NY Governor Kathy Hochul celebrates being elected the state’s first woman governor

Democrat Kathy Hochul has been elected the first woman governor of New York State.

Hochul defeated Republican Lee Zeldin with 52% of the vote.

It was a sweep for the Democrats in statewide elections in New York.

Incumbent Democrat State Attorney General Letitia James has been declared the winner against Republican Michael Henry. Incumbent Democrat Comptroller Tom DiNapoli also won re-election over Republican Paul Rodriguez.

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer was re-elected to a fifth term over Republican Joe Pinion.

In the race for the new 23rd Congressional District, Republican Nick Langworthy declared victory over Democrat Max Della Pia.

In State Legislative races, Republican State Senator George Borrello has defeated Democrat Dan Brown and Republican Assemblyman Andy Goodell won re-election against Democrat Sandra Lewis.

In the special election for Chautauqua County Legislative District 13, incumbent Republican John Penhollow won with 1,600 votes over Democrat Barbara Colt who received 600 votes.

For the special election in the City of Jamestown for the Ward 5 Council Seat, Republican incumbant Bill Reynolds received 751 votes over Democrat Doug Lawson‘s 486 votes.

For the five 8th Judicial State Supreme Court Justice seats open, Craig Hannah, Tracey Bannister, Kelly Vacco, Gerald Greenan III, and Joseph Lorigo were elected. Shannon Heneghan lost that race.

The State proposition to authorize New York State to borrow $4.2 billion for the Clean Water, Clean Air, and Clean Jobs Environmental Bond Act was approved by voters. The monies will go toward funding environmental protection, natural restoration, resilience, and clean energy projects.

The Chautauqua County Board of Elections said a recent ruling in State Supreme Court ordered that all changes of enrollment received between August 12 and 30 will take effect on August 30.

Board of Elections Commissioner Brian Abram said following the June primaries, officials realized there needed to be a deadline in place for party enrollment for the August primary, “It became a court order to allow a deadline to be put in place to say to every voter, ‘Whatever you are on August 11 is what you will be for the primary.’ The special (election) doesn’t get affected because everybody is invited (to vote) in the special. But a primary election in New York State, it’s a closed primary system. You have to be a member of that party that is conducting the primary to participate.”

Abram said, therefore, the last day for voters to change their enrollment to be eligible to vote in the August 23, 2022 Republican Primary is August 11th. Registrations must be received by the Board of Elections on August 11th. Mailed applications must be received before or on August 11 to qualify.

For voters who wish to change their enrollment via the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles MotorVoter portal, the change must be submitted one day earlier, August 10th. This is because there is a one day delay in the Board of Elections receiving information from the DMV.

Attorneys for the town of Ellicott and City of Jamestown both discussed the issue of whether the property was eligible for annexation.

Previously, the town of Ellicott and village of Falconer had argued in State Supreme Court that the city property assessor’s certificate for the property did not satisfy state law.

However, Judge Lynn Keane had ruled in November 2020 that it did despite Ellicott attorneys arguing that the property isn’t adjacent to the city line because a road separates the property from adjoining to the city boundary. Under state law, municipalities can only annex properties that are adjacent to their own boundaries.

City officials have argued that by annexing the property into the city limits, the Board of Public Utilities would save an estimated $160,000 each year in property taxes, thus saving money for all utility customers in the service area. They also claim such a move is in the overall public interest due to the city having a professional public safety department that could better respond to any safety emergencies that occur on the property.

Ellicott, Falconer, and the Falconer School District are all opposed to the annexation, saying it is nothing more than a money grab by the city.

According to the complaint, Five Star Bank is owed with interest $283,763 by Jamestown Brewing Company. Jon McLellan and Terri McLellan are named as the owners who are liable. A source says Five Star Bank is trying to collect secured collateral from the sale of properties in Chautauqua and Erie Counties by the McLellan’s.

It was rough going right from the start for Jamestown Brewing Company when they opened a year late in July 2019, and opened without a liquor license. The brewery closed for two months until that license was received, but ultimately closed in July 2020 due to the Pandemic.

Norm Green

MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County’s Democratic Election Commissioner Norm Green announced his resignation from that position.

In a media release sent out late Thursday afternoon, Green announced he was resigning and that Deputy Democratic Election Commissioner Luz Torres will serve as acting commissioner until a replacement is formally instated.

Green planned to retire at the end of 2020, and Torres was nominated by the County Democratic Committee to replace Green last October, but that nomination was never acted on by the Chautauqua County Legislature.

Instead, the legislature’s Democratic caucus nominated its own commissioner, Loren Kent, in March and it was a was approved by the full legislature by a vote of 16 to 3.

But both Torres and Green have filed a lawsuit against that nomination, calling it a violation of state law. As a result, the vote for Kent can not be certified by the legislature clerk until after the lawsuit is settled in State Supreme Court.

“I absolutely continue to support Luz to replace me,” said Green. “As a Democrat, I work for diversity at all levels. It is exciting to think about having the first ever Hispanic department head taking over from me. Luz has been training for this job for the last three years and the plan has been for her to take over from me. She is an experienced manager, has helped to administer budgets and is fully trained by the state to be an election commissioner.”

As for his time at the Board of elections, Green said a lot has been accomplished during the time he’s worked at the Board of Elections.

“We’ve accomplished much at the Board of Elections over the past 22 years and the credit must be given to our full time staff of six and, numerous seasonal part timers and the nearly 600 poll workers who deliver democracy one or two days a year at our poll sites. While many, many election boards in the state and nation have admittedly failed, we have delivered world-class elections in our county and have done so with a twelve year near flat budget. Republican Election Commissioner Brian Abram has been the greatest partner in our joint bi-partisan efforts and we part as personal family friends,” Green said.

Andrew Liuzzo

JAMESTOWN – Both Republican candidates running for mayor of Jamestown agree that city police officers and fire fighters deserve every cent they are paid by local taxpayers. But both Andrew Liuzzo and David Wilfong also acknowledge that financial challenges facing Jamestown will likely prevent public safety workers from getting all they they deserve.

• [RELATED] LISTEN TO FULL LIUZZO/WILFONG INTERVIEW

In 2019 the city of Jamestown has budgeted nearly a third of its total budget – $11 million – toward police and fire salaries and other related expenses. And a larger chunk could be on the way if a state appellate court upholds a recent state Supreme Court decision involving an arbitration ruling giving the police union a 2% pay raise. City officials say any increase the police receive in salary will also likely be given to firefighters as well, so the outcome of the arbitration appeal will be a challenge facing whoever is the next mayor of the city.

Liuzzo is currently a member of the Jamestown City Council and is the only council person to vote against challenging the arbitration ruling in State Supreme Court, as well as voting against the decision to appeal the Supreme Court decision.

Liuzzo told WRFA in our recent interview that it’s not the salaries but the healthcare and pension mandates from Albany that are what the city should be focused on.

“This all goes back to our retirement benefits and our healthcare benefits, and the Taylor Law and the Triborough Amendment. These laws and amendments have hurt upstate communities immensely. These were downstate laws that got applied to the whole state,” Liuzzo said. “My question would be, ‘Why hasn’t the New York Conference of Mayors, as a group, addressed this?’ Our current mayor was president of NYCOM, yet that question is still out there. Why wasn’t this addressed? These kinds of laws are what has hurt upstate New York Communities.”

Liuzzo added that he would also be willing to local at regional policing by trying to improve relationship with adjacent communities like the Town of Ellicott and Busti – which each have their own police force as well.

“Jamestown encompasses West Ellicott, Ellicott, Lakewood-Busti. What I would like to see is an inter-municipal police force. I would like us to negotiate instead of litigate with our neighbors and come to an agreement where we can use the existing police force we have outside of Jamestown to be the same police force. And to protect all of us. That’s one way I see of bringing the cost down, or at least maintaining the cost,” Liuzzo explained.

David Wilfong

Wilfong has served on the Chautauqua County Legislature since 2014 representing Jamestown. During his time in Mayville a report was completed by the Center or Governmental Rochester using over $200,000 in state money that provided a plan to consolidate the Jamestown Police Department with the County Sheriff’s office gradually, over two decades or no longer.

The consolidation would come at no additional cost to county taxpayers but would save Jamestown some money. That plan was never put up for a vote, let alone publicly discussed by Wilfong and his colleagues after it was completed.

• VIEW THE CGR REPORT

Wilfong said he agrees that regional policing may be better solution, though the push should come from the state, not the local, level.

” It would have been very difficult to put together a group of people that would have voted in favor of the consolidation. I don’t know if that would ever go off. I’ve seen it, I’ve read the document and I actually think it was a good proposal. But one of the things is, ‘Do we want a change?’ I don’t know if the Jamestown Police Department wants to merge and I don’t know if the sheriff wants to merge,” Wilfong said. “I did see the figures and the cost savings would be good for the city of Jamestown and a flat cost the county. But we’re talking about the county legislators and you’ve got to get them on board with their own districts. Because what they’re going to say is, ‘How does that benefit my district. I live in Silver Creek or I live in Findley Lake.’ It’s a hard sell.”

Instead, Wilfong said he’d prefer to see the effort to deal with police costs lead by the state representatives, similar to what former Sen. Cathy Young had worked on with school districts.

“I am not against it. I think to make change and to move our county forward and our state forward, we’ve got to start thinking consolidation. I don’t know at the mayor level what can be done there. I think that needs to be done more at the state level – maybe our assemblyman or our next senator. I think that is where that type of change has to come from,” Wilfong said.

The complete audio of our interview with Liuzzo and Wilfong can be found at our website.

Liuzzo and Wilfong will square off in the June 25 Republican Primary, which runs from noon to 9 p.m. and is eligible to all 3800 registered republicans living in the city.

On Wednesday, April 17 Erie County Supreme Court Judge Timothy Walker ruled to dismiss a portion of a lawsuit filed in December by the owners of the Jamestown Brewing that claim their landlord and property developer – G. Patti Development – committed fraud when courting the business to enter into a lease agreement to rent out the former Lillian Ney Renaissance Center building (AKA Grant Building)  at the corner of W. Third and Washington Streets.

Jamestown Brewing owners John McLellan Sr. and John McLellan Jr. had filed a lawsuit against GPatti after continued delays prevented them from opening their operation as scheduled. While the business was initially slated to open in the spring of 2018, it saw numerous construction and development delays and has yet to open its doors.

The McClellan’s are suing GPatti, claiming it wasn’t fully transparent in regards to the work that was needed to prepare the site, nor regarding communicating some environmental work that was required before the site would be ready. As a result, Jamestown Brewing was asking for compensatory damages, punitive damages, interest, attorneys fees and costs based on the alleged misrepresentations.

At the request of GPatti Development, Judge Walker dismissed those claims.

But the judge also denied a motion request by G. Patti Inc to dismiss a breach of contract claim from Jamestown Brewing that dealt with the spending of $1 million in state money from the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) fund. Jamestown Brewing claims GPatti misappropriated that money, leading to the breach of contract.

Judge Walker said he first wants to see a breakdown of how state that DRI money was spent on the Jamestown Brewing project before ruling on that matter. That review won’t take place until the project is completed because state economic development money typically isn’t released until a project is finished.

According to the Post-Journal, the total project cost for renovating the property and preparing it specifically for the Jamestown Brewing business was estimated at $3.84 million. Financing for the project included a $475,000 state Main Street grant that was awarded through the Regional Economic Development Council program in December 2015. The Jamestown Local Development Corporation has a $180,000 loan attached to the project. The IDA also offered tax abatements for the property.

There still is no word on when the brewery will open.  Once open the business is expected to employ between 30 and 40 people. The restaurant will seat 280 guests in five different areas.

Chautauqua Institution President Michael E. Hill poses on Thursday with Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello, moments after Hill signed the memorandum of agreement for the Chautauqua Lake Weed Management Consensus Strategy on the Institution’s behalf.

CHAUTAUQUA – Chautauqua Institution has signed on to the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the Chautauqua Lake Weed Management Consensus Strategy.

The MOA is a document that was finalized and put forward by Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello last week. It was unanimously approved by the Chautauqua County Legislature on the same day it was made public.  The document seeks to bring together lake stakeholders so they can more effectively work together to manage invasive aquatic plants, nuisance native vegetation, and hazardous algal blooms in the lake.

Chautauqua Institution President Michael Hill said the MOA represents a comprehensive and scientifically sound approach for Chautauqua Lake conservation.

“I proudly signed this memorandum on behalf of Chautauqua Institution because it represents the comprehensive and scientifically sound approach for Chautauqua Lake conservation that we’ve been advocating for many years,” Hill said. “We are hopeful that all other agencies and municipalities will join us in signing the MOA and supporting this incredibly important strategy. We thank County Executive Borrello for his resolute leadership on this crucial issue. While Chautauqua Lake faces many challenges, we’re confident that with an independently sourced, science-based comprehensive approach and the support and leadership of a consensus of stakeholders, we will save and preserve Chautauqua Lake as the source of so much of our livelihood in Chautauqua County.”

The consensus strategy was developed through a collaboration of the County Executive’s Office, Chautauqua County Department of Planning & Development, representatives from the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC), and the consulting firm Ecology and Environment, Inc. (E&E). E&E, which is headquartered in Lancaster, New York, facilitated three meetings earlier this year, where it met with key lake stakeholders to discuss their most pressing issues and concerns surrounding the management of weeds and harmful algal blooms in Chautauqua Lake. These stakeholders included representatives from Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua Fishing Alliance, Chautauqua Lake Association, Chautauqua Lake Fishing Association, Chautauqua Lake Partnership, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, Town of Busti, Town of Chautauqua, Town of Ellery, Town of Ellicott, Town of North Harmony, Village of Celoron, and Village of Lakewood. Other input, which was also considered in the development of the MOA, was communicated to the county executive during informal meetings and in written form.

As part of the information-gathering phase for the consensus strategy, Hill and Chautauqua Vice President of Campus Planning and Operations John Shedd accompanied Borrello and several other county officials and leaders on an October trip to Lake George, New York, to learn about a successful model for lake conservation. In just five years, Lake George stakeholders have united behind a consensus strategy that uses sound, validated science to spur decisions, greatly and demonstrably improving the health and water quality of a lake with challenges similar to Chautauqua Lake.

Last year Chautauqua Institution led an effort to sue the state, saying it didn’t follow proper procedure when approving an application to use herbicides in certain areas of the lake. That challenge took place in Erie County Supreme court and was dismissed near the end of December.
But the lawsuit was just one example of the infighting that has taken place in regards to lake Management and it lead to Borrello to call for a “cease fire” amongst the various stakeholders, via the consensus document.

The Institution is one of the first stakeholders to sign off on the MOA for the consensus. The deadline to sign on to the MOA is April 17.

Those that do not are in jeopardy of missing out on funding for projects they support to battle the weeds and algal blooms that have been occurring more frequently on the lake in recent years.

Last October the three-member arbitration panel ruled 2 to 1 that the city must provide a retroactive, 2 percent salary increase for all members of the Jamestown Kendall Club PBA police union for the years covering 2016 and 2017.

• READ COMPLETE ARBITRATION RULING

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• RELATED: State Law Required City to Participate in Arbitration with Police Union, Also Provided Opportunity to Challenge

In November the Jamestown City Council voted 7 to 1 in favor of challenging the arbitration decision. The city claims the arbitration panel didn’t follow proper state guidelines when determining the salary increase and considering the financial position of the city. As a result, it is asking the court to vacate the decision.

The arguments will take place in Chautauqua County Supreme Court with Hon. James Dillon presiding. The Kendall Club is being represented by legal counsel from Fessenden, Laumer & De Angelo while the city will be represented by Bond, Schoeneck & King.

Jamestown School Superintendent Bret Apthorpe discusses Small Cities School funding lawsuit with the Jamestown School Board during its Feb. 26 board meeting.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown Public Schools district will continue participating in a lawsuit against that state that focuses on more state aid for students.

On Tuesday night the board voted 5 to 2 in favor of spending $35,000 on the Small Cities Schools Lawsuit (Maisto v. New York) for the rest of this calendar year, with board vice president Patrick Slagle along with board member Shelly Leathers voting against it.

The vote comes just a month after a state supreme court judge in Albany – Kimberly A. O’Connor – ruled against the eight small city districts involved in the lawsuit, claiming the state is providing a constitutionally mandated “fair and equitable education” for all students, despite arguments to the contrary by the eight plaintiffs.

Jamestown is one of those eight districts. The seven other small cities districts joining Jamestown are Utica, Poughkeepsie, Mount Vernon, Kingston, Newburgh, Port Jervis and Niagara Falls. Because districts can not directly sue the state, the eight districts are individual members of a group that is paying the legal fees to help the case move forward and each district pays a membership fee to that group.

The January’s State Supreme Court decision will likely be appealed and Tuesday night’s action was required if Jamestown were to continue on with the appeal process, ensuring it would benefit from any final positive outcome in the case.

The issue of providing proper funding to ensure a fair and equitable education for all students has already dragged on for the better half of two decades and Jamestown property tax players have already invested over $300,000 in the legal battle associated with the case.

That was part of the reason Slagle voted against continuing the effort.

“I just think the district has been involved for too long now. We’ve spent too much of the taxpayers’ money chasing after an uncertainty. I think the better approach would be to contact our legislators and look for legislative action, since ultimately any success in the lawsuit and what’s going to spur more money is legislative action. So I think that $35,000 for this year and possible more money for future years could be better spent within the district,” Slagle told WRFA following the meeting.

Prior to the vote Jamestown School Superintendent Bret Apthorpe gave a presentation on the history of lawsuit and the implications for continuing the case, admitting that while attorneys involved in the lawsuit are optimistic an appeal would be favorable for the district, it would only mean the case would continue to drag on because the state would then likely appeal that decision, forcing the matter to go before New York’s highest court – the Court of Appeals.

Following the meeting, Apthorpe said he didn’t envy the school board for having to make the decision.

“I don’t think its fair to put boards of education in this situation,” Apthorpe said. “This is about taking taxpayer moneys to advocate for constitutional rights of the poor against a government, again funded by taxpayers, opposed to that. So they’re being asked to take a stand using money from a poor school to continue a court case. It’s a true double-edged sword.”

According to Apthorpe, if the state legislature were to provide proper funding totals with the constitutional mandate in mind and by following the enacted foundation aid formula created ten years ago, Jamestown would be getting an additional $8 million in aid for the 2019-20 school year. As it stands, the governor is proposing $49.8 million in general purpose aid for Jamestown next year – up just $711,000 from the current year’s school budget. Apthorpe notes that increase doesn’t even keep up with the current rate of inflation based on the state consumer price index.