By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
The City of Olean’s only Common Council contest in Tuesday’s election was won by Democrat Gloria J. Rosenthal.
Rosenthal, who also ran on the Common Sense Party ticket, defeated Balazs Busznyak 167-133 in Ward 3 voting to succeed Republican Alderwoman Jennifer Forney, who did not seek re-election.
Ward 1 Alderman and Common Council President Lawrence “JR” Bennion Jr., a Republican, was unopposed in his re-election on the Republican and Conservative lines. He received 534 votes.
And in Ward 5, where Alderman John Crawford, a Democrat, did not seek re-election, Democrat Ann Marie Sitter-Tompkins was unopposed on the Democrat and Working Families lines. She got 411 votes.
The Salamanca mayoral contest between Mayor Sandra Magiera and former mayor Michael “Smitty” Smith is too close to call.
Unofficial results of the voting from the Cattaraugus County Board of Elections showed Smith in the lead with 742 votes on the Salamanca Proud line and Magiera with 725 on the Democratic and Citizens Choice party lines.
The Board of Elections said there are enough unreturned and uncounted absentee ballots to swing the election to Magiera, but that the mayor would have to get most of those votes.
Election officials will count any absentee ballots received by next Tuesday on the following day and add them to early voting and Election Day voting totals.
All five Salamanca Common Council seats were also on the line, In Wards 3 and 4 there were three-way races for the Council.
In Ward 1, where Councilman John Hill did not seek re-election, Maureen Puval, running on the Republican and Citizens Choice parties, got 1234 votes to 73 for Joanne Hoag, running under the Salamanca Proud banner.
In Ward 2, incumbent Kyle Johnson, running on the Democrat and Citizens Choice parties, received 231 votes to 195 for Brian Murphy, running on the Salamanca Proud line.
In Ward 3, Republican incumbent Barry Smith got 41 votes to 68 for Matthew Quigley on the Ward 3 Party line and Dylan Hackett, who had 65 votes on the Salamanca Proud Party line. Absentees could change the outcome of the contest.
Ward 4 Democrat incumbent Michael Reed got 122 votes to 35 for Kyle Waite of the Good Direction Party, and Lee DeBoy of the Salamanca Proud Party, who had 144 votes.
In Ward 5, incumbent Democrat Paul Myers, who is also running on the Citizens Choice Party line, got 167 votes to 133 for Zachary Taylor of the Salamanca Proud Party.
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