Candidate petitions were submitted to the Chautauqua County Board of Elections last week and of the 19 seats that will be up for a vote, just seven have more than one candidate running.

JAMESTOWN AREA WILL FEATURE ONE CONTESTED RACE

In Jamestown, the lone contested race will be for District 12 on the north side of the city. Currently, Republican Elisabeth Rankin holds that seat and she is running for reelection. She will face Democratic challenger Margaret “Peg” Cornell.

All other candidates from the Jamestown area who serve on the county legislature are running unopposed. That includes the candidate for District 11, a seat currently held by Republican David Wilfong. Because Wilfong is running for mayor of Jamestown in this year’s election, the district 11 seat will be an open race. However, only Democrat and former county legislator Robert Whitney has submitted petitions to run for that seat. Whitney last served on the legislature in 2013, when he was defeated by Wilfong in that year’s election.

The other Jamestown-area seats all have incumbents running unopposed. They include Chuck Nazzaro, D-District 9 (Jamestown); Paul “PJ” Wendel, R-District 10 (Busti/Lakewood and Jamestown); Paul Whitford, D-District 13 (Jamestown); Daniel Pavlock, R-District 14 (Ellicott north of I-86, Gerry, Ellington, Charlotte/Sinclairville); Lisa Vanstrom, R-District 15 (Ellicott/Falconer, West Ellicott/Celoron); John Davis, R-District 16 (Carroll, Kiantone, Poland); and Frank Gould, R-District 17 (Busti, Harmony/Panama, Clymer, French Creek).

REPUBLICAN PRIMARIES SCHEDULED FOR DISTRICT 1 and DISTRICT 18

Other races of note include District 18 (Chautauqua/Mayville, Mina, Sherman), which is now an open seat after the untimely passing of Republican David Himelein. The two candidates running for that seat are Richard Syper and Bill Ward, both of Mayville. Both Ward and Syper and seeking the Republican party endorsement, meaning they will square off in the June 25 primary. Syper has also been endorsed by the conservative party, while Ward is the lone candidate for the Democratic, Independence, and Working families parties.

Another Republican Primary will take place in District 1 (Dunkirk), where current incumbent Kevin Muldowney (R) is being challenged for the party line by Ronald Hall. Muldowney has also been endorsed by the Independence party, while Hall has been endorsed by the Conservative party. Meanwhile, a third candidate – Phillip Collier – is the lone candidate for the Democratic and Working Families parties. That means regardless of how the Republican primary shakes out in that district, there will still likely be a three-way race come November.

Other contested races for the legislature will take place in District 3 (Pomfret/Fredonia) with incumbent Robert Scudder (R, C) facing challenger Christopher Schaeffer (D, I), in District 4 (Fredonia) with incumbent Christine Starks (D, I, WF) facing Melanie Mann (R, C), in District 5 (Arkwright, Cherry Creek, Sheridan, Villanova) with incumbent Terry Neibel (R, C, I) facing Jeffry Sayers (D, WF), and in District 6 (Hanover/Silver Creek/Forestville) with incumbent Kevin O’Connell (D, I, WF) facing Thomas Harmon (R, C).

The other four legislature incumbents running unopposed include Robert Bankowski, D-District 2 (Dunkirk); Mark O’Dell, R-District 7 (Chautauqua, Portland/Brockton, Stockton); Pierre Chagnon, R-District 8 (Ellery/Bemus Point, North Harmony), and John Hemmer, R-District 19 (Ripley, Westfield).

While the petition deadline has passed for candidate to get their name on the ballot for a specific party, it’s still not to late for the party to place a candidate on the ballot. Any party that currently doesn’t have a candidate listed for any office up for election can still file for an Opportunity to Ballot, or could circulate an Independent petition accompanied by mail, pointing out that the candidate is endorsed by the party.

George Borrello (left) and Michael Ferguson, the 2017 Candidates for Chautauqua County Executive

MAYVILLE – Election Day 2017 has arrived and by tonight most if not all the candidates around Chautauqua County will find out if they have been elected to public office.

BORRELLO VS. FERGUSON FOR COUNTY EXEC

The highlight of this local election year is the race for Chautauqua County Executive, which features George Borrello (R-Irving) and Mike Ferguson (D-Fredonia).

Borrello has touted his work as a private businessman and elected official on the Chautauqua County Legislature as reasons why residents should select him. Meanwhile, Ferguson has prided himself on being able to serve as a top administrator at a number of private and nonprofit operations, including a past GM of the Jamestown Jammers professional baseball team, the former GM of the Northwest Arena, a member of the county’s tourism board, and as current executive of the Fredonia Place skilled nursing facility.

• Listen to WRFA’s Community Matters’ Interview with Ferguson (Oct. 12)
• Listen to WRFA’s Community Matters’ Interview with Borrello (Sept. 28)

Larry Barmore (left) and LeeAnn Lazarony

BARMORE VS LAZARONY FOR COUNTY CLERK

Another county-wide election will feature the race for Chautauqua County Clerk, where incumbent Larry Barmore (R-Gerry) will square off against former Cassadaga Mayor LeeAnn Lazarony (D-Cassadaga).

• Listen to WRFA’s Community Matters’ Q&A with both Larry Barmore and LeeAnn Lazarony

COUNTY LEGISLATURE HAS NINE CONTESTED RACES

All 19 seats of the Chautauqua County Legislature are also up for a vote, but only nine of them feature contested races. The main focus will be to see if Democrats are able to cut into the Republicans Stronghold over the legislature, where currently the GOP outnumbers its counterparts 15 to 4.

In Jamestown there are two contested races for the Legislature.

In District 11, which is the northwest portion of the city, incumbent David Wilfong (R) who’s also the county GOP committee chair, is being challenged by local businessman Frank Besse (D).

In District 12, which covers the northeast portion of the city, incumbent Elisabeth Rankin (R) will face challenger Dave Reinhardt (D).

Another local race of interest features the open seat in District 16, which is currently held by Ron Lemon (R-Frewsburg). Lemon has opted not to run for reelection and as a result, that race will feature John Davis (R-Frewsburg) squaring off against Terry Walker of (D-Kennedy). District 16 covers the towns of Kiantone, Carroll, and Poland.

A map of the legislative districts for Chautauqua County.

Other contested races include:

District 8 – Towns of Ellery and North Harmony

• Pierre Chagnon* (R, Con, Ind – Bemus Point)
• Jeri Ann Simora (D, WF – Stow)

District 18 – Towns of Chautauqua, Mina and Sherman

• Ella Ames (D, Ind, WF, WEP – Mayville)
• David Himelein* (R, Con – Findley Lake)

District 19 – Towns of Ripley and Westfield

• Laurel Adams (D, WEP – Ripley)
• John Hemmer* (R, Con, Ind – Westfield)

District 1 – Dunkirk

• Kevin Muldowney* (R, Con, Ind – Dunkirk)
• James Palmatier (D-Dunkirk)

District 3 – Fredonia

• Robert Dando (D, WF, WEP – Fredonia)
• Robert Scudder* (R, Con, Ind – Fredonia)

District 6 – Hanover (Borrello’s current seat)

• Gary Cerne (R, Con, Ind – Irving)
• Kevin O’Connell (D, WF – Silver Creek)

Local legislators Paul Whitford (D), Chuck Nazarro (D), and Lisa Vanstrom (R) – all  of Jamestown – along with PJ Wendel (R) of Lakewood, are all running unopposed.

For more information on Election Day 2017, visit www.VoteChautauqua.com.

Polls opened at 6 a.m. and will remain open until 9 p.m.