Chautauqua County Sample Ballot & Voter Guide 2026

James Quattrone began his law enforcement career in 1987 with the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office, rising to Sergeant and then Lieutenant before his 2018 election as sheriff, per the Post-Journal. He has been involved with the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the Mental Health Association and served as executive director of the UCAN City Mission, per the Post-Journal. He is the only candidate who filed for sheriff in 2026, per WRFA. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Marcus Buchanan is the sitting Chautauqua County Legislator for District 1, per Chautauqua County. He has filed on the Democrat and Working Families lines for re-election. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Colby Garza has filed on the Republican and Conservative lines to run for Chautauqua County Legislature District 1, per the Post-Journal. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Bankoski is the sitting Chautauqua County Legislator for District 2, per the county Legislature's website. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Robert Scudder owns East Main Laundry and Scudder's Blueberry Farm and previously owned Fredonia Hardware and the Mustard Seed Restaurant of Fredonia, per Observer Today. He represents District 3, covering parts of Fredonia and the Town of Pomfret, on the Chautauqua County Legislature, per the county government website. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Michael Lee is a member of the Pomfret Town Board, per Observer Today. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Lewis is the sitting Chautauqua County Legislator for District 4, per the county Legislature's website. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Merritt is the sitting Chautauqua County Legislator for District 5, per the county Legislature's website. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Harmon is the sitting Chautauqua County Legislator for District 6, per the county Legislature's website. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Kevin O'Connell previously represented District 6 on the Chautauqua County Legislature from 2017 to 2019, per WRFA. He lives in Silver Creek. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Penhollow is the sitting Chautauqua County Legislator for District 7, per the county Legislature's website. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Carla Rodriguez has campaigned against data center development in the district and filed to run for County Legislature District 7 on the Democratic and Working Families lines, per the Post-Journal. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Chagnon is the sitting Chautauqua County Legislature chairman, representing District 8, per the county Legislature's website. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Vincent DeJoy III took the oath of office for Chautauqua County Legislature District 9 on January 2, 2026, per WRFA, and serves as ranking member of the Planning and Economic Development Committee, per the county government website. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

John Vogan has filed to run for Chautauqua County Legislature District 9 on the Republican and Conservative lines, per WRFA. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Jamie Gustafson is the sitting Chautauqua County Legislator for District 10, per Chautauqua County. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Julie Jackson-Forsberg is a candidate for Chautauqua County Legislature District 10, per the Post-Journal. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Robert W. Whitney Jr. is the sitting Chautauqua County Legislator for District 11, per Chautauqua County. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Jeremy Maggio is a candidate for Chautauqua County Legislature District 11, per the Post-Journal. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Frederick A. Larson is the sitting Chautauqua County Legislator for District 12, per Chautauqua County. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Brent P. Sheldon is a candidate for Chautauqua County Legislature District 12, per the Post-Journal. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Thomas Nelson is the sitting Chautauqua County Legislator for District 13, per Chautauqua County. He has filed on the Democrat and Working Families lines for re-election. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Andrew Faulkner has filed on the Republican and Conservative lines to run for Chautauqua County Legislature District 13, per the Post-Journal. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Daniel Pavlock is the sitting Chautauqua County Legislator for District 14, per Chautauqua County. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Lisa Vanstrom is the sitting Chautauqua County Legislator for District 15, per Chautauqua County. She has filed on the Republican and Conservative lines for re-election. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Nikki Pierce is a candidate for Chautauqua County Legislature District 15, per the Post-Journal. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Dalton Anthony is the sitting Chautauqua County Legislator for District 16, per Chautauqua County. He has filed on the Republican and Conservative lines for re-election. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Christopher DeBlass has filed on the Democrat and Working Families lines to run for Chautauqua County Legislature District 16, per the Post-Journal. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Heiser is the sitting Chautauqua County Legislator for District 17, per the county Legislature's website. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Proctor is the sitting Chautauqua County Legislator for District 18, per the county Legislature's website. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Dan Morton has filed to run for Chautauqua County Legislature District 18 on the Democratic line, per WRFA. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Johnson is the sitting Chautauqua County Legislator for District 19, per the county Legislature's website. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

John Hamels is a retired school superintendent from Ripley who hosts and produces Chautauqua Sunrise, a weekly cable television show and video podcast based in Mayville, per Observer Today. He chairs the Chautauqua County Ethics Board and serves as secretary of the county Office for the Aging Services board and as a board member of the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation, per Observer Today. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Craig R. Bucki is an elected partner at Phillips Lytle LLP, where he has practiced litigation for nearly twenty years across commercial disputes, matrimonial actions, foreclosure cases, personal injury, constitutional law and land use matters, per his campaign site. He holds a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law and a B.A. from Yale University, and is admitted to practice in New York state courts, several federal district courts, the Second Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court, per his campaign site.

Michael L. Amodeo is principal law clerk to Appellate Division, Fourth Department, Justice Craig Hannah, per the Erie County Democratic Committee. He received cross-party endorsements for the 2026 Supreme Court race and was rated Qualified by the Bar Association of Erie County. No campaign website was found as of September 15, 2026.

Robert N. Richardson is on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Supreme Court Justice in the 8th Judicial District (Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans & Wyoming) on the Democratic, Republican, Conservative lines, per the State Board of Elections' amended certification of September 4, 2026. No campaign website was found as of September 15, 2026.

Deanne M. Tripi is a judge of the Erie County Family Court, first elected in 2013 and re-elected in 2023, per her campaign site. She earned her law degree from Pace University's Elisabeth Haub School of Law in 1995 and was admitted to the New York bar in 1996, per her campaign site. Before joining the bench she spent 18 years in private practice, including 11 years as a partner at the firm of Palmer, Murphy and Tripi handling Family Court and Supreme Court civil matters, per her campaign site.

Jonathan S. Hickey is a Clarence Town Justice, per the Town of Clarence's official court roster. A 2001 graduate of the University at Buffalo School of Law, he is a founding member of the Buffalo law firm Burden, Gulisano and Hickey, which defends product manufacturers and transportation companies, per a University at Buffalo School of Law alumni profile. He has also served as a confidential law clerk in the 8th Judicial District, per the same alumni profile. No campaign website was found as of September 15, 2026.

Robert R. Vario is the lead matrimonial and family law attorney at the Law Office of Ralph C. Lorigo in West Seneca, New York, per the firm's own biography of its attorneys. He has been named to Super Lawyers in family law for 2019 through 2026, per Super Lawyers. No campaign website was found as of September 15, 2026.

Michael Sullivan is the sitting Chautauqua County Family Court Judge, per WRFA. A Fredonia-area attorney, he was first elected in a 2016 special election created by the retirement of Judge Judith Claire and has served on the bench for 10 years. He has filed on the Republican and Conservative lines for re-election. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Moss is a Dunkirk resident challenging the incumbent for Chautauqua County Family Court Judge, per Chautauqua Today. No campaign website was found as of September 23, 2026.

Victoria Guite-Williams is the Democratic nominee for Senate District 57. They work as a medical coder in Buffalo and have a background in community work including refugee resettlement and work at a methadone clinic, per the Olean Times Herald. They developed an interest in politics as an intern for former Representative Brian Higgins of Buffalo, per the Olean Times Herald. No campaign website was found as of September 20, 2026.

George Borrello is the Republican incumbent for Senate District 57. They founded Top Shelf Marketing in their early 20s, growing it into a nationally recognized hospitality supplier, per the New York State Senate. They entered the Senate after a special election win in 2019, having previously served as a Chautauqua County legislator and County Executive, per the New York State Senate. No campaign website was found as of September 20, 2026.