File Photo Of the 38 municipalities with races this fall, only 14 have at least one competitive race.

When it comes to local elections, the majority of incumbents won’t face an opponent.

Of the 38 municipalities with races this fall in Chautauqua County, only 12 have at least one competitive race. The other 24 municipalities do not have a single race. That equals about 32%. And in many of those municipalities, only one or two of the various races on the ballot are competitive.

Of the 44 races in the 12 municipalities with a contested race, 27 of those races are uncontested. That means there’s only 17 local races in the entire county that are contested.

County races have a little bit more competition but not much.

Excluding judges, of the four countywide offices – executive, sheriff, clerk, and district attorney – two are up this year with the executive and clerk both having competitive races. This year’s clerk race does not have an incumbent, as Larry Barmore is not running for re-election. The last time Barmore ran for re-election in 2021, he had an opponent as well.

The last time the district attorney office and the sheriff’s office were up, 2024 and 2022 respectively, they were uncontested.

For county court judge, there is not a contested race this year. Last year’s Family Court race did have a contested race, but it was for an open seat. In 2019, the surrogate court race was uncontested.

Of the 19 county legislative seats, eight have competitive races, which is about 42%. Two seats will have a new representative, with the incumbent not returning, but those districts failed to have a competitive race. Currently Republicans hold a supermajority of seats, with 14 Republicans and five Democrats. Of the 11 uncontested races, eight are held by Republicans and three are held by Democrats. Of the eight contested races, six have a Republican incumbent and three have a Democratic incumbent.

Below is a full list of local elections for Northern Chautauqua County residents.

CHAUTAUQUA COUNTYWIDE ELECTIONS

COUNTY COURT JUDGE – Incumbent David Foley is running unopposed for County Court Judge. He is running on the Republican and Conservative lines. The term is for 10 years and is not affected by the change in election years.

COUNTY EXECUTIVE – Incumbent PJ Wendel is seeking re-election against challenger Tom Carle. Wendel is running on the Republican and Conservative lines, while Carle is running on the Democratic and Working Families lines. Because of the change in election years, the term will be for three years instead of four.

COUNTY CLERK – Gregory Carlson is running on the Republican and Conservative lines, while Gregory Krauza is running on the Democratic and Working Families lines. Incumbent Larry Barmore is not running for re-election.

COUNTY LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS

The following is a breakdown of who is running and where.

DISTRICT 1 – This district includes part of the city and town of Dunkirk. Incumbent Marcus Buchanan is running on the Democratic and Working Families lines. He is unopposed.

DISTRICT 2 – This district includes part of the city of Dunkirk. Incumbent Robert Bankoski is running on the Democratic and Working Families lines. He is unopposed.

DISTRICT 3 – This district includes part of the village of Fredonia and town of Pomfret. Incumbent Bob Scudder is running on the Republican and Conservative lines. He is being challenged by Robert Dando, who is running on the Democratic and Working Families lines.

DISTRICT 4 – This district includes part of the village of Fredonia and part of the city of Dunkirk. Newcomer Sandra Lewis is running on the Democratic line. She is unopposed. Tom Carle, who is the current legislator, is running for county executive.

DISTRICT 5 – This district includes parts of the town of Dunkirk and Hanover, as well as the towns of Arkwright, Cherry Creek, Sheridan, and Villenova. Newcomer Jay Merritt is running on the Republican and Conservative lines. He is running unopposed. Current legislator Terry Niebel is not seeking re-election.

DISTRICT 6 – This district includes part of the town of Hanover and the village of Silver Creek. Incumbent Thomas Harmon is running on the Republican and Conservative lines. He is being challenged by Amanda Merced, who is running on the Taxpayer’s line.

DISTRICT 7 – This district includes the towns of Stockton and Portland, including the villages of Cassadaga and Brocton, as well as part of the town of Chautauqua. Incumbent Johnathan Penhollow is running on the Republican and Conservative lines. He is unopposed.

DISTRICT 8 – This district includes the towns of North Harmony and Ellery, including the village of Bemus Point, as well as part of the town of Chautauqua. Incumbent Pierre Chagnon is running on the Republican and Conservative lines. He is unopposed.

DISTRICT 14 – This district includes the towns of Ellington, Charlotte, Gerry, including the village of Sinclairville, and parts of the town of Ellicott and Poland. Incumbent Daniel Pavlock is running on the Republican and Conservative lines. He is unopposed.

DISTRICT 18 – This district includes part of the town of Chautauqua, including the village of Mayville, the towns of French Creek, Mina, and village and town of Sherman. Martin Proctor is running on the Republican and Conservative lines. He is unopposed.

DISTRICT 19 – This district includes the towns of Ripley and Westfield, including the village of Westfield. Incumbent Fred Johnson is running on the Republican and Conservative lines. He is unopposed.

MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS

ARKWRIGHT – There are no contested races in the town. For the two council seats, Lawrence Ball and Bruce Gustafson are both running on the Republican and Conservative lines.

BROCTON – There are no contested races in the village. Kari Doino and Bryan Woleben are both running on the Republican line.

CASSADAGA – There is one name listed on the ballot for two trustee seats. Jeffrey Frick is running for trustee. For mayor, Rudy Abersold is running on the Republican line. There is an active write-in campaign going on as well for Nancy Wickmark for mayor and Bill Dorman for trustee.

CHARLOTTE – There are no contested races in the town. Francis Lauricella Jr. is running for town supervisor on the Republican and Conservative lines. Susan Peacock is running for town clerk on the Republican and Conservative lines. Mark LeBaron is running for highway superintendent on the Republican line. For the two town council seats, Larry Green and Scott Dibble are running on the Republican line.

CHAUTAUQUA TOWN – There are no contested races in the town. For the two town council seats, Thomas Carlson is running on the Republican line, while Leroy Parker is running on the Republican and Conservative lines.

CHERRY CREEK – There are two seats open for town council, with one candidate on the ballot. Becky Rowicki is running on the Republican line. The other races are also unopposed. James Abbey is running for town supervisor on the Republican line. Mia Abbey is running for town clerk on the Republican line. Kenneth Chase is running for highway superintendent on the Republican line.

DUNKIRK CITY – Two of the five council member races are contested. For Ward 2, Frankie Torain is running on the Democratic line, while Colby Garza is running on the Republican and Working Families lines. For Ward 4, Michael Civiletto is running on the Democratic line, while Nancy Nicholas is running on the Republican and Conservative lines. For Ward 1, Natalie Luczkowiak is running unopposed on the Democratic and Working Families lines. For Ward 3, Gary Frederickson is running unopposed on the Democratic and Working Families lines. For Councilman At Large, Nick Weiser is running unopposed on the Democratic and Working Families lines. For Clerk Board of Assessors, Erica Munson is running unopposed on the Republican and Conservative lines. The city treasurer position is on the ballot with no names listed. City residents are being asked a proposal to abolish the position of the Elected City of Dunkirk Treasurer with its duties and that of its office to be transferred to the Department of Fiscal Affairs under the supervision of the Common Council, Mayor’s Office, and County Civil Service.

DUNKIRK TOWN – There are no contested races in the town. Shari Miller is running for supervisor on the Republican line. Rebecca Yacklon is running for clerk on the Republican line. Chris Penfold is running for justice on the Republican line. For the two seats on the council, Robert Price is running on the Democratic line, while Philip Leone is running on the Republican and Conservative lines.

FREDONIA – There are three candidates running for two village trustee seats. Both Chris Cruz Keefe and LeeAnn Lazarony are running on the Democratic and Working Families lines, while David Bird is running on the Republican line.

HANOVER – There are no contested races in the town. For the two council seats, Edward Schintzius is running on the Democratic and Conservative lines, while Bernard Feldmann Jr. is running on the Republican and Conservative lines.

POMFRET – There are two candidates running for town justice. Michael Cerrie is running on the Democratic and Working Families lines, while Phillip Maslak Jr. is running on the Republican and Conservative lines. The rest of the offices are unopposed. Dan Pacos is running for supervisor on the Democratic and Working Families lines. Samantha Kellogg is running for clerk on the Democratic line. Jude Gardner is running for highway superintendent on the Republican and Conservative lines. For the two council seats, Kathleen Dennison is running on the Democratic line, while Michael Lee is running on the Democratic and Working Families lines.

PORTLAND – There are three contested races in the town. For supervisor, Richard Lewis Jr. is running on the Democratic and Republican lines, while Edward Bellando is running on the Conservative line. For clerk, James Seavy III is running on the Democratic line, while Barbara Smith is running on the Republican and Conservative lines. For two council seats, David McIntyre and Tammy Thompson are running on the Republican and Conservative lines, while Joshua Trusso and Julie Noble are running on the Democratic line. For highway superintendent, Kenneth Becker is running unopposed on the Republican and Conservative lines. For tax collector, Debra Delcamp is running unopposed on the Republican and Conservative lines.

RIPLEY – There are no contested races in the town. For the two council seats, Lee Swoap is running on the Republican and Democratic lines, while Philip Chimera is running on the Republican, Democratic and Conservative lines.

SHERIDAN – There are four candidates running for two council seats. Susan Bigler and Wendy Dunst are running on the Democratic lines, while Craig Sutton Jr. and Eric Gentry are running on the Republican and Conservative lines. The other races are uncontested. For supervisor, Stephen Roach is running on the Republican and Conservative lines. For highway superintendent, Jeffrey Feinen is running on the Republican and Conservative lines. For justice, Brian O’Rourke is running on the Republican and Conservative lines. In addition, voters will be asked to vote on a proposition to reduce the number of town justices from two to one.

SILVER CREEK – There are three candidates running for two trustee seats. Anthony Gorny is running on the Democratic line, while Jeffrey Hornburg and Sandra Lindstrom are both running on the Republican line. In addition, Katherine Tampio is running unopposed for mayor on the Republican line.

STOCKTON – There are no contested races in the town. For the two council seats, Hannah Abram and John Sipos Jr. are running on the Republican line. For justice, Jeremy Beicher is running on the Republican line.

VILLENOVA – There are no contested races in the town. For two council seats, Nathan Palmer and Daniel Distasio are both running on the Republican line.

WESTFIELD – There are no contested races in the town. For two council seats, David Spann and William Northrop are both running on the Republican line. For justice, Jerry LaPorte is running on the Republican and Conservative lines.