William J. McLaughlin seeks supervisor spot

By Larry Austin
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, June 4, 2005

William J. McLaughlin has held several major posts in town of Porter government, but has never run for elected office until now.

Monday, the Republican from Ransomville Road officially announced his intention to run for town Supervisor.

“Really, my purpose for running at this point is I want to give the voters a choice,” McLaughlin said.

“I’ve never run for anything,” he said, calling himself a community supporter. “I guess this is something I can do for my community.”

McLaughlin already has a long resume of community service. He was the first chairman of Town of Porter Recreation Commission, chairman of the Town of Porter Zoning Board of Appeals, and member of Town of Porter Planning Board for 37 years.

McLaughlin was also trustee and president of the Ransomville Free Library, a library now named after him.

Most recently, McLaughlin was the Town of Porter Budget Officer, appointed to serve under former supervisor Tom Beachy.

McLaughlin is a graduate of Wilson Central School and served in the United States Navy during World War II. He is a 1949 cum laude graduate of Niagara University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

McLaughlin is a member and former secretary and president of the Lewiston-Queenston Rotary Club. A certified public accountant, McLaughlin retired from McLaughlin & Slate CPAs of Lockport in 1989. In addition, McLaughlin is a former trustee and chairman of the board of Lockport Savings Bank, now known as First Niagara Bank.

McLaughlin hopes to lend his expertise to matters of town finances. Issues regarding CWM Chemical Services are also matters of town-wide concern.

“Really my position with CWM at this point is that I want the EPA and the DEC to do the job that they’re supposed to be doing to make sure that operation is run properly,” he said.

In 1977, CWM, then known as Chem-trol, applied to the town for an excavation permit for their operation. A member of the planning board at the time, McLaughlin voted against the permit, but Chem-trol took legal action and won a permit in court.

McLaughlin and former Councilman Michael McCabe helped develop the current Host Community Agreement with CWM Chemical Services, a financial benefit to the town.

“As a result of that, we were enhancing the revenue of the town,” McLaughlin said.

“If they wanted to open up a new landfill in the town of Porter, I’d vote no,” he said.

McLaughlin also hopes for a good relationship with the village of Youngstown.

“I talked with a number of board members out there several years ago about trying to consolidate some services with the town, and they had some interest in doing that,” he said. “Hopefully we can do more.”

“My philosophy generally has been that you work with everybody, and whether you agree with them or not,” McLaughlin said. “If I’m on a board I like differences of opinion because I think you get better answers and better results.”