By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
With only a few days remaining before Olean’s Republican mayoral primary on Tuesday, both candidates are attending to last minute campaign details.
Mayor Bill Aiello, who is seeking a fourth four-year term, and Olean businesswoman Amy Sherburne are engaged in the GOP primary fight.
No mater who wins on Tuesday, Aiello and Sherburne are destined to meet again in November.
Sherburne, a longtime registered Republican, is endorsed for mayor by city Democrats. She is guaranteed that line and the independent Common Sense Party line in November, while Aiello will be listed on the independent Lincoln Party line.
Aiello has won the past three elections on the Republican and Conservative lines. The county’s Conservative Party did not make an endorsement for Olean mayor this year. “I have no idea why I didn’t get it,” he said of the Conservative endorsement.
The Republican nomination is key to both of their candidacies. Aiello is emphasizing his experience in public service including the Olean Police Department, the Cattaraugus County Legislature and his 12 years as mayor. Sherburne has been critical of the mayor’s vision for the future, of recent financial missteps and the effects of Walkable Olean on Olean businesses.
In the first four days of early voting, Cattaraugus County election officials said 71 people have cast votes countywide. There have been 59 Republican votes cast in the Olean mayoral primary at the Magnano Room in the Cutco Building on the Jamestown Community College campus in Olean. Early voting continues through Sunday at JCC in Olean and at the Board of Elections office in Little Valley.
In an interview with the Olean Star Wednesday, Aiello said most people he talks to “are giving kudos to the city for what we are doing. There have been a few bumps in the road, but people are supportive, saying we are doing the right thing.”
He admitted, “We’ve got issues like the discharges into the river. We’ve been doing things. We spent $30 million in the last 12 years on sewage treatment. We are moving forward. There is information out there that is not accurate. We are not discharging untreated sewage every day into the river.”
The mayor said he is appreciative of the Seneca Nation’s advocacy for state funding to address the problem on behalf of the city. This spring he appointed a task force of city officials and members of the Seneca Nation including President J. Conrad Seneca to address the issue of sewage overflows into the river.
Aiello said he has “unfinished business,” including the reconstruction of West State Street from Union Street to St. Bonaventure University and other projects.
“Take a look at Olean Business Development films, ‘Come Home, Stay Home,’” Aiello said. “You look at those and see all the good things that are happening here and all the businesses that are going to need employees over the next five years or so. We’ve got some good things happening here. I want to see the conclusion of a lot of that.”
Aiello’s campaign has sent letters to potential Republican voters asking for their primary vote, and run radio and newspaper ads in the days leading up to early voting and Tuesday’s GOP primary. He’s also been calling GOP voters asking for their vote in the primary.
SHERBURNE IS MAKING her first run for public office in the mayoral race. She said she has been knocking on doors, meeting people at events and doing a lot of listening.
“I’m calling Republicans and trying to get them motivated to come out and vote in the primary,” Sherburne told the Olean Star on Wednesday. “I’m also trying to meet city residents in their neighborhoods.”
Sherburne has also met with West State Street businesses who have concerns about plans for a $25 million reconstruction of the busy roadway from Olean to Allegany. She said her family business, Eade’s Wallpaper, was able to survive the North Union Street reconstruction ” thanks in large part to the Internet. “I can relate to their concerns.” The company has customers across the country and worldwide, thanks to the internet, she said.
Sherburne said she has met a growing number of people who have moved to Olean because housing here is so much less expensive and they can work from home with a fast internet connection.
This is the reason Sherburne is pushing for the city to recruit more small tech firms. The small city has a lot to offer people who can work from anywhere with the internet, she explained. The city offers a good quality of life, she explained.
Sherburne has also tapped into the displeasure some people have with roundabouts and narrow streets, and would want to reduce the number of roundabouts that are being proposed for the West State Street reconstruction. People are split on more roundabouts, she added. Businesses are concerned about deliveries during construction. “West State Street was not meant to be walkable,” she said.
Another issue Sherburne is concerned about is neighborhood blight. “Some homes are not being taken care of,” she said. Vacant, unattended homes are sometimes used by people doing drugs or the homeless.
Neighbors are compassionate when it comes to the homeless, but concerned about safety, Sherburne said.
“I feel like the spirit of Olean is still alive in the neighborhoods,” Sherburnbe said. The city should step up enforcement of residential code violations, she added.
She said experience that is not effective does not translate to progress. “I would use my business experience to balance and build revenue.”
On the question of whether the city would be better off with a mayor or business manager, Sherburne asked, “Why not have a mayor with a strong business background?” She said, “I have been in the public my entire life. I’ve served on boards effectively. I’m a good communicator and I have a good business sense.”
Sherburne has received help from family members in the campaign as well as some friends and business people who have volunteered. “It’s a grassroots effort,” she said.
