Local participation limited in Tuesday’s primary elections

by Terry Duffy
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, September 22, 2007

The heat is turning up on the local political season – albeit ever so slightly – following results of Tuesday’s rather quiet primary day elections.

Races of local note were basically limited to candidates for office in the Town of Lewiston, as well as the District 12 Niagara County Legislature race pitting incumbent John Ceretto against relative newcomer Jerry Mosey. There was no primary day participation from Town of Porter candidates seeking office, nor was there any in the District 13 County Legislature race.

The following are unofficial tabulations of Tuesday’s voting from the Niagara County Board of Elections on area races of note. Starting first in the race for Niagara County Family Court Judge, Republican candidate John F. Batt of Lockport took 3,870 Democratic votes, 3,504 GOP votes, 314 on the Independence line and 48 votes on the Conservative line. His opponent, Democrat Linda M. DiPasquale of Lockport, scored 3,928 votes on the Democratic line, 1,691 GOP votes, 114 Independence votes and 53 Conservative votes.

In the District 12 race, with very limited voting, Ceretto, who was has the Republican endorsement, won the Independence line with 31 votes cast, while opponent Mosey, the Democrat-endorsed candidate, took four votes on the Working Families line.

Moving onto the town of Lewiston, primary day results among the various participating candidates included:

•Ronald W. Winkley, the Republican-endorsed candidate for Lewiston town supervisor who is running against incumbent Democrat Fred Newlin, took 42 votes on the Independence line, 17 votes on the Conservative line, and eight votes on the Working Families line. Newlin did not appear on any of the primary lines.

•For Lewiston Town Board, in voting on the Independence line, incumbent Ernie Palmer and newcomer Justin Birmingham, both GOP endorsed, took 38 and 26 votes, respectively. On the Conservative line, Palmer took 21 votes, while Birmingham had 14. And in voting on the Working Families ticket, Democratic-endorsed incumbent Mike Johnson took nine votes, while Democrat newcomer Mark V. Sarro had four votes.

•In the Lewiston Town Clerk’s race, pitting Democrat incumbent Carol Brandon against GOP newcomer Kristine M. Hatfield, Hatfield scored 35 votes on the Independence line, and 16 votes on the Conservative line. Brandon was not on any of the primary lines.

•And in the race for Lewiston Highway superintendent, GOP incumbent Steve Reiter scored 16 votes on the Conservative line, and 37 votes on the Independence line. Reiter’s opponent, Democratic-endorsed candidate David Knapp did not appear on any of the primary lines.

For further details on all primary races in the county, visit online at www.elections.niagara.ny.us