Published: October 31, 2009 10:58 pm      

ELECTION: Does your vote count?

Officials hoping slate of races enough to drive voters to the polls Tuesday

If you’re wondering if every vote counts, just ask William Davignon and Michael Carney.

In 2001, the two candidates for Niagara County Legislature had their race determined by one ballot — with Davignon claiming the seat over Carney.

Two years later, history repeated itself. Davignon was re-elected over Carney by a final count of 1,675 to 1,674.

“Both races came down to one single vote that decided the race,” said Scott Kiedrowski, Republican commissioner for the Niagara County Board of Elections. “That really proved to the voting public that your vote does count.”

Town of Niagara board candidates Jenelle Messer and John Adams finished in a tie for one remaining seat four years ago. The deadlock was never resolved and board members instead appointed Michael Ross, who finished with 41 less votes, to a one-year term.

There’s been other close races over the years but for every cliffhanger outcome, there’s a dozen more landslides. That and a mixture of unopposed seats and recycled candidates usually amounts to declining voter turnouts each year, even when more and more residents are saying they are frustrated with local government.

So will this Tuesday’s general election be any different?

Kiedrowski said the answer will depend on a number of contributing factors, including one that has nothing to do with political ads and dramatic campaigns.

“Sometimes it comes down to how the weather is on voting day,” he said, adding heavy rainstorms in previous years doused turnout numbers. “We kind of hope for that perfect prescription for that day.”

By the way, the current weather forecast for Tuesday is calling for mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of rain and temperatures from 35 to 47 degrees.

But bad weather alone won’t stop people from going to the polls if the issues and races are hot enough, Kiedrowski said. It really comes down to the number of high-profile positions up for grabs and if there are any controversial propositions to vote on.

Such a recipe exists in Niagara County this year. In addition to the various town and city races for boards and supervisors, every seat for Niagara County Legislature is up for election and a highly debated proposition to reduce the number of legislators is on the ballot. Voters will also determine two statewide proposals.

“There are some interesting things up for vote, the reduction of the legislature is a big one,” Kiedrowski said.

In Niagara Falls, the main draw is a five-way race for three seats on the City Council between incumbents Samuel Fruscione and Charles Walker and challengers Kristen Grandinetti, Kenneth Pawlukovich and Candra Thomason. At the very least, one new member will be elected to the council since current Chairman Chris Robins opted not to seek re-election.

The race for the Democratic lines, however, failed to entice voters in September’s primary election. Grandinetti was the top vote-getter in that race with 1,832 votes. There’s about 18,000 registered Democrats in the city.

“Primaries are historically low in any race,” Kiedrowski pointed out.

One slight exception was this year’s Republican primary in Wheatfield which benefited from a contentious town supervisor’s race between incumbent Timothy Demler and challenger Robert Cliffe. Of the 4,041 registered Republicans in the town, 1,461 cast votes in that race, with Cliffe garnering 54 percent to oust Demler. Cliffe now faces off against Democrat Samuel Conti Jr. on Tuesday.

If controversy is what draws people to the polls, the Town of Lewiston should see a much higher voter turnout than usual with a high-profile and bitter race for supervisor between incumbent Fred Newlin and challenger Steve Reiter. In addition, three candidates — incumbent Alfonso Bax and challengers Michael Marra and David Sanchez — are running for two seats on the town council.

On the other end of the spectrum, 10 of the 19 county legislature races have incumbents running unopposed, including Renae Kimble and Jason Cafarella in Niagara Falls districts, Danny Sklarski in Town of Niagara, Clyde Burmaster in Ransomville and Kyle Andrews in Wilson.

Other unopposed races locally include two seats on the Town of Niagara council and supervisor positions in both Wilson and Porter.

Ironically, Kiedrowski said uncontested races aren’t typically a big deterrent from voting.

“Whether a race is opposed or unopposed, the voting public will come out and vote,” he said. “It’s their right to do so.”

But it’s a “right” that many people pass up each year because they are either too frustrated or too apathetic. Among that seemingly growing number is Casey Johnson, who said she is no longer registered with any political party and hasn’t voted in an election since “Ross Perot ran for president.”

“I know that people who don’t vote shouldn’t complain about what’s going on, but I just got tired of the same people running and the same things happening,” said the Niagara Falls resident and mother of two teenage sons. “It’s not setting a good example for my boys saying this but, I just didn’t think my one vote counted much. It wasn’t going to change the way the city is.”

Kiedrowski said county board of election employees spend much of the year going out into the community promoting voter awareness, including visiting high schools in hopes of convincing students to become registered when they’re old enough.

“We certainly strive for high voter turnout,” he said.

Voting hours countywide on Tuesday are 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. You can visit the Niagara County Board of Elections for a rundown of all local races and polling sites at www.elections.niagara.ny.us.





Down to the wire

Here is a glimpse of a few local political races with close finishes:

• 1963: In a race for the former county Board of Supervisors (predecessor to the Legislature), incumbent Norman Jeffords, a Republican, defeated newcomer Vincent E. Glynn, a Democrat, by 32 votes for the 10th Ward seat.

• 1985: In the Republican primary for a Niagara Falls City Council seat, Victor Badorian and Fred Caso were separated by only four votes. After the recount, Badorian was declared the winner, 1,602 to 1,550.

• 1987: In the Democratic primary for Niagara Falls City Council, Ralph Aversa beat Renae Kimble by six votes for the fifth and final ballot position on the November ballot. The count was 3,501 for Aversa and 3,495 for Kimble.

• 2001: William M. Davignon defeated Michael P. Carney by one vote — 1,675 to 1,674 — to win the 9th District seat on the Niagara County Legislature.

• 2003: Davignon again defeated Carney by a single vote — this time by a count of 1,471 to 1,470 — to retain his 9th District seat. Also that year, Lavern E. Haseley defeated Jeffrey A. Incorvia by five votes (929 to 924) to win a seat on the Niagara Town Board.

• 2005: John P. Adams and Jenelle L. Messer tied for a final open seat on the Niagara Town Board with 812 votes apiece. The tie was never resolved and existing board members eventually appointed third-place finisher Michael J. Ross to a one-year term. In two other races, John D. Ceretto (1,657) defeated Michael A. Johnson (1,632) and Harry J. Apolito (1,210) defeated Scott A. Cercone (1,202) to win county legislature seats in the 12th and 15th districts respectively.

• 2007: In the Democratic Primary, Steven D. Fournier edged out Nicholas Ligammari by 32 votes to earn one of two party lines in the November election. Fournier was later elected to a four-year term.

SOURCE: Niagara Gazette archives and the Niagara County Board of Elections