saving many small businesses from having to close their doors forever.”

“Each day that passes puts us in further economic jeopardy. While the governor’s statewide edicts have been done out of an abundance of caution, we cannot restart our economy with the same ‘one-size-fits-all’ process,” said Goodell. “The impact of this pandemic on the various regions of our state has been vastly different and a common-sense plan needs to be tailored to fit the level of risk.”

The proposal is also being supported by Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel.

Senator Borrello and Assemblyman Goodell have submitted their plan to New York State Commissioner of Tax and Finance, Michael Schmidt, who will be part of the Cuomo administration’s team working on restarting the economy.

Meanwhile, the Democratic candidates on the November ballot that will be opposing Borrello, Goodell and Wendel all took issue with the proposal and sent out a joint media release last Thursday.

Richard Morrisroe and Christina Cardinale

Democratic county executive candidate Richard Morrisroe of Dunkirk said that any reopen NY plan needs to include the proper safeguards, metrics and widespread testing.

“While I appreciate the State Senator Borrello and Assemblyman Goodell’s initiative and ideas, they remain too incomplete to push for immediate action,” Morrisroe said. “As a small businessman whose law practice has suffered as a result of the PAUSE in response to the Novel Coronavirus pandemic, I understand the desire to get the economy going again. I truly do. However, the health and safety of Chautauqua County’s citizens must come first.”

The Democrats say the proposal from Borrello and Goodell falls short on two points: 1 – Failing to acknowledge the need for widespread tesing; and 2 – not acknowledging that the economy in Chautauqua County and the Southern Tier is connected to the economies in adjacent regions, including those in nearby Pennsylvania.

“While I appreciate the graduated approach and agree that the level of infection will vary by county and municipality, it will be extremely difficult to open one area and be fully functional while most are still shut down,” Morrisroe said, adding, “Last but not least, in terms of income and sales tax revenue generation statewide, all of upstate, including Western New York and the Southern Tier, depend on the greater New York City area. To say we can carry on without it being operational is to ignore that reality.”

“The checkerboard approach advocated by my opponent for NY Assembly is problematic,” said Democratic assembly candidate Christine Cardinale of Jamestown.  “He proposes opening up western New York, but not Erie County or Monroe County with our big city Buffalo and Rochester hubs. The plan also ignores the fact that we are a border state with Erie and Warren County, Pa.  It’s pretty easy to understand why this plan does not make any sense.  Just look at a map.”

“We need to sit down and find a plan that supports what President Trump and Governor Cuomo are talking about for the reopening of our state and national economy,” added Democratic state senate candidate Frank Puglisi of Lynden.  “Our current leaders taking the cowboy approach is not only wrong, it’s extremely dangerous.”