Questions arise on timing of West Seneca downsizing
Some say wording would not eliminate 2 seats on Town Board until 2012, instead of January
People appear increasingly likely to circulate petitions to run for the very Town Board seats that West Seneca residents voted this month to eliminate.
“I have heard it may be going to that point, that the two town council positions may be available for this year,” said Brian Wirth, chairman of the town’s Republican Committee.
Wirth, like virtually every politician of any party in the town, says he believes the downsizing should take effect in January.
But some people say wording in town law leaves whether the downsizing should take effect in January or two years later open to interpretation.
The issue is not likely to be resolved before July 16, the deadline for submitting petitions to run for Town Board.
That means anyone wanting to run for the seats would have to file a petition before whether they will be abolished becomes clear.
Any political faction whose candidates fail to submit petitions runs the risk of finding out — too late — that two seats really are open this year.
“I would say it’s a rather awkward situation,” said Daniel McParlane, chairman of the town’s Democratic Committee.
Last week, Supervisor Wallace Piotrowski asked the town’s Democratic Committee to endorse James Lawson and Mark Jarczyk as candidates. The committee opted not to.
“How could I have people knock on doors [to get signatures on nominating petitions] and be questioned by people saying, ‘People in town just voted for downsizing, yet your committee just endorsed candidates’?” McParlane asked.
Piotrowski, who supported the downsizing, said Monday he believes it should take effect in January.
He says he’s trying to protect voters from the manipulation of local party chairmen, who would have the right to name candidates if nobody in their parties circulates petitions, but the seats are available for 2010.
“It’s just a matter of me trying to follow through on what the voters wanted. My concern is that they’re going to slide Mr. Graber and Mrs. Bove into those positions,” he said, referring to Vincent J. Graber Jr. and Christina Wleklinski Bove, the two Democrats who now hold the seats.
People on both sides of the downsizing debate seem to agree that referendum was intended to take effect in January.
That means the seats held by Graber and Bove, whose terms will expire this year, would be eliminated.
But some people have questioned the wording in town law on when the downsizing should actually take effect.
The law says it would become effec-
tive 150 days after the referendum is “adopted.” If “adopted” refers to the day of the vote — June 3—the downsizing would take effect in January.
If “adopted” refers to the day the vote was certified — June 8 — the downsizing would be implemented two years later, in the next election cycle for board members.
The commissioners at Erie County’s Board of Elections say if nobody challenges the wording of the law, they will proceed under the assumption that the downsizing will take effect in January.
But if someone files a petition to run for a board seat, the commissioners would have to review the law and render a decision, which then probably would be appealed through the courts.
The date of the referendum was determined by the date that downsizing supporters filed petitions, which opened a certain time frame for the Town Board to set the date of the vote.
“If they’d filed [the downsizing petitions] two weeks later, we’d know it takes effect next year,” said Dennis Ward, the Democratic elections commissioner. “If they’d filed them two weeks earlier, it’d be real simple — we’d know it takes effect this year.”
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