DUNKIRK - County Democrats will be running a familiar name in place of Bill Parment for state Assembly - Nancy Bargar of Lakewood.
Bargar, who was a member of the Chautauqua County Legislature from 1992 to 2001, was pegged Thursday evening by a three-member committee to be the right person for the job.
''By Election Law, we have to have a committee to fill vacancies established during the process,'' said Keith Ahlstrom, chairman of the county Democratic Party. ''The three-member committee met tonight, and we came to a consensus on a candidate - Ms. Bargar. It was a unanimous vote of the committee to endorse Ms. Bargar for the seat.''
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Nancy Bargar
Bargar, who was majority leader of the County Legislature in 1998, has made attempts to run for state government in the past. She nearly unseated state Sen. Jess Present in 1992, losing by 190 votes. She had a second unsuccessful campaign against Present in 1994, and she lost a race to Cathy Young to replace the late state Sen. Pat McGee in 2005.
This time, Bargar will be running against former Chautauqua County Executive Andrew Goodell for the 150th District seat in the State Assembly, currently held by Parment. Parment announced Monday that he is choosing time with his family in the coming year over another term in office. He was first elected to Albany in 1982, serving 14 terms.
Goodell is already campaigning for the seat on the Republican ticket. Ahlstrom said that Bargar's status in the community will help her run a solid campaign against Goodell.
''She is very well known in the Lakewood-Jamestown area,'' Ahlstrom said. ''We think we have a very strong candidate.''
Before leaving her role in the County Legislature, Bargar was chair of the Planning and Economic Development Committee and served on the Human Services and Financial Management committees. She also has served on the Industrial Development Agency and Jobs Chautauqua boards of directors, the Jamestown Community College Board of Trustees, the Southern Tier Railroad Extension Authority, and the South and Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer Board.
A former reporter for The Post-Journal, WJTN and the News Election Service, Bargar currently hosts a talk show on WJTN on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.