Jamestown native John LaMancuso has announced his intention to seek election as Jamestown City Court Judge in November.

LaMancuso is the chairman and a partner of the law firm Lewis & Lewis, P.C. Born and raised in Jamestown, he resides in the city with his wife, Gillian, and their four children.

“When presented with the chance to serve the community I care so much about, as City Court Judge, I jumped at the opportunity,” said LaMancuso. “We are facing serious threats to public safety in this community, particularly firearm and domestic violence crime. We read about it in the newspaper and on social media nearly every day. As a husband and father – and as a son of city residents – I want to do whatever I can to ensure Jamestown remains a safe place to live and raise a family. We are also facing significant challenges with mental health and substance use disorders. If elected City Court Judge, I would focus on growing and improving our problem-solving parts, including treatment court, veterans court, and mental health court, to reduce recidivism and help non-violent offenders address those challenges and become law-abiding, productive members of society.”

LaMancuso is chairman of the city Planning Commission, immediate past president of the Jamestown Bar Association, a director of the Robert H. Jackson Center and Northwest Arena, and a two-time chair of the United Way of Southern Chautauqua County’s annual campaign. LaMancuso also coaches youth football, baseball, basketball, and soccer and is a member of the Jamestown Kiwanis Club.

The Jamestown attorney is a member of the New York State Bar Association’s House of Delegates, having been selected to represent eight bar associations: the Jamestown Bar Association, Northern Chautauqua Bar Association, Niagara County Bar Association, Cattaraugus County Bar Association, Allegany County Bar Association, Genesee County Bar Association, Wyoming County Bar Association, and Orleans County Bar Association.

He graduated from Indiana University – Bloomington with high honors and earned his juris doctorate magna cum laude from SUNY Buffalo Law School. While in law school, he clerked for then-Supreme Court Justice Patrick H. NeMoyer, recently retired from the Appellate Division, Fourth Department.

LaMancuso joined Lewis & Lewis, P.C. as an associate in 2014 and was named partner five years later in 2019. In 2022 he was named chairman of the law firm, which has offices in Jamestown, Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Batavia, and Olean and employs 12 attorneys. He has focused his practice primarily on litigation, handling criminal and civil matters from commencement through trial. LaMancuso has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star for the past four consecutive years, an honor limited to just 2.5% of New York State attorneys. He is rated Distinguished by Martindale-Hubbell for high professional achievement and ethics.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed helping individuals in this community with often difficult legal matters,” LaMancuso said. “I have made lifelong friendships and consider myself very lucky to have had the opportunity to help clients in times of great need. Private practice has prepared me well to serve as City Court Judge, having handled all the types of cases that are heard in City Court, including criminal, landlord-tenant, civil, small claims, housing, and treatment court matters. I believe I am the best qualified candidate. It would be an honor to serve the people of Jamestown as City Court Judge.”