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The votes are in, and newly appointed or re-appointed officials have been voted in to start their terms on April 1, according to unofficial election results Tuesday.
CASSADAGA
In Cassadaga, there were 58 voters, over half of whom voted for Mary Jo Bauer, with 31 votes, officially de-throning LeeAnn Lazarony -- who received one write-in vote -- as village mayor. Additionally for the mayor position, former trustee Mike Lehnen received 22 votes and Steve Lehnen received one vote.
For the trustee positions, official candidates Theresa Seibert and Cindy Flaherty received 48 and 36 votes respectively; Steve Lehnen, former deputy mayor Jeff Frick, and Roger Salhoff each received one write-in vote.
"We'd like to keep a continuity. I am not the type of person that'll go in and slash, slash, slash, (and say we) gotta do it my way. It's whatever's best for the people, and whatever the people want. That's the bottom line," Bauer said. "If (LeeAnn Lazarony) had good things going on and we can keep things going that are working, then that's what we need to do.
"I'm very excited about it. … I was on the board for like 12 years, prior to LeeAnn, and I really enjoyed it. You meet a lot of great people. It's always a challenge, and very interesting, and if you have good people that work with you, you can accomplish so much -- anything, really. I think there's a passionate group right now that are very positive about the village, and changes in the village, and I think it'll be good," Bauer said.
GOWANDA
Gowanda will have a new mayor in the form of David Smith, who secured 361 votes to Samuel Castellano's 98 votes.
Smith congratulated the members of his campaign team, as well as his opponent for his interest in the village. He also congratulated the people who ran for two trustee seats; incumbent Carol Sheibley garnered 392 votes, while incumbent Paul Zimmermann secured 318 votes.
Jack Broyles came in third with 143 votes, with eight write-ins also cast.
"I'm humbled and honored that the voters of this fine village would think that much of my candidacy, and to have the numbers be that widespread …" Smith stated. "Special thanks to Andy Burr, who was the mastermind behind the campaign and has an undying level of interest and ambition for our great village. I'd like to thank my wife Jill for making me the happiest man on earth every day. And most importantly, I'd like to thank God."
Smith also wished to thank Mayor Heather McKeever for her "excellent service to the village over the past decade in both mayor and trustee roles," as well as her support. McKeever chose not to seek re-election.
"Now it's time to roll up our sleeves and get to work," Smith concluded. "It's time to open our ears, our minds and our hearts to our village residents. Gowanda is full of tremendous people. Now it's time for everyone to come together and rediscover Gowanda."
SINCLAIRVILLE
The village of Sinclairville saw both expected and unexpected results. James E. Kianos Jr. ran unopposed for the two-year mayoral term, earning 36 votes. There were no write-ins for that seat. Patricia J. France, who had finished up former mayor Tami Berg's term when she stepped down in October of 2016, ran unopposed for a trustee seat and won with 38 votes. Both Kianos Jr. and France ran on the Helping Hands party ticket.
Berg received one write-in vote.
The wildcard of the day was that another trustee position needed to be filled, but there was no other official candidate. The winner of that seat, if he wants it, is Dean Houser, whose name was written in 20 times by voters. Houser has served as mayor in the past, so is familiar with how Sinclairville's government works.
"I will accept the position," Houser told the OBSERVER after polls closed. "I'm looking forward to the opportunity to once again serve the residents of the community of Sinclairville."
Susan Peacock, village clerk, told the OBSERVER that 39 people voted all together.
A total of 588 people live in Sinclairville, though that includes non-voters and children. Still, one wouldn't think 39 voters constitutes a good turnout -- but, relatively speaking, it does.
"This was a great turnout," said Peacock. "Last year only 13 people voted. We are considering moving our elections to November to get more people (to the polls)."
These voting results are not yet official.
SOUTH DAYTON
The village of South Dayton has a new mayor in Scott Kerr, who ran with the support of both the Republicans and Democrats. He racked up 103 votes, with 11 of those coming from absentee ballots. There were 10 write-in votes for the position of mayor, as well. Karen Strickland and Melinda (Linda) Frederickson won the two available trustee seats, with 80 and 74 votes, respectively. Both ran with the support of the Democrats.
Coming up short were Robert Astry and Stephen Foster, who ran on the Republican ticket. They pulled in 62 votes and 43 votes, respectively.
"It's important to note that in South Dayton, people aren't necessarily running (on party tickets) against each other, though," Village Clerk Paula Stockman told the OBSERVER. "Voters could have picked any two out of the four trustee candidates."
A total of 121 people voted in South Dayton. Stockman said that's a vast improvement over the usual turnout, which is usually about 40 people, though there are roughly 600 residents in the village (including children and those not eligible or registered to vote). Stockman stated that the possibility of moving elections to November has not been publicly discussed by officials.
The information in Sunday's OBSERVER listing South Dayton's candidates was incorrect.
These results are not yet official.
WESTFIELD
In Westfield, current mayor Michael VandeVelde was voted in again for another four-year term, with 178 votes. There were no write-in votes for mayor.
For village trustee, Alan Holbrook received 162 votes, Robert Cochran had 126 votes and Dennis Lutes had 115 votes. The unofficial results give the trustee positions to Holbrook and Cochran, but that could change, as Westfield also has 46 absentee and one affidavit ballots to tally up. Absentee and affidavit ballots will be counted on Tuesday, March 28, 2017 at 11 a.m. The Board of Elections will certify the Election Results by 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 28, 2017.
VandeVelde would like to thank all the residents that came out to vote, but added, "Even though there are no major issues in the village, it would have been nice to see more voters." According to VandeVelde, there were 749 voters the first time he ran for mayor four years ago.
OBSERVER Assistant News Editor Greg Fox and Staff Writers Amanda Dedie and Rebecca Cuthbert compiled this report.