Amy H. Witryol, who has become well known locally through her involvement in environmental issues in the Lewiston-Porter area, will run against State Sen. George D. Maziarz this fall.

The name of Witryol, 51, of Lewiston, was mailed to the state Board of Elections by the Niagara County Democrats’ committee on vacancies, which needed to replace Christopher M. Srock of Wilson.

Srock had filed nominating petitions for the 62nd District Senate seat before dropping out of the race last week.

Witryol, who made the decision to run late last week, said she is running “to take money out of politics.”

Maziarz’s campaign fund, as of July 15, stood at $698,477, according to data filed with the state Board of Elections.

Maziarz, R-Newfane, has never had a close race since the 1995 special election that installed him in the seat.

John Conklin, spokesman for the state Board of Elections, said Witryol’s nomination and her acceptance were postmarked Friday, enabling the Democrats to beat the deadline for a substitute candidate even though the paperwork didn’t arrive in Albany until Monday.

The 62nd District covers all of Niagara County except Niagara Falls, as well as all of Orleans County and a swath of western Monroe County.

Witryol, a registered Democrat, said she would rather have run as an unaffiliated candidate, but realized that was not practical.

“The county Democratic Party is giving me the latitude to run as I see

fit, provided they’re not blind-sided,” Witryol said.

County Democratic Chairman Daniel Rivera could not be reached to comment Monday night.

Witryol is probably best known for her public stance against the proposed expansion at CWM, which is looking to the state for permission to add capacity at its Balmer Road hazardous waste landfill.

A former banker, Witryol was born in Connecticut and moved to Western New York in 1998. She sits on the CWM Community Advisory Committee, appointed by the Town of Lewiston.

Witryol is also a member of the New York Farm Bureau, the League of Women Voters and a former member of the Restoration Advisory Board for the former Lake Ontario Ordnance Works.

Witryol said plans to remain involved in opposing the expansion of CWM while she runs for office.

tprohaska@buffnews.com abesecker@buffnews.comnull