Town Portland Supervisor Rich Lewis

There were not many contested races in Chautauqua County this year, but the few competitive races there were wrapped up on Tuesday night.

A few of the key races in the county took place in the north, including Pomfret, Portland, Sheridan, and Silver Creek. The village of Cassadaga also found itself in a unique situation, as did the town of Cherry Creek.

In Portland, incumbent Supervisor Rich Lewis defeated challenger Ed Bellando, a former Brocton Trustee, with nearly 60% of the vote in his favor. Lewis beat Bellando 422-265.

The town of Portland also had competitive races for Town Clerk between Democrat James Seavy III and Republican/Conservative Barbara Smith, as well as both open Town Council seats. Incumbent Council members Dave McIntyre and Tammy Thompson, listed on the Republican and Conservative lines, faced Democratic challengers Joshua Trusso and Julie Noble. Smith won the Town Clerk race handily with more than 72% of the vote, 511-179. The incumbent Republican Council members retained their seats, with McIntyre receiving 435 votes and Thompson receiving 379 votes, compared to 277 for Noble and 214 for Trusso.

Kenneth Becker was re-elected as Highway Superintendent without opposition. Debra Delcamp was elected as Tax Collector without opposition.

In Sheridan, four candidates battled for two seats on the Town Council. Susan Bigler and Wendy Dunst ran as Democrats, while Craig Sutton Jr. and Eric Gentry ran on the Republican and Conservative lines. The winners were the Republicans, with Gentry earning 373 votes and Sutton earning 371 votes, compared to 233 for Bigler and 197 for Dunst.

Brian O’Rourke ran for the role of Town Justice on the Republican and Conservative lines, but his fate was up to the voters in another way, as a proposition was listed on the ballot to reduce the amount of Town Justices from two to one. The proposition passed with 744 votes in favor of eliminating the position, compared to 426 in favor of keeping it.

Stephen Roach ran unopposed as Town Supervisor, on the Republican and Conservative lines. He will replace Tom Wik, who did not run for re-election. Jeff Feinen was re-elected as Highway Superintendent without opposition. The same went for Town Clerk Rebecca Schafer, who was also re-elected.

In Pomfret, Town Justice candidates Michael Cerrie, running on the Democratic and Working Families lines, faced Phillip Maslak Jr. on the on the Republican and Conservative lines. Cerrie won the race with more than 64% of the vote, totaling 1,460 votes.

The rest of the races in Pomfret were unopposed, including Dan Pacos as Town Supervisor; Samantha Kellogg as Town Clerk; Jude Gardner as Highway Superintendent; and Kathleen Dennison and Michael Lee as Town Council members.

In Silver Creek, Kathy Tampio was elected to take over as the village’s next Mayor, in place of Jeff Hornburg. Tampio ran unopposed. However, three candidates battled for two seats on the Village Board: Hornburg, Sandra Lindstrom, and Anthony Gorny.

Hornburg and Lindstrom, incumbent Republicans, defeated Gorny, a Democrat, in a tight race. Lindstrom got 245 votes, Hornburg got 243 votes, and Gorny got 200 votes.

In both Cherry Creek and Cassadaga, only one candidate for a seat on the board was listed on the ballot, while two seats were open. Write-in results will be released in the coming days.

Becky Rowicki was the only candidate listed on the ballot for the Cherry Creek Town Council. James Abbey ran unopposed as Town Supervisor; Mia Abbey ran unopposed as Town Clerk; and Kenneth Chase ran unopposed as Highway Superintendent.

Cassadaga’s situation is a little more unique. Its lone Village Trustee candidate listed on the ballot was Jeff Frick. The ballot also listed only one mayoral candidate, Rudy Abersold, but a write-in campaign for Nancy Wickmark was mounted to oppose him. Wickmark tied herself to current Mayor Bill Dorman to serve as Trustee via write-in, while Abersold was linked with Frick. Social media chatter also suggested a strong write-in contingent for Danna DuBois, an incumbent who did not initially intend to run for office.

Abersold defeated Wickmark in the race for Mayor with 150 votes for Abersold, compared to 110 write-in votes. The Trustee seats are not as clear-cut, as Frick received 161 votes, but 300 write-in votes were cast for two open seats. Frick likely claimed one of the two seats, but it is unclear as of Tuesday night who claimed the other seat.

The town of Hanover had no contested races, with incumbent councilmen Ed Schintzius and Bernie Feldmann Jr. re-elected to the Town Council with no opposition.

There were no contested races in Harmony, with David Hinderer and Peter Radka elected to the Town Council.

The town of Stockton had no contested races, with Hannah Abram and John Sipos Jr. elected to the Town Council and Jeremy Beicher elected as Town Justice.

The town of Villenova had no contested races, with Nathan Palmer and Daniel Distasio elected to the Town Council.

There were no contested races in Westfield, with David Spann and William Northrop elected to Town Council seats and Jerry LaPorte elected as Town Justice.