Chautauqua County Legislature voting session (April 26, 2023)

Despite calls to table the measure for more discussion, the Chautauqua County Legislature approved using $1 million in American Rescue Plan funding for the Jefferson Project.

One of a handful of public comments opposing the funding included Chautauqua-Conewango Watershed Consortium representative Jane Conroe, who stated the Legislature should be leading with science, “Why would we pay for understanding algae mechanisms that we already have information for? The very comprehensive ‘Harmful Agal Blooms Action Plan for Chautauqua Lake’ that we already have has much of this information. California, the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project has done extensive research along with Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The need for a complete agal DNA reference library has been taken up by this organization.”

Former County Executive Vince Horrigan submittted a letter in support of funding the Jefferson Project saying the project “brings a professional outside and an objective approach” to identifying issues in Chautauqua Lake.

The Jefferson Project is a collaboration of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, IBM Research, and the Lake George Association that is conducting water quality and Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) research. It was introduced to Chautauqua Lake in 2020 in partnership with the Chautauqua County Government, Chautauqua Institution, and the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance.

Legislator Tom Nelson made a motion to table the resolution, saying more discussion was needed. The motion failed 5 to 14.

Legislator John Hemmer echoed the need for more discussion, saying there was not enough information for how the $1 million would be spent and what would be done, “I listened to the presentation that was given and it was a lot of talk about testing and research. And nowhere in the presentation did they say anything about the solution to the problem being presented at the end of the research.”

Legislator Bob Bankoski said it was advantageous for the Legislature to move forward with the project, “I do agree with some of the people that made comments today. I think some of this stuff is very vague and I really, really hope that we have some locked down answers. When they’re done with this project I want an action plan from them that tells us exactly what to do.”

An amendment by Legislator Tom Harmon to add language to the resolution saying that “this funding would be used for research and ongoing work in 2023” did pass.

The final vote was 17 to 2 with Legislators John Hemmer and Susan Parker being the only no votes.

County Attorney Stephen Abdella addresses Administrative Services Committee (June 13, 2022)

The County Legislature’s Administrative Services Committee has approved a resolution to set public hearings on two proposed reapportionment plans.

The County Reapportionment Commission recommended two plans that include a 17 Legislative district plan and a 19 Legislative district plan.

County Attorney Stephen Abdella said Legislative Committees can begin discussions now on the two plans, “I have done some additional reviews of the descriptions in the plan and made some corrections here and there. The Board of Elections has also reviewed the two plans and had some suggestions which I’ve shared with the sponsors of plans – Mr. [Bob] Bankowski and Mr. [Tom] Harmon.”

Abdella said a permissive referendum can only be held if the local law is passed, giving the example that if the 17-district plan is voted down, a referendum cannot be held for that plan.

The two public hearings will be part of the Chautauqua County Legislature meeting on Wednesday, July 27 with the 17-district plan hearing be held at 6:35 p.m. and the 19-district plan hearing held at 6:40 p.m.

Chautauqua County Legislature meeting – March 23, 2022

A resolution regarding a Wastewater Surveillance Pilot Program passed 16 to 2 in the Chautauqua County Legislature Wednesday night.

Legislator and County Board of Health member Liz Rankin said the program is not mandated and the county had originally planned to use American Rescue Plan monies to fund doing it before the grant was received. She said the grant had already been accepted with the resolution on the agenda adopting a budget for the grant.

Rankin said she was voting yes not just to fulfill the grant obligations but also because she believed in what the grant supports, “The wastewater surveillance program is an early warning system for managing COVID and to give a community profile, give us a heads up, not to isolate and quarantine people, but to mobilize staff and resources, first responders, and long term care systems. Public health surveillance has been around for a very long time.”

Rankin added wastewater surveillance has been done for decades including being used in the 1940s for polio, in the 1980s for Hepatitis A virus and norovirus outbreaks, and in the 1990s as well, “We are not creating something new. We are folding in a technology that’s going to work for us now. This is a great opportunity for us to stay on top of public health trends. The samples are collected at publicly owned central treatment plants and not in neighborhoods and not at specific houses. We’re not targeting anyone in particular. It is planning for the community based on results.”

An amendment proposed by Legislator Tom Harmon added language that would limit the collection of wastewater samples to publicly owned wastewater treatment plants. The amendment also stated a spreadsheet report on the collections would be provided after the pilot program ended on July 31, 2022.

Legislators John Davis and Bob Scudder were the two no votes.

The legislature unanimously approved a $2 million grant from the State Department of Health to hire fellows to work with the County Health Department.

Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon said he spoke with an epidemiologist who lives in his district who worked on the creation of the fellowship program. He said the program was established six months into the pandemic when state and local counties realized they didn’t have enough health care workers to deal with the pandemic effectively, “So the concept was, how do we get more people involved in public health, trained in public health, educated in public health. So this was created as a means of encouraging people to become more educated in public health by putting them to work in fellowships working with public health departments in the counties, doing work on the ground, learning about public health.”

Chagnon said under the program, fellows will be employed by not-for-profit organizations and work for and at the direction of the County Health Department, “Not at the direction of the state at all. So, they’re there to help the county health department, public health department. And they’re there to learn and experience the public health field first hand so that they can become better educated about the practice of public health and also to encourage those who are interested in pursuing education in public health.”

Chagnon emphasized the concerns he’s heard about the fellows working for the state are misinformed.

The legislature also passed a resolution accepting a a $25,000 grant for the Chautauqua County Mental Hygiene Department‘s Mobile Crisis Unit. The grant is to be used for education and training; billing, equipment and electronic medical record expenses.

The body will vote to reappoint Ned Barone as Public Defender. The appointment is a 2-year term.

The legislature also will vote to replace Mark Odell on the Legislature with John Penhollow of Sinclairville. Odell had resigned in July after moving out of the district, but his name remained on the ballot. Penhollow was appointed to fill his term.

Other resolutions include the appointment of the chair of the Legislature. Pierre Chagnon has served in that role and is expected to be reappointed. There will be a resolutions to appoint Legislator Tom Harmon as Majority Leader with Lisa Vanstrom appointed as Assistant Majority Leader. Legislator and Democrat Bob Bankoski will be voted on to be Minority Leader with Jamestown Legislator Paul Whitford as Assistant Minority Leader.

The organizational meeting will take place at 4pm in Legislative Chambers in the Gerace Office Building in Mayville.

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.