George Borrello and Michael Ferguson, the respective Republican and Democratic county executive candidates, debated the top issues facing Chautauqua County at a meeting of the Rotary Club of Jamestown at the Robert H. Jackson Center on Monday. P-J photo by Gavin Paterniti

Some of Chautauqua County’s biggest problem areas took center stage at a debate between two candidates for the county’s top political position.

George Borrello and Michael Ferguson — the respective Republican and Democratic county executive candidates — engaged in a friendly debate during a meeting of the Rotary Club of Jamestown at the Robert H. Jackson Center on Monday, where the hopefuls discussed their reasons for running and stated intentions and focal points if elected in November.

The debate, moderated by Lee Harkness, Jamestown Community Chamber of Commerce coordinator, offered Borrello and Ferguson a chance to offer opening and closing statements as to their respective bids for county executive and present one-minute discourse on the policies they would pursue in regard to various issues facing Chautauqua County. After their opening statements the candidates were asked to share their top two priorities if elected to the position.

“One of the things we always hear is that we don’t have enough jobs here, but we actually have plenty of jobs,” Ferguson said. “Unfortunately, we’ve got to resolve a couple of the issues that are preventing us fulfilling many of those jobs. We can do that by developing a strong workforce and eliminating the drug problem that we have here in Chautauqua County. We realize not one person can do it alone, but that is affecting not only our workforce but our economy greatly.”

“I also think there’s an opportunity to bring new and exciting business to town in the ways of distribution,” he added. “In the north county you have Route 5, 20 and 60, as well as Interstate 90, and right down the road we have Interstate 86, which will take you right from Pennsylvania all the way to the Big Apple (New York City). There is a lot of opportunity to not only expand our current business offerings with the great companies that we have here, as well as others in the future.”

Borrello said one of his biggest priorities would be to continue his effort at reducing the burden of government in the county, and stated his intent to amp up the fight against crime.

“We have too much government here, and that creates not only a burden on business but also unpredictability for business; businesses will take risk, but not unpredictable risk,” Borrello said. “Secondly, people need to feel safe and that we have an organization of law enforcement and leadership here that will make them feel safe. We want people to raise their families here, and bring and grow their businesses here. That takes leadership, and I will provide that leadership in both of those areas, if elected.”

The other topics discussed by the candidates included: thoughts on the forthcoming National Comedy Center; cleaning up Chautauqua Lake; the issue of an overcrowded jail in Mayville; the potential consolidation of some county police departments and school districts; how to prevent college graduates native to the area from leaving after receiving their degrees; their stance on regionalism; county landbanking; and helping the growing Hispanic population assimilate into society within the county.

In wrapping up the debate the candidates summed up their respective bids for the position of county executive. Borrello began with a slogan that he has based his campaign on, a Benjamin Franklin quote that reads “Well done is better than well said.”

“Talk is cheap, and we need to get things accomplished here,” Borrello said. “I’m proud to say, in my time as a legislator, I’ve been able to get many things accomplished. Whether its downsizing government, protecting and promoting our lakes and waterways, or cutting property taxes, I’ve been able to get things done. So at the end of the day people can tell you what they’d like to do, but I can show you what I’ve done.

“We can have prosperity, we can bring our young people back, we can have the type of opportunity that we see elsewhere,” he continued. “We are a great community with tremendous, unique assets, and I promise you I will provide the leadership so that everyone here can sing from the same sheet of music and get things done.”

Ferguson asserted his agreement that action speaks louder than words and pointed to his track record in his previously held positions.

“For those who know me here in Chautauqua County, you know that we’ve left every place we’ve been in better condition than we found it,” Ferguson said. “We’ve provided jobs, security, events and those businesses that will add to our taxbase and will continue to add to our county’s health and well-being. And I believe we can continue that with fresh ideas.

“We’ll do what we need to do to make Chautauqua County better than it’s already been for so many years,” he added. “We’ll have our clean lakes, we’ll have our jobs, we’ll have a strong educational component and we will engage our workforce and clean up the drug problem. No one can do it alone, we have to do it together as a community.”

Ferguson, born in Buffalo, is a lifelong Western New Yorker who’s spent over 28 years in Chautauqua County with his wife, Dianne. He has experience in marketing, athletic facility management and event production and is the marketing executive for Fredonia Place, an assisted-living community. Ferguson was previously the executive and general manager for what was known as the Jamestown Savings Bank Arena, now the Northwest Arena.

Borrello is a Chautauqua County native who was born and raised in Silver Creek and Fredonia. He graduated from Fredonia High School in 1985 and graduated from Purdue University in 1989. He founded Top-Shelf Marketing in his early 20s, which became a nationally-recognized supplier in the hospitality industry. He later merged the company with Progressive Specialty Glass Company and became vice president of marketing. Borrello recently retired from his private business career to focus on being a public servant.