Four Council races in North Tonawanda
Citywide seat, three in wards being contested
NORTH TONAWANDA — One citywide Council seat and posts in the city’s three wards are up for grabs in next week’s general election.
The citywide race pegs a current lawmaker and a former alderman, who are vying for a four-year, at-large seat on the five-member Common Council.
Current 3rd Ward Alderwoman Nancy A. Donovan, a Republican who has spent two two-year terms on the Council, is facing Dennis J. Barberio, who served one term as alderman in the 3rd Ward in 1998 and 1999 and is running as a Democrat.
A self-described populist, Barberio, 62, said he switched political affiliation from Republican to Democrat about five years ago because he saw “the representatives were getting away from serving the people.”
Barberio, who said he was laid off last December from his job as a data card programmer at Allsafe Technologies in Amherst, said his goals include improving the city’s infrastructure, restructuring city departments to enhance efficiency and funding neighborhood watch programs. Barberio said he wants to increase funding to the city’s code enforcement department, and wants a bigger push to attract clean businesses to the city.
After his term on the Council, Barberio lost in three attempts to get back on the board. He also applied for vacancies in the 9th District of the Niagara County Legislature in 2007 and this year but was not appointed by lawmakers.
Donovan, 59, works in finance at Independent Health.
Donovan was elected to two terms on the North Tonawanda School Board before resigning in 2005 in order to make her first run for Council. After being elected in 2005, she was re-elected in 2007.
Donovan has the Independence and Conservative lines on Nov. 3, while Barberio also has the Working Families line.
First Ward
This race for a two-year term features incumbent Dennis M. Pasiak and challenger Robert W. Fritz.
Pasiak, a retired contracting officer at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station and for the Army Corps of Engineers, is finishing his first term on the Council. He is running on the Republican, Independence and Conservative lines.
Fritz, who is making his first bid for public office, works as a school bus driver. He’s on the Democrat, Working Families and LumberJack lines.
Pasiak’s main goals include moving forward development at the former Roblin Steel site and Gratwick Riverside Park, as well as working toward cleaning up the city, including Oliver Street, he said.
“I feel that I learned quite a few things during the first term,” said Pasiak, 63, “and I’d like to continue them into a second term.”
Fritz, 57, said he wants to improve city services while cutting costs.
“I’ve never backed down from a challenge and I’m always looking to move forward,” he said, “[and] trying to improve myself and trying to improve what is around me.”
Pasiak, a graduate of the University at Buffalo Law School and Canisius College, served on the North Tonawanda School Board for nine years, ending in 2006. The city native is a previous member of the city Planning Commission and served as a commissioner on the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency board of directors.
Fritz, who graduated from Tonawanda High School in 1970 and attended college for a year and a half, moved to North Tonawanda in 1982 from the City of Tonawanda. He retired as a firefighter at the Niagara Falls air base in August 2002.
Both Pasiak and Fritz are members of the city’s Property Maintenance Task Force.
Second Ward
With incumbent Alderman Kevin J. Brick Jr. not running for re-election, the city will have a new representative of the Second Ward next year.
Democrat Jerome M. DiVirgilio and Republican Richard L. Andres Jr. want the nod from voters for this two-year seat. Both said keeping up the city’s infrastructure would be one of their main goals, if elected.
DiVirgilio, a quality systems auditor for Dunlop, said he’s running for office because he wants to get the Council “on track.”
“It’s my personal opinion that the Common Council really hasn’t been able to establish their identity,” said DiVirgilio, 47, who sat on both Charter Review Committees formed to rewrite the document defining the structure of city government.
DiVirgilio said his goals also include stabilizing the tax base in order to lower tax rates, as well as doing a total re-evaluation of the parks and recreation services.
Andres, a government and global studies teacher at North Tonawanda High School, served on the city’s Master Plan Steering Committee in 2007, which led him to obtain a second master’s degree in urban planning from UB.
The city is on the right track, but is at a crossroads, Andres said. His other top goals, if elected, would be working to maintain property values and have the city be more proactive in trying to draw new business, the 29-year-old said.
“I have a real passion for this city, more so than for my political career,” he said. “I really feel like I try to put my time where my mouth is.”
DiVirgilio, who has the Working Families and Lumber- Jack lines, has been on the city Zoning Board of Appeals since 2007, and was appointed chairman in January 2008.
Andres, who is also running on the Independence and Conservative lines, is a past chairman of the Niagara County Community College Alumni Association.
Third Ward
With Donovan, the current office holder, running for an at-large seat, the race for this post features two individuals making their first run for public office.
Democrat Janet B. Zehr faces off against Republican Eric M. Zadzilka for the two-year Council post.
Zehr, a retired middle school science teacher in the North Tonawanda district, said she supports the city bonding more funding to make infrastructure improvements.
“I am interested in representing the people in my ward with families, many of whom are struggling,” said Zehr, 69, who is also running on the LumberJack line.
Zadzilka, a licensed optician, said he plans to “get the city back to basics,” by trying to address taxes, roads and public safety issues.
A member of the pro-Walmart Lumber City Liaisons for Walmart, Zadzilka, 40, said he wants to get the planned retail project “running smoothly.”
While she supports the Walmart project, Zehr also said, if elected, she plans to make sure Walmart keeps all the promises it made the city as it moves forward with its new Supercenter. She has been a member of the city Zoning Board for about a year and a half.
Zadzilka, who also has the Independence, Conservative and Working Families lines, filed for bankruptcy with his wife in 2006, according to public records.
Zadzilka said he’s not afraid to admit he’s had financial problems, but doesn’t see the bankruptcy as an issue. “It’s really something that people who are struggling can identify with,” he said.
In an uncontested race, City Attorney Shawn P. Nickerson is running for re-election.
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