George Borrello on Election Night after winning the special election for the State Senate’s 57th District

MAYVILLE – Republican and current Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello will be the region’s next State Senator.  On Election Day Borrello defeated Democrat Austin Morgan of Cattaraugus county. The two were running for the seat vacated earlier this year by former Sen. Cathy Young, who announced in late February she was resigning from the Senate to take a job at Cornell University.

In his victory speech at the Republican Headquarters inside the Double Tree by Hilton, Borrello thanked Young for her years of service and also said he will approach his new job in Albany the same way he’s approached his job in Mayville, while also standing up to what he feels in an extreme agenda from the Democratic controlled state legislature.

“We have a tremendous debt of gratitude that we owe to Sen. Cathy Young who did an outstanding job representing us for all these years. She has set a proud example for all elected officials and those are big shoes to fill. I will work hard every single day to fill those shoes,” Borrello said. “But now we have to step forward with a new path. We have a new reality in Albany right now and we are going to work hard to push back against this radical agenda. I will ensure that our voice is heard loud and clear in Albany from this district.”

Borrello will likely take over the Senate seat before the year is out, although it’s not clear who will be replacing him as county executive. That decision to nominate someone will fall on the Chautauqua County Republican Party Committee.

In August of this year the legislature unanimously approved a resolution that states if there is a county executive vacancy, the replacement should be from the same political party and should be nominated by the county committee of said party, which would then require the approval of the county legislature. If the legislature has not filled the vacancy within 45 days, the legislature can fill the position without the requirement that the person should be nominated by the county committee of said political party.

COUNTY LEGISLATURE TO SEE LITTLE CHANGE

Meanwhile, there won’t be a lot of changeover in the county legislature when January 1 comes. Based on the election day results, there will only be three new names added to the 19-member body.

In the Mayville-Findley Lake area, Republican newcomer Bill Ward defeated fellow Republican and incumbent Martin Proctor for the District 18 seat. Ward was cross-endorsed by both the Republican and Democratic Parties and Proctor had created his own party known as the Cornerstone Party to get his name on the ballot.

Over in District 6,  Republican Thomas Harmon of Dunkirk defeated Democratic incumbent Kevin O’Connell.

And in Jamestown’s District 11 legislature district, Democrat Bob Whitney ran unopposed to reclaim a seat he lost 6 years earlier to David Wilfong, who chose not to run for reelection to the county legislature so he could instead run for mayor of Jamestown.

Other election day results had Republican incumbent Jesse Robbins defeating Democratic challenger Rudy Mueller in the Busti Town Supervisor race, in the village of Lakewood Republican Randy Holcomb was elected mayor, in the Carroll Supervisor Race Republican Russell Payne defeated Conservative candidate and incumbent Laura Smith, and in Falconer Democrat and lone candidate James Jaroszynski was elected mayor.

For a complete rundown of election day results, visit vote votechautauqua.com.

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.

David Wilfong during a 2015 Meet the Candidates Forum when running for reelection for District 11 of the Chautauqua County Legislature

JAMESTOWN – The Chautauqua County legislator from Jamestown who’s now seeking the Republican Party’s nomination as candidate for Mayor is relying on his voting record of reducing taxes in county government to convince voters he’s the right man for the job.

In early February current Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi (D) announced he would not be seeking a sixth term in office, opening the door for new leadership in City Hall. One of the individuals who’s come forward to seek the mayoral position is legislator David Wilfong (R-District 11).

Wilfong first ran for an open district 11 seat in the Chautauqua County Legislature in 2011 after former legislator Maria Kindberg (D) opted not to seek reelection. He was defeated that year by Robert Whitney (D). However, he ran once again in 2013 on a platform of selling the Chautauqua County Home in order to reduce property taxes. He defeated Whitney in that rematch and has been reelected twice since then – both in 2015 (defeating Whitney for a second time) and in 2017 (defeating Democratic challenger Frank Besse).

In a recent interview with WRFA, the three-term Republican said that since he joined the County Legislature at the start of 2014, county property taxes have gone down each year and he’s hoping to use that record to help win over voters in November.

“A lot of people don’t realize that at the county level, we have lowered your property taxes for the last five years in a row. So I have a history of making sure I do what the people sent me to Mayville to do,” Wilfong said.

Wilfong, who also currently serves as the chairman of the Chautauqua County Republican Committee, said he’s also shown he’s willing to work with people from the Democratic side of the aisle.

“I’m going to run on my background and the platform I’m going to run on is that I have the knowledge and the skill to reach across the aisle and get things done for the people of Jamestown.”

Wilfong also said he’s well aware of the financial challenges facing the city of Jamestown, which is currently at its constitutional taxing limit and which also has been working under an extremely tight spending plan for the past several years. Still, Wilfong said he does have some cost-saving proposals in mind and he’ll be rolling them out in the coming months. In addition, he said that if elected he’ll also be asking more from the Jamestown City Council.

David Wilfong (R-District 11) during the October 2018 Chautauqua County Legislature meeting

“One of the things that I’m going to request from the city council is that I need more leadership from them and I need more guidance from them because one of the things I learned, being successful at the county, is we don’t do that by ourselves,” Wilfong said. “Mayor Teresi doesn’t spend a dime.  George Borrello, our county executive, doesn’t spend a dime. It’s the city council and the county legislature that okays purchases. So you can say ‘Sam Teresi did this’ or ‘Sam Teresi did that’ but that’s not the truth. The city council is okayed those expenditures.”

Wilfong is also aware that in order for the city to rebound, it will continue to need help from New York State. During the past three budgets the city has requested a total of more than $2.7 million in supplemental state aid to close annual deficits (the state approved the requests in 2017 and 2018 and appears ready to do so again this year).

Wilfong credits the strong relationship mayor Teresi has with fellow Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo in helping to get that aid delivered. But he also hopes the state would continue offering support if he were elected to office.

“Mayor Teresi has been a good steward of reaching out the governor and receiving funding so we can pay our bills. I would just hope that if I was elected governor that same courtesy would be extended. I just hope there wouldn’t be political games going on because I would be a Republican mayor,” Wilfong said.

But before Wilfong can even run as a Republican in the November General Election, he will first likely have to win a primary in June. Both he and first-term city councilman At Large Andrew Liuzzo (R-At Large) are seeking the party’s nod for the mayoral race, with Wilfong being the candidate receiving the endorsement of the Jamestown Republican Committee. Both candidates are in the process of gathering signatures on their election petitions in order to qualify for the June primary.

Meanwhile, the City Democratic Committee has selected local attorney Eddie Sundquist as its endorsed candidate and he appears to be unopposed in seeking the full party’s nomination as a candidate for mayor.

Vanessa Weinert

JAMESTOWN – A member of the Jamestown City Council has submitted her resignation.

Jamestown City Council President Marie Carrubba announced during Monday’s city council voting session that first-year Councilwoman Vanessa Weinert (D- At Large) had submitted her resignation, based a situation in her personal life that resulted in her not being able to attend council meetings in recent months.

“It is with great regret that I had to submit my letter of resignation from Jamestown City Council. I have been honored to serve Jamestown over the last year and I was looking forward to working to make Jamestown an even greater city,” Weinert stated Tuesday morning on her Facebook page. “As many of you know, my family has endured a personal tragedy and I have to spend this next year focusing on my daughter.”

Weinert was elected to one of the three at-large seats on the council in the November 2017 general election.

The council unanimously accepted the resignation Monday night, resulting in an opening on the nine-member panel.

Under the city charter, the mayor is responsible for selecting a person to fill a vacancy on the council, with a majority approval by the city council. The person appointed to fill such vacancy shall be a member of the same political party as the person who vacated the office.

Because Weinert is a Democrat, the mayor will have to appoint a resident of the city who is also a member of that party. During the 2017 election, both former council president Greg Rabb and former county legislator Robert Whitney ran for At Large council seats but were defeated. Of the two, Rabb received the higher number of votes. It’s not known if either is among the possible people being considered for the post.  Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi was absent from last night’s meeting so we were unable to get comment from him regarding possible names to consider.

The council has 60 days from the date of Weinert’s resignation to identify and act on an individual to fill her vacated seat. Once that person is seated, he or she will remain on the council until the next General Election, which is on Nov. 5, 2019.

Meanwhile, Weinert also said she may return to public service in the future.

“I love this city and I plan on re-engaging with politics and the great community work that comes with that once I have gotten past this part of my life. Thank you all for your support. This has truly been a very difficult decision,” she said.

The Chautauqua County Board of Elections counted absentee and affidavit ballots on Monday, with the only change being Andrew Liuzzo and Vanessa Weinert – the two newcomers to the city council – changing position among the top three vote-getters.

Following the counting of additional ballots, incumbent Kim Ecklund continued to receive the most votes at 2,430 votes, an increase of 132. In second-place was Liuzzo, with 2,075, an increase of 123. In third place was Weinert with 2,063 votes, an increase of 109. Rabb received 1,959 votes, an increase of 105 – while candidate Bob Whitney received 1,745 votes, an increase of 95; and Michael Laurin received 1,985, an increase of 122 votes.

The two new city council members will be sworn into office during the first city council meeting of 2018.

“As the dust from election night settles, the Chautauqua County Board of Elections has determined that we have four races are too close to call,” reported Norm Green in an email sent out to the media on Wednesday afternoon.

Initially near the end of Election Night, Green had told WRFA that there were no races in Jamestown too close to call, but added on Wednesday that was said “at first blush.”

In the Jamestown City Council at Large race, four candidates are separated by just 100 votes, with 446 absentee ballots issued and 230 returned so far.

The race featured a total of six candidates vying for three seats. On election Night, incumbent Kim Ecklund (R) received 2,298 votes, far above any other candidate.

However, the next two candidates were newcomers Vanessa Weinert (D) and Andrew Liuzzo (R), who were only separated by two votes on election night. Weinert recieved 1,954 votes and Liuzzo getting 1,952 votes. The next highest vote total went to Michael Laurin (R), with 1,863, following by incumbent and current city council president Greg Rabb (D), who received 1854 votes. Robert Whitney (D) finished sixth with 1650.

With only 100 votes separating the no. 2 candidate from the no. 5 candidate – and with there being 446 absentee ballots sent out, election officials feel it is necessary to declare the race “Too Close to Call” and await the opening of all absentee ballots that come in.

However, Green does add that while it’s mathematically possible, it’s also a near impossibility the top 3 candidates will change, except for the possibility of the no. 2 candidate (currently Weinert) and the no. 3 candidate (currently Liuzzo) switching positions.

The three other Chautauqua County races that are too close to call are for the Ellington Town Council, the Hanover Town Justice, and Sherman Village Trustee races.

All absentee ballots will be opened and counted on Monday, Nov. 20.

Results from Election Night for all races in Chautauqua County can be found online at VoteChautauqua.com.

The top portion of a campaign flyer critical of candidates Michael Laurin and Andrew Liuzzo, distributed on Saturday, Nov. 4 in Jamestown.

JAMESTOWN – The final weekend before the 2017 Local Election saw some increased excitement on social media as two Republican candidates for Jamestown City Council found themselves to be the target of a campaign flyer encouraging voters to not support them on Tuesday.

The flyer (posted below) was reportedly passed out Saturday door-to-door in various neighborhoods of the city and pointed out that Jamestown city council at large candidates Michael Laurin and Andrew Liuzzo have been critical of the city’s recent effort to Annex the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities’ multi-million dollar Dow St. substation property from the Village of Falconer and Town of Ellicott.

The flyer does not indicate what individual(s) or group was behind writing it was written by the Jamestown Democratic Committee and was intended to be distributed as a mailer, but some copies were also included with a newsletter that was being delivered by dozens of volunteers. Two of those volunteers were Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi (a Democrat who’s office is not up for election this year) and city development director and former Democratic councilman Vince DeJoy.

The annexation, which was approved unanimously by the city council in September, would reduce annual property tax payments the city makes to those two municipalities, along with the Falconer School District and Chautauqua County.  Ellicott, Falconer, and Falconer School officials are all against it because of the loss of revenue, which totals nearly 360,000 annually. The matter will now be settle in state appellate court.

During their campaigns, both Laurin and Liuzzo have spoken out against the annexation, saying they disagreed with the way the process played out due to a lack of communication with the neighboring municipalities.

A map depicting the BPU substation property (in red) that sits adjacent to the border between Jamestown and Village of Falconer/Town of Ellicott.

Based on their comments of being critical of the process, a flyer was purportedly distributed by area Democrats saying, “City council candidates Michael Laurin and Andrew Liuzzo think the city of Jamestown should continue needlessly paying hundreds of thousands of your tax dollars to underwrite the operations of Ellicott, Falconer, and the falconer School District.”

The flyer also accused the two candidates of routinely attacking city officials over the annexation effort.

“Laurin and Liuzzo routinely attack the city Council…starting with their ‘fellow’ Republicans…for trying to lower the City’s suburban tax bill,” the flyer reads.

The flyer closed by asking, “Exactly who will Laurin and Liuzzo would represent…their out-of-town friends, relatives, and business partners…or you???”

It also details the amount of tax revenue currently paid by the city to its neighboring municipalities, showing that it is the largest tax payer for both Ellicott and Falconer.

Copies of the flyer were reportedly distributed on Saturday, with both Laurin and Liuzzo responding on Facebook through their own campaign pages and on the Jamestown, NY group page.

Liuzzo said that both Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi and city development director and former city councilman Vince DeJoy were reportedly going door-to-door talking with residents and handing out the flyers.

“When you have little accomplished and less to offer you stoop this low. It is always about being good neighbors. These two aren’t. I want to thank them both for showing the city how arrogant they are,” Liuzzo wrote.

He later clarified his views to WRFA.

“My position was always about the unneighborly way the city of Jamestown approached the annexation process,” Liuzzo explained in a message to WRFA. “Of course I do not support raising city taxes to supplement neighboring towns and villages. This should have been negotiated. The way the city conducted itself sets a bad precedent for neighboring areas where the BPU maintains a presence. Given the opportunity, I would recommend that we withdraw this frivolous lawsuit (which the current administration has a propensity to pursue) and return to the negotiating table with our village neighbors. Otherwise, the city’s tax dollars are contributing to court and legal fees for a case that might very well be ruled in Falconer and the town of Ellicott’s favor due to the hardship it would cause them. I’d like to see a city that promotes its residents’ interests without ostracizing its neighbors. If our objective is to pursue shared services, offending our neighbors with strong-armed tactics is not a step in the right direction.”

Laurin also responded to the flyers on Facebook, calling them political propaganda that inaccurately describes his thoughts regarding the annexation.

“Jamestown residents are paying court and lawyer costs associated with the annexation. If Jamestown does not win in court, valuable time and money would have been wasted; future cost saving collaborations with Ellicott may also be at risk,” Laurin wrote. “The challenges that Jamestown has are enormous. Through greater collaboration, perhaps there is a solution that could be mutually beneficial. Controversially taking legal action to take our neighbors’ property is not a path I agree with; especially when that property has been secured and well-maintained by the Town of Ellicott.”

ANNEXATION LEGAL FEES VS. PROJECTED SAVINGS

So far, the Jamestown BPU has earmarked $60,000 toward the legal battle involving the annexation. If the city were to win in court, the BPU would save nearly $160,000 annually in property tax payments. That’s after it makes a required annual tax equivalency payment of nearly $80,000 to both the city and the Jamestown Public School District.

The State Appellate Court in Rochester has yet to set a date on its calendar for when arguments in the case will be presented.

Meanwhile, there are six candidates running for the three Jamestown City Council at Large seats. Those candidates are: Incumbent Republican Kimberly Ecklund, Laurin and Liuzzo – both running under the Republican ballot, Incumbent Democrat and current Council President Gregory Rabb, and Democrats Vanessa Weinert and Robert Whitney.

Interviews with all those candidates are available at WRFA’s Election 2017 web page. Election Day is Tuesday Nov. 7.

COPY OF THE FLYER THAT WAS DISTRIBUTED ON SATURDAY, NOV. 4

The front of the election flyer critical of candidates Michael Laurin and Andrew Liuzzo, distributed on Saturday, Nov. 4 in Jamestown.

The back of the election flyer critical of candidates Michael Laurin and Andrew Liuzzo, distributed on Saturday, Nov. 4 in Jamestown.

The Chautauqua County Board of Elections will canvass absentee and affidavit ballots Tuesday, starting at 1 p.m. Members of the Board of Election will count the ballots for each of the races at the following times:

• 1 p.m. – WESTFIELD TOWN CLERK: Democrat Andrea Babcock  leads Republican incumbent Tim Smith by 23 votes;
• 1:30 p.m. – LAKEWOOD VILLAGE MAYOR: Cara Birrittieri leads Republican incumbent Dave Wordelman by 19 votes;
• 1:45 p.m. – KIANTONE TOWN SUPERVISOR: Write in Candidate John Ostrander leads Republican Incumbent Kevin Meyers by 2 votes;
• 2 p.m. – COUNTY LEGISLATURE DISTRICT 11:Republican incumbent David Wilfong leads Democrat Robert Whitney by 42 votes;
• 2 p.m. – COUNTY LEGISLATURE DISTRICT 12: Republican incumbent Elisabeth Rankin leads Democrat Beth Kresge by 31 votes;
• 2 p.m. – JAMESTOWN CITY COUNCIL WARD 3: Democratic challenger Vicki James leads Republican Incumbent Alphonso Pagan by 39 votes.

Candidates are welcome to attend or to designate an attorney or other person to act as their representative at the table. Following the counting of the ballots, the totals will be added to the totals to determine the unofficial leader.

Nothing is official until certification of the balloting on or before Nov. 27.