Of all the county’s towns, villages and cities, the only municipalities where Democrats have the majority are in the towns of Pomfret, Villenova and the village of Falconer.

Three don’t have a majority on either side. Hanover has two Democrats, one Republican and two registered Conservative Party members; Cassadaga has two Democrats, two Republicans and one minor party; and the village of Westfield has two Democrats, two Republicans and one elected leader not affiliated with a party. The remaining 36 municipalities have a majority of Republicans. That includes both cities. Although both Dunkirk and Jamestown have Democratic mayors, Republicans are in the majority of both city councils (3-2 in Dunkirk and 7-2 in Jamestown.)

For the 27 towns in Chautauqua County, 13 of them do not have a single Democrat for supervisor or council member. They are Busti, Carroll, Charlotte, Clymer, Ellery, French Creek, Gerry, Harmony, Kiantone, Portland, Sheridan, Sherman, and Westfield.

With the 13 villages in the county, five don’t have a single Democrat as a trustee or mayor. Those are Brocton, Lakewood, Mayville, Sherman and Silver Creek.

About 35% of all registered voters in Chautauqua County are Republican, but more than 70% of all local elected officials are Republican. P-J file photo

In fact combining all trustee/council/supervisor/mayor seats, there are 158 Republicans, 42 Democrats and 16 other parties/vacancies.

The Chautauqua County Legislature isn’t much different. Of the 19 legislative districts, 15 are currently held by Republicans and four by Democrats. The county executive is a registered Republican as well.

That means about 73% of all elected officials that shape policy are Republicans, 21% are Democrats and the remaining 6% are either are minor party, no party or vacant.

These numbers were generated from the Chautauqua County Board of Elections Municipal Directory which was dated Feb. 8. The directory does not look at individuals who ran on another party, but rather looks at the party that elected officials is registered with. Also, some of the vacancies may have been filled since the directory was published and at least one seat has become vacant.

CURRENT PARTY ENROLLMENT

As of February, there were 78,994 registered voters in Chautauqua County. Of that total, 27,954 are registered Republicans, 23,720 are registered Democrats, 7,141 are registered with another party, and 20,179 people are not registered with any political party.

Looking at those totals, that means 35.4% of county residents are registered Republicans, 30% are registered Democrats, 9.1% are registered with a minor party, and 25.5% are not registered with any political party.

Even though the parties are relatively close, Republicans have the majority registered voters in 25 of 27 towns. The two towns where there are more registered Democrats are Dunkirk and Pomfret. The town of Dunkirk has 320 registered Democrats and 198 Republicans, and Pomfret has 2,683 Democrats and 2,106 Republicans.

Nationwide, cities generally have more registered Democrats than Republicans and Chautauqua County is no different with its two cities. In Jamestown there are 5,336 registered Democrats compared to 4,064 Republicans. In the city of Dunkirk there are 3,132 registered Democrats and 1,376 registered Republicans.

PAST PARTY ENROLLMENT

In its 215-year history, Chautauqua County has often leaned Republican except for an eight-year period during the Obama Administration.

In a 2017 interview with former Democratic Election Commissioner Norm Green, he said from the Civil War to 2008 there were more registered Republicans than Democrats. From 2008 to 2016, there were more registered Democrats in the county than Republicans. The biggest gap was in 2010 when there were 2,158 more registered Democrats than Republicans.

In 2017, the two parties actually tied with both having 26,057 active registered voters. After that, Republicans returned to the majority, growing each year.

In 2018, there were 540 more registered Republicans. By 2019, there were 942 more registered Republicans. In 2020, there were 1,601 more registered Republicans. In 2021, there were 2,949 more registered Republicans. In 2022, there were 3,271 more registered Republicans and this year there are 4,234 more registered Republicans.

2023 ELECTIONS

This year is mainly a local election year, with no statewide or federal offices up for Chautauqua County residents.

The county Board of Elections reported in early February that there are 201 seats up this year. That includes mayors, supervisors, council members, trustees, highway superintendents, clerks, justices, tax collectors and treasurer.

Of the 201 positions, 146 of them are held by Republicans, 39 are held by Democrats, and 16 are either Conservative, other, no party affiliation, or vacant.

All the races will take place in November except for the villages of Sinclairville and Westfield, which are scheduled to have their elections March 14.

Even though the Republican Party has had a lot of success in recent years, county Republican Committee Chairperson Nacole Ellis believes they can still grow.

“We are a very big committee. We raise money. We provide (candidates) all the support. We hold candidate meetings. We help them campaign,” she said.

But county Democratic Chairperson Marcia Westling Johnson believes things are going to change.

“Our view is Republicans are not meeting the needs of our county. Since Republicans have been in office for more than 15 years, our population has declined and poverty has increased,” she said.

When asked if she knew how many races they plan to field, Westling Johnson was uncertain. “We feel there are a lot of competitive races in Jamestown, Dunkirk, Fredonia, Westfield and several other areas as well. We also feel there are several competitive positions on the county legislature,” she said.

But Ellis believes the local Republican party is up for any challenge. “Our vision locally is to continue to grow. We’re going to focus on our strengths, continue to work and support folks. We welcome people to get involved and we want to help people the best we can,” she said.

Chautauqua County Politics

political control

Municipalities under Republican control

Arkwright, Busti, Carroll, Charlotte, Chautauqua, Cherry Creek, Clymer, Dunkirk town, Ellery, Ellicott, Ellington, French Creek, Gerry, Harmony, Kiantone, Mina, North Harmony, Poland, Portland, Ripley, Sheridan, Sherman town, Stockton, Westfield town, Bemus Point, Brocton, Celoron, Fredonia, Lakewood, Mayville, Panama, Sherman village, Silver Creek, Sinclairville, Dunkirk city, Jamestown, Chautauqua County.

Municipalities under Democratic control

Pomfret, Villenova, Falconer.

Municipalities with neither Democratic, nor Republican control:

Hanover, Cassadaga, Westfield village

Source: Chautauqua County Municipal Directory, updated February 2023

PARTY REGISTRATIONS

Republicans: 27,954

Democrats: 23,720

No Party: 20,179

Conservative: 2,016

Working Families: 472

Other: 4,653

Total 78,994